Compliance Standards Reference
Understanding safety signage regulations across US, Canada, UK, EU, Australia, Mexico, UAE / Saudi Arabia, South Korea, China, and Brazil
Safety signage requirements vary significantly across jurisdictions. The United States follows OSHA and ANSI standards with text-dominant sign designs. Canada uses CSA standards with bilingual English/French requirements. The UK, EU, Australia, and the Gulf (UAE & Saudi Arabia) all follow ISO 7010 with symbol-dominant pictograms; Gulf adds mandatory bilingual Arabic/English and unique heat-stress requirements per OSHAD SF and the UAE midday work-ban decree. Mexico uses NOM-026-STPS-2008, a hybrid system combining ANSI-style signal-word headers with ISO geometric shapes. South Korea adopted ISO 7010 as KS S ISO 7010, enforced by KOSHA with bilingual Korean/English requirements. China uses GB 2894-2008 and Brazil uses NR-26 / ABNT NBR 7195, both with color definitions that predate the 2011 ISO revision. Gantrell encodes all ten regulatory frameworks into a single platform.
Two Design Paradigms
Text-Dominant (US / Canada)
- ANSI Z535.1-4 standard
- Colored header panel with signal word (DANGER, WARNING, CAUTION, NOTICE)
- Message text below
- Used in US (OSHA) and Canada (CSA)
- Alert symbol triangle on DANGER/WARNING/CAUTION
Symbol-Dominant (UK / EU)
- ISO 3864-1 / ISO 7010 standard
- Geometric shape encodes hazard type:
- Circle with bar = Prohibition (red)
- Triangle = Warning (yellow/black)
- Circle = Mandatory (blue)
- Rectangle = Safe Condition (green) / Fire Equipment (red)
- Supplementary text panel below symbol
- Used in UK (HSE) and EU (Directive 92/58)
🇺🇸 United States
Encoded Standards
- ANSI Z535.1-4
- NFPA 70E
- GHS/HazCom (29 CFR 1910.1200)
- NEC Article 408/110
- ADA accessibility
Sign Coverage
73 signs encoded
Categories: Danger, Warning, Caution, Notice, Safety Instruction, General Safety
🇨🇦 Canada
Encoded Standards
- CSA Z321-18
- CSA Z462-21
- CSA C22.1:21
- WHMIS 2015 (SOR/2015-17)
- NFC 2020
Sign Coverage
75 signs encoded (bilingual EN/FR)
Categories: Danger, Warning, Caution, Notice, Safety Instruction, General Safety
Bilingual requirement — all signs include French translation
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Encoded Standards
- BS EN ISO 7010:2020
- ISO 3864-1:2011
- BS 7671:2018
- UK CLP
- RR(FS)O 2005
Sign Coverage
65 signs encoded
Categories: Prohibition, Warning, Mandatory, Safe Condition, Fire Equipment
🇪🇺 European Union
Encoded Standards
- EN ISO 7010:2020
- ISO 3864-1:2011
- EN 50110-1
- CLP (EC) 1272/2008
- Directive 89/654/EEC
Sign Coverage
65 signs encoded
Categories: Prohibition, Warning, Mandatory, Safe Condition, Fire Equipment
🇦🇺 Australia / New Zealand
Encoded Standards
- AS/NZS ISO 7010
- AS 1319:1994
- ISO 3864-1:2011
- AS/NZS 4836 (Arc Flash)
- NCC/BCA Volume 1 (Fire)
Sign Coverage
Coming soon — jurisdiction infrastructure in place
Categories: Prohibition, Warning, Mandatory, Safe Condition, Fire Equipment (ISO symbol-dominant format)
🇲🇽 Mexico
Encoded Standards
- NOM-026-STPS-2008 (Safety colors and signs)
- NOM-018-STPS-2015 (HazCom / GHS)
- NOM-029-STPS-2011 (Electrical maintenance)
- NOM-009-STPS-2011 (Construction)
- NOM-011-STPS-2001 (Occupational noise)
- NOM-003-SEGOB-2011 (Emergency / evacuation)
Sign Coverage
87 signs encoded
Hybrid format: text-dominant for PELIGRO / ADVERTENCIA / PRECAUCIÓN / INFORMACIÓN (ANSI-style header) and symbol-dominant for PROHIBICIÓN / OBLIGACIÓN (ISO geometric shapes). Includes NOM-003-SEGOB-2011 seismic / tsunami / volcanic signs unique to Mexico. Spanish primary language; metric measurement system.
🇦🇪UAE & Saudi Arabia
Encoded Standards
- OSHAD SF (Occupational Safety and Health Abu Dhabi — System Framework) Codes of Practice:
- CoP 2.0 — Occupational thermal (heat) stress
- CoP 3.0 — Occupational noise
- CoP 6.0 — Personal protective equipment
- CoP 13.0 — Hazardous materials / ATEX
- CoP 29.0 — Construction safety
- ISO 7010 / ISO 3864-1:2011 (base formats)
- SBC 201 (Saudi Building Code — architectural)
- SBC 401 (Saudi Electrical Code)
- SBC 801 (Saudi Fire Code)
- UAE Fire & Life Safety Code of Practice
- UAE Federal Law No. 12 of 2018 (chemical control)
- UAE Ministerial Decree No. 401/2015 (midday outdoor work ban, 15 June – 15 September, 12:30–15:00)
Sign Coverage
65 signs encoded
Symbol-dominant format following ISO 7010 geometric shapes. Includes heat-stress signs unique to the Gulf (mandated by OSHAD SF CoP 2.0 and the UAE midday work ban decree). Bilingual Arabic/English required on all signs. Arabic right-to-left text rendering is a future enhancement; v1 uses English with explicit bilingual requirement tags.
