Malta Road Signs Theory Test: The Signs the Exam Actually Asks
Malta's theory test is 35 multiple-choice questions in 45 minutes, and you need 30 correct to pass. Road signs are one of the subjects the Regulations require it to cover, so sign questions are not a side topic; they are core marks. This page covers the sign groups Malta actually uses, the priority and prohibition signs the exam leans on hardest, and the Maltese name for each, because you can sit the test in either language.
What the test asks about signs, in numbers
The exam format is fixed, and knowing it changes how you revise. The test takes 45 minutes, is made up of 35 multiple-choice questions, and you must answer 30 correctly to pass. The subjects it may cover are set out in the Fourth Schedule of the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations, and Transport Malta publishes the official theory-test question banks in both English and Maltese for each vehicle category: Cars (Category B and similar), Motorcycles (Category A and similar), and the larger goods and passenger categories.
That matters for sign revision: the signs are not a separate syllabus you can skip. They appear inside the published question material, so the fastest route is to work through that material rather than memorise a picture list. TheoryBuddy's mock tests use the same 35-question, 30-to-pass format as the official test, so a mock is a fair rehearsal.
The four sign groups Malta actually uses
Malta's sign set is organised into four groups, and reading the group first is what lets you answer a sign you have never seen before.
Warning signs (sinjali ta' twissija). Hazards ahead: Liwja, lejn ix-xellug (bend to the left); Liwja doppja (double bend); Salib it-toroq mingħajr prijorità (crossroads without priority); Rawndabout (roundabout); Mina (tunnel); Triq irregolari (uneven road); Qsim taż-żebra (zebra crossing); Żona tal-iskola (school zone); Xogħlijiet fit-toroq (roadworks); Persuni mexjin (pedestrians); Blat li jaqa' (falling rocks); Dwal tat-traffiku (traffic lights).
Five of those warning signs are drawn below. Read the shape before the symbol: a red-bordered triangle always warns you, and the picture inside it only says what about.
Regulatory signs. The signs that tell you what you must or must not do: No U-turns, No entry, No overtaking, No parking, No stopping, No use of horn or motor noise, maximum speed, minimum speed, Give way, Stop, Keep left, Keep right, Roundabout, and the direction-only signs such as Turn left or Drive straight.
Informational signs (sinjali informattivi). Guidance rather than orders: Triq ta' prijorità (priority road); Tmiem it-triq prijoritarja (end of priority road); Prijorità fuq vetturi ġejjin minn quddiem (priority over oncoming vehicles); Triq bla ħruġ (no through road); Parkeġġ (parking); Sptar (hospital); Lokalità.
Additional panels. Small plates that qualify the sign above them: Distanza (distance); Ieqaf aktar 'il quddiem (stop ahead); Skola (school); Bitħa tal-logħob (playground); Persuni għomja (blind people); Persuni b'diżabilità (disabled people).
Three more are drawn below, one from each of the other two groups. Blue guides rather than orders, and a panel carries no symbol at all because its job is to qualify the sign above it.
Notice what that list is not: it is not a fifty-country template with a tram-crossing sign bolted on. Malta's set is its own, and the Maltese names above are the ones learners actually revise in.
The priority signs carry the most marks per minute
If you are short of time, learn the signs that decide who moves first, which are Stop, Give way and the priority-road pair, before anything decorative. Priority signs settle the situation at a junction, and a junction scenario is exactly the shape of question the test favours, because the answer depends on a rule rather than on recognising a symbol.
Malta's priority and warning designs are the same designs used in the United Kingdom, with minor exceptions. Two consequences follow. First, if you already know UK signs, you are not starting from zero. Second, do not assume equivalence everywhere: the test is Maltese, and Malta has its own local variations and additions.
Malta's signs are not "Vienna Convention" signs, and that is a question you can get wrong
Several English-language study guides tell you Malta's signs follow the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals. Malta is not a signatory to that convention; its signs generally conform to the pattern used by many other European countries, but the convention is not what regulates them.
What does regulate them is Maltese law: the Traffic Signs and Carriageway Markings Regulations, subsidiary legislation 65.5, consolidated to a point in time of 24 May 2024. Malta's signs are standardised by Transport Malta, and the Authority's Roads and Infrastructure Directorate runs the procedure for selecting and installing vertical traffic signs. The official road-user guide that carries the rules is the Highway Code, which covers road signs, road markings and road safety.
There is one more wrinkle worth knowing, because it looks like a mistake on the road but is not one. Because Malta's signs are British-based and the island drove under British administration until independence in 1964, signs in the Italian design also exist here, some of them mirrored to suit Malta's left-hand traffic. Two different signs can therefore do the same job, occasionally on the same street.
How to revise signs so the exam format works for you
Revise in groups, not in one long alphabetical list. Learn that a warning sign warns, a regulatory sign orders or forbids, an informational sign guides, and a panel qualifies the sign it sits under. Then learn the symbols inside each group. This is the same logic the test rewards: a sign question shows you the sign and asks what it means, so group-level reasoning catches signs you have not specifically memorised.
