Home Zone sign: what it means
The Home Zone sign marks the start of a residential area where the street is shared by people and traffic. People may be using the whole road, so drive slowly and be ready to stop.
What does the Home Zone sign mean?
Know your traffic signs says Home Zones are residential areas with streets designed to be places for people as well as for motor traffic, and that people could be using the whole of the space. Rule 218 says to drive slowly and carefully and be prepared to stop.
Quick quiz
What does the sign at the top of this page mean?
- A 20 mph limit with traffic calming ahead.
- Watch for children near a school.
- A street shared by people and traffic.
Show answer
C. A street shared by people and traffic. The entrance to a Home Zone, a street shared by people and traffic (Know your traffic signs). Source: Know your traffic signs: traffic calming, GOV.UK; The Highway Code, rule 218, GOV.UK; The Highway Code, rule 206, GOV.UK; Traffic sign images, Department for Transport, GOV.UK
Where will you see it?
At the entrance to some residential streets. A matching sign marks the end of the Home Zone.
What should you do?
Drive very slowly, expect children playing and people in the road, and give them extra time to make space for you to pass (rule 218).
What do people get wrong?
Treating it like a normal street with a 20 mph limit. Children may be playing anywhere in the road.
Common questions
What is a Quiet Lane?
A minor rural road in England or Wales shared by walkers, cyclists, horse riders and motor vehicles. The same care applies (Know your traffic signs; The Highway Code, rule 218).
Who has priority in a Home Zone?
The Highway Code asks drivers to drive slowly and carefully and be prepared to stop to allow people extra time to make space (rule 218).
Compare with
20 mph zone signA 20 mph limit with traffic calming ahead.
Children going to or from school signWatch for children near a school.
Want to test someone else? Play a road-sign quiz with friends and family.
Sources
Checked on 3 November 2026 against Know your traffic signs (traffic calming) and The Highway Code rules 206 and 218.
- Know your traffic signs: traffic calming, GOV.UK
- The Highway Code, rule 218, GOV.UK
- The Highway Code, rule 206, GOV.UK
- Traffic sign images, Department for Transport, GOV.UK
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Traffic sign images are Crown copyright, from the Department for Transport. Sources and image credits.