As a federal regulation, the only way to revise the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) is through the federal rulemaking process, which includes the following steps:
- The federal government must publish a notice in the Federal Register (called a Notice of Proposed Amendments) describing the MUTCD change(s) and providing the public an opportunity to comment on the changes.
- After reviewing the public comments and making the appropriate changes, the federal government publishes another notice in the Federal Register (called a Final Rule) that finalizes the change(s).
- The finalized change(s) to the MUTCD become effective 30 days after the Final Rule.
The federal rulemaking process is governed by its own set of regulations. A more detailed description of the process for revising the MUTCD is contained in Appendix C (Revising the MUTCD) of the “MUTCD 20-year Vision and Strategic Plan” created by the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.