🇰🇷 South Korea
Encoded Standards
- KS S ISO 7010 (Korean Standards adoption of ISO 7010)
- ISO 3864-1:2011 (base colors and formats)
- Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA Act) — Articles 38, 42, 44, 114
- KOSHA Technical Guidelines (Guide E-7 for electrical safety)
- KS C 7101 (Exit sign luminaires)
- KS C IEC 62271 (High-voltage switchgear)
- Fire Service Act (fire prevention and evacuation)
- KGS Code (Korea Gas Safety Corporation — explosive atmospheres)
- Nuclear Safety Act / NSSC (radiation safety)
- Asbestos Safety Management Act 2011
- CSMA (Construction Safety Management Act)
- DRR Framework Act (Framework Act on Disaster and Safety Management) / NFSC 303 (earthquake evacuation)
Sign Coverage
63 signs encoded
Symbol-dominant format following ISO 7010 geometric shapes (adopted as KS S ISO 7010). Includes earthquake evacuation signs unique to South Korea (per DRR Framework Act). Bilingual Korean/English required on all signs; Korean (Hangul) text rendering is v2 scope — v1 uses English with bilingual requirement tags.
🇨🇳 China
Encoded Standards
- GB 2894-2008 (Safety signs and guidelines for use — mandatory)
- GB/T 2893.1 (Safety colours and safety signs)
- GB 30000-2013 series (GHS classification and labelling)
- GB 7231-2003 (Industrial pipeline identification)
- GB 13495.1-2015 (Fire safety signs)
- GB 18871-2002 (Ionizing radiation protection)
- GB 3836-2010 series (Explosive atmospheres equipment)
- GBZ 1-2010 / GBZ 2.2-2007 (Occupational exposure limits)
- JGJ 33-2012 / GB 50720-2011 (Construction safety)
- GB/T 24362-2009 (Earthquake emergency evacuation signs)
- Work Safety Law (amended 2021)
- Fire Protection Law (amended 2019)
Sign Coverage
84 signs encoded
Symbol-dominant format following GB 2894-2008 geometric shapes. Includes pipe marking per GB 7231-2003 and earthquake/tsunami evacuation signs per GB/T 24362-2009. Simplified Chinese is the mandatory language; English is optional.
🇧🇷 Brazil
Encoded Standards
- NR-26 (Safety signage — items 26.1, 26.2, Anexo I)
- ABNT NBR 7195:1995 (Safety colors)
- ABNT NBR 14725 (GHS chemical labeling)
- ABNT NBR 13434-1/-2 (Fire safety signs)
- NR-10 (Electrical safety installations)
- NR-15 (Hazardous activities — Anexo 1: noise limits)
- NR-18 (Construction industry conditions)
Sign Coverage
82 signs encoded
Symbol-dominant format with geometric shapes per NR-26. Includes 7 electrical safety signs per NR-10, pipe marking per NR-26 Anexo I, and fire signs per ABNT NBR 13434. Brazilian Portuguese is the mandatory language.
🇯🇵 Japan
Encoded Standards
- JIS Z 9101:2005 (Safety colours — general principles)
- JIS Z 9104:2005 (Safety signs — guidance for design)
- JIS Z 9102 (Pipe identification colours)
- JIS Z 7253 (GHS classification and labeling)
- JIS Z 9097:2016 (Tsunami/earthquake evacuation signs)
- ISHL (Industrial Safety and Health Law)
- Fire Service Act Art. 21 (emergency exit signage)
- Reactor Regulation Act / NRA Ordinance (radiation)
- High Pressure Gas Safety Act (explosive atmospheres)
- Disaster Countermeasures Basic Act (earthquake/tsunami)
Sign Coverage
78 signs encoded across 13 categories
Symbol-dominant format with geometric shapes per JIS Z 9104. Includes earthquake/tsunami evacuation signs per JIS Z 9097:2016 (unique to Japan, created after the 2011 Tohoku disaster). Japanese is the mandatory language; English with romaji transliteration provided for international facilities.
Compliance Documents
Download self-declaration conformance statements and material specification sheets for your records.
ANSI Z535 Conformance
Self-declaration of design conformance to ANSI Z535.1-4 and Z535.6 safety sign standards.
Download PDF ↓ISO 7010 Conformance
Self-declaration of design conformance to ISO 7010:2019 and ISO 3864-1:2011.
Download PDF ↓Vinyl Adhesive Spec
UV-resistant cast vinyl, 3-5 year outdoor durability, -40°F to 170°F.
Download PDF ↓Rigid Plastic Spec
0.055" PVC per ASTM D1784, 5-7 year outdoor, UV-resistant.
Download PDF ↓Aluminum Spec
0.040" 3003-H14 per ASTM B209, 7-10 year outdoor durability.
Download PDF ↓Magnetic Spec
0.030" flexible magnetic sheet, indoor use, repositionable.
Download PDF ↓