Do Not Enter – Restricted Access Sign

Do Not Enter – Restricted Access Sign | ISPS0019 | IMPA 33.8542 | ISSA 47.585.42

The ISPS0019 restricted access do not enter sign is a maritime security notice fitted at points where entry is limited to authorised crew and personnel only. It is intended for anyone who might otherwise wander into a controlled space — visiting contractors, agents, surveyors, stevedores and port officials — and its blunt instruction leaves no room for misreading: this space is off-limits without specific clearance. On board, it is most commonly seen outside engine control rooms, bridge wings and steering gear flats named in the vessel’s restricted area listing.

Within Safety Sign Hub’s ISPA Signs range, this restricted access do not enter sign fills the gap between general “authorised personnel only” notices and dedicated hazard warnings, giving crew a single marker for compartments sitting inside a declared security zone rather than a work-hazard zone. Typical fitting points include hatches to steering flats, doors to the security or radio office, cargo control room entrances, and void spaces adjoining restricted machinery. Each of these locations is logged as a controlled space on the approved Security Plan, and the sign becomes one of the physical controls the Ship Security Officer (SSO) or Port Facility Security Officer (PFSO) can point to when demonstrating that access restrictions are enforced in practice, not just on paper.

Like the rest of the ISPA range, ISPS0019 is produced on rigid marine-grade board or self-adhesive vinyl, both treated to resist UV fading and saltwater corrosion in exposed shipboard conditions, with a photoluminescent option available for compartments where lighting cannot be guaranteed.

Why Restricted Access Matters

A restricted access do not enter sign is only as effective as the security culture around it, and the ISPS Code exists precisely because gaps in that culture are how unauthorised access happens — not through forced entry, but through a door left unmarked and a visitor who assumed they were allowed through. An unmarked machinery space or control room invites the kind of undocumented movement that security audits are designed to catch: someone in a space they have no reason to be in, with no signage to have warned them off. Posting a restricted access do not enter sign at every relevant boundary reinforces the vessel’s declared security perimeter at the exact points where visitors and contractors decide whether to keep walking or turn back.

Compliance and Certification

ISPS0019 is a maritime security sign rather than an ISO 7010 hazard pictogram, and it should never be described as one. Its role sits under the ISPS Code (International Ship and Port Facility Security Code, part of SOLAS Chapter XI-2), which requires restricted areas to be identified and enforced as set out in the vessel’s Ship Security Plan (SSP) or the facility’s Port Facility Security Plan (PFSP). The Ship Security Officer (SSO), Company Security Officer (CSO) and Port Facility Security Officer (PFSO) are jointly responsible for keeping signage aligned with what the Security Plan declares. During ISPS audits, Port State Control officers and classification society surveyors routinely check that restricted access signage matches the approved plan, and a missing or mismatched sign is a common finding worth avoiding.

Installation Recommendations

Mount ISPS0019 at eye level on or beside the door or hatch it restricts, so it is the first thing anyone sees before attempting entry, not an afterthought inside the space itself.

• Available in rigid marine-grade board or self-adhesive vinyl for flush mounting on doors and hatches
• UV-stable and saltwater-resistant construction for long service life in exposed and internal locations
• Photoluminescent option for compartments with unreliable or emergency-only lighting
• Reproduces the standard IMPA 33.8542 / ISSA 47.585.42 restricted access do not enter wording and layout
• Sized for single-door fitting through to larger compartment and hatch access points

Order the ISPS0019 restricted access do not enter sign from our ISPA Signs range to keep every controlled space on your Security Plan properly marked, and pair it with our Mandatory Signs for spaces requiring PPE or authoritation before entry. Need a general entry-point notice instead? See our related sign ISPS0018 (IMPA 33.8502).