Revise in both languages. The test can be sat in English or Maltese and the question banks are published in both, so seeing Qsim taż-żebra next to "zebra crossing" is not extra work; it is the same mark from a second angle.
And revise against the official material. The Highway Code is Malta's official road-user guide and includes information on road signs and road markings; Transport Malta publishes the question banks. A competitor page is not a source for a rule; it only tells you a question exists.
Frequently asked questions
How many road signs are on the Malta theory test?
There is no published count of individual signs, and you should be sceptical of any guide that gives one. What is published is the exam format, 35 multiple-choice questions in 45 minutes with 30 correct to pass, and the question banks for each vehicle category. Revise the groups and the official material rather than chasing a number.
Are Malta road signs the same as UK road signs?
They are based on the UK signs, with minor exceptions: Malta uses the metric system for speed limits and distances, for example. So the familiar designs mostly transfer, but study Malta's own set rather than assuming full equivalence.
Can I sit the theory test in Maltese?
Yes. Transport Malta publishes the theory-test question banks in English and in Maltese, for cars (Karrozzi) and motorcycles (Muturi) among others. The Maltese sign names on this page are the ones used in the Maltese material.
Do I need to know road markings as well as signs?
The Highway Code, Malta's official road-user guide, covers road markings alongside road signs and road safety. Treat markings as part of the same subject.
Why do I sometimes see two different signs doing the same job in Malta?
Because Malta's signs are British-based and signs in the Italian design also exist here, some mirrored for left-hand traffic. Two designs for one function, sometimes used simultaneously, is a real feature of Maltese roads, not a mistake you should try to resolve.
What is the difference between a warning sign and a regulatory sign?
A warning sign tells you a hazard is ahead and asks you to slow down and be ready. A regulatory sign tells you what you must or must not do, and it carries legal force. In Malta's set the warning signs and the regulatory signs are catalogued as separate groups.
Ready to test yourself?
Try the free 10-question taster, with no account and no signup, or start with a full mock in the official 35-question format and find out which sign groups you are actually weak in.
Sources
- Traffic Signs and Carriageway Markings Regulations, Subsidiary Legislation 65.5. The legal instrument that regulates traffic signs and carriageway markings in Malta. Point in time 24/05/2024.
- Wikipedia (English), "Road signs in Malta" (last edited 12 May 2026). Source for: signs regulated by the Traffic Signs and Carriageway Markings Regulations and standardised by Transport Malta; signs based on the United Kingdom's, with the metric system used for speed limits and distances; British administration until independence in 1964; Italian-design signs also present, some mirrored for left-hand traffic, two designs coexisting for one function; directional signs using the Transport typeface; Malta not being a signatory to the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals while signs generally conform to the common European pattern; and the sign catalogue itself (No U-turns, No entry, No overtaking, No parking, No stopping, No use of horn, maximum/minimum speed, Give way, Stop, Keep left, Keep right, Roundabout, Turn left, Drive straight, priority-road signs, Triq bla ħruġ / no through road, hospital, locality, and the additional panels).
- Transport Malta: "Technical guidelines of traffic signs" (cited capture 30 Sep 2020), "Driver Education" (cited capture 20 Sep 2020) and "The Highway Code" (cited capture 23 Oct 2012). Source for: the Roads and Infrastructure Directorate's procedure for the selection and installation of vertical traffic signs; the Highway Code being the official road-user guide for Malta and covering road signs, road markings and road safety. The Highway Code itself is published as a PDF, so its contents are not quoted here.
- Transport Malta, "Obtaining your driving licence". Cited location: the Wayback capture of 2026-02-17. Source for: the test taking 45 minutes, being made up of 35 multiple-choice questions, and requiring 30 correct answers to pass; the subjects being defined in the Fourth Schedule of the Regulations; and the official question banks published in English and Maltese for Cars (Category B etc.) and Motorcycles (Category A etc.) among others. Archived copy.
- Wikipedia (Maltese), "Sinjali tat-toroq f'Malta". Source for the Maltese sign names used on this page: Liwja lejn ix-xellug, Liwja doppja, Salib it-toroq mingħajr prijorità, Rawndabout, Mina, Triq irregolari, Qsim taż-żebra, Żona tal-iskola, Xogħlijiet fit-toroq, Persuni mexjin, Blat li jaqa', Dwal tat-traffiku, Triq ta' prijorità, Tmiem it-triq prijoritarja, Prijorità fuq vetturi ġejjin minn quddiem, Triq bla ħruġ, Parkeġġ, Sptar, Lokalità, Distanza, Ieqaf aktar 'il quddiem, Skola, Bitħa tal-logħob, Persuni għomja, Persuni b'diżabilità.
- TheoryBuddy (our own live site), /try. Source for the claim that TheoryBuddy's mock tests use the same 35-question, 30-to-pass format as the official test. First-party claim about our own product, not a source for any Maltese rule.