Road sign R-503: End of the no-overtaking ban for lorries

What it means

«Señala el lugar desde donde deja de ser aplicable una señal anterior de adelantamiento prohibido para camiones.» RD 465/2025, Annex I of the RGC (BOE-A-2025-12199), Spanish original.

It ends the stretch in which lorries over 3,500 kg were banned from overtaking. It lifts only that specific ban.

Where you meet it

You see it at the end of the stretch where R-306 banned heavy lorries from overtaking. It is the exact counterpart of that sign.

What you must do

If you drive a lorry over 3,500 kg, from it on the specific ban has ended and the general rules apply again. It does not lift other prohibitions that might still be in force, such as a speed limit.

Details that count

Remember the system of counterparts: R-305 is lifted by R-502; R-306, the lorry ban, by R-503; and R-500 lifts all at once. Anyone not affected by the lorry ban, such as a bus driver, is in the same position on reaching this sign: they were never subject to R-306 (RGC art. 145.2.f). All end signs belong to the end-of-prohibition-or-restriction class and mark the place from which an earlier sign ceases to apply: R-501 the maximum-speed one, R-506 the minimum-speed one, R-509 the compulsory-carriageway one for lorries, tractor units and vans, and R-510 the reserved-and-compulsory-road one for mopeds (RD 465/2025 catalogue).

What it is confused with

It is confused with R-502, «End of the no-overtaking ban», and with R-500, «End of prohibitions». R-502 lifts the general ban; R-503 the lorry ban; R-500 all the specific ones for moving vehicles. Three end signs, three different scopes.

Related signs

• R-306: No overtaking for lorries
• R-502: End of the no-overtaking ban
• R-500: End of prohibitions

Studied in topic 23: Overtaking.

Source: RGC art. 145.2.f; RGC Annex I, sign R-503 (RD 465/2025).