Maintenance

Adopt a Highway Signage Guidelines

Introduction

The Iowa Department of Transportation will erect Adopt-A-Highway signs as a form of acknowledgment of the service that sponsors perform picking up litter on state highways and helping contribute to a cleaner environment. This document provides guidance for sponsors to help select an appropriate sign name.

For eligible sponsors, signs featuring our state flower, the wild rose, may be erected by the Iowa DOT at no cost to the sponsor. In areas with many signs or very rough terrain, AAH signing may not be possible. Signs will not be placed for political candidates, elected officials, or entities that would be considered partisan or inflammatory. Signs will not be placed for one-day pickup permits. Signing is not a requirement for AAH sponsorships. Sponsors may elect to adopt a highway section without signing.

The Iowa DOT also reserves the right to edit names or acronyms as necessary. The Iowa DOT will work with sponsors during the permitting process to determine their sign name based on available dimensions, character limits and verbiage guidelines.

General Sign and Verbiage Requirements

• Adopt-A-Highway signs are intended to recognize only the name of the sponsor group, business, community, organization, or family.
• Signs have a capacity of three lines of maximum of 12 characters per line (including spaces and punctuation). Periods, apostrophes, question marks, ampersands, or other punctuation or characters that are not letters, numerals, or hyphens should not be used in abbreviations, unless necessary to avoid confusion.
• Signs cannot be used for advertising, advocacy, political purposes, or memorials. No slogans, messages or other promotional phrases or wordplay will be permitted.
• All capital letters are used.
• Words on a sign should only read left to right, not up and down.
• The letters used on the signs shall follow MUTCD Standard Alphabets for Traffic Control Devices guidance.
  • Greek letters are not permitted; fraternity and sorority groups should use the English spelling of the letters in their names.
• Logos, icons, or colors are no longer permitted.  Existing logo signs will remain until they require replacement.
• No contact information – such as websites, directions, addresses or phone numbers – are permitted.
• No hashtags, social media account names or social media handles are permitted, including symbols such as the pound sign (#) or at sign (@).
• Acronyms may be used to fit character limits.  The Iowa DOT reserves the right to approve, deny or edit requested acronyms.
• Sponsors and Adopt-A-Highway signs must fully comply with all state laws.  The Iowa DOT reserves the right to remove a sign or terminate an Adopt-A-Highway agreement if the agency determines the sponsor violates any laws or could be considered partisan or inflammatory.

Individual/family groups

Sponsors wishing to adopt in memory or in honor of someone (living or deceased) can use the following guidelines:

• Allowed: “Friends and Family of [Name]” or “[Name] Friends and Family” or an individual or family name.
• Not allowed: “In Memory Of”.

Families or individuals wishing to adopt can use the following guidelines:

• Allowed: “The Name(s) or Family(s)” or first and last names of the person/s leading the sponsorship.
  • “John Doe Family”
  • “Smith and Doe Families”
  • “John and Jane Doe”
  Informal group names will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Political organizations

• No titles of elected officials or specific political offices are permitted.
  • Allowed: “John Smith” or “John Smith and Family”.
  • Not allowed: “Senator John Smith” or “John Smith for Mayor”.
• Names of political organizations/groups (Republican Party of ABC County, DFL Party, etc.) are permitted.
• No political slogans, messages, catchphrases, or advocacy are permitted.

Private businesses

• The Iowa DOT reserves the right to ask for documentation or proof of a business name.  
• Individuals or agents – such as realtors, insurance agents, or car dealerships may include either their company name or their individual name but not both.
  • Allowed: “John Smith” or “Federal Family Insurance”
  • Not allowed: “John Smith – Federal Family Insurance”
  • Not allowed: “ John Smith, Manager Acme Motor Company”
• No slogans, mottos, or other messages/phrases will be permitted.

Nonprofit, civic or religious/faith-based groups and organizations

• Groups should use their official name only.  The location may also be included.
  • Allowed: “Troop 230” or “Troop 230 Ames Iowa”
• No slogans, catchphrases, mottos, or other messages/phrases will be permitted.
  • Allowed: “Bobcats Athletic Boosters”
  • Not allowed “Go Bobcats”