DANGER, WARNING, or CAUTION: How to Pick the Right Signal Word - CGAP Industries

DANGER, WARNING, or CAUTION: How to Pick the Right Signal Word

The word across the top of a safety sign is called the signal word, and it is not a style choice. Each one makes a specific claim about how bad the hazard is. Use the wrong one and the sign either cries wolf or undersells something that can kill.

The three levels

The ANSI Z535.2 standard, which OSHA has accepted for sign design since 2013, defines the levels by two things: how bad the injury is, and how likely it is if the hazard isn't avoided.

  • DANGER (white letters on red): a hazardous situation that will result in death or serious injury if not avoided. Reserve it for the worst, most immediate hazards, like energized high voltage, permit-required confined spaces, and toxic atmospheres.
  • WARNING (black letters on orange): a hazardous situation that could result in death or serious injury. The consequence is just as bad, but it isn't certain every time. Buried cable, flammable storage, and surfaces hot enough to cause severe burns all fit here.
  • CAUTION (black letters on yellow): a hazardous situation that could result in minor or moderate injury. Slip hazards, keep clear zones, and restricted doors are typical.

There is a fourth header, NOTICE (white on blue), for information that isn't about personal injury at all, such as property damage or procedures. It is not a hazard level, so don't use it as a softer CAUTION.

Picking the right one

Ask two questions about the hazard:

  1. If someone ignores this, what is the worst realistic outcome? Death or a life-changing injury points to DANGER or WARNING. A cut, a sprain, or a minor burn points to CAUTION.
  2. How certain is it? If contact means injury every time, with no luck involved, that is DANGER. If the outcome depends on circumstances, that is WARNING.

Electrical work shows the difference well. Exposed energized conductors at distribution voltage are DANGER, because contact is fatal. A panel people keep blocking with storage is CAUTION, because the immediate risk is a slower response, not a certain injury.

The most common mistake

Using DANGER for everything. It feels safer to shout, but when every sign in a building says DANGER, people stop reading any of them. OSHA's own rule says DANGER signs mark immediate hazards, and that workers must be taught they mean special precautions are necessary. Save the red header for the places that earn it and the signs that use it will still get read.

The opposite mistake happens too: a CAUTION sign on a hazard that can kill. When a hazard truly sits between two levels, go with the higher one.

Shop by signal word

For hazard-by-hazard guidance on which header a specific area needs, see our safety signage guides.

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