What to put on a work van, and what to leave off
Your van is parked outside a job for hours at a time. Here is how to make those hours work, in four lines of text.
The short version
Name, trade, one phone number, one area. Big enough to read from the far pavement, in two strongly contrasting colours, and nothing else. Everything a van owner is tempted to add makes the four things that matter harder to read.
A blank white van is the only advertising you already own and are not using. It sits outside a customer’s house for a morning. It waits at lights. It is parked on a street where the neighbours are the exact people who might need you next.
The mistake almost everyone makes is treating that space like a website. A website is read by someone who chose to look at it, at arm’s length, for as long as they like. A van is read by someone who did not choose to look at it, from across a road, in about two seconds, often while moving.
Two seconds is the whole brief. Everything below follows from it.
The four things that have to be on a work van
A work van needs four things, in this order of size, largest first:
- What you do. Not your business name - your trade. “Plumbing” or “Gardening” or “Appliance repair”. Someone who needs a plumber is scanning for the word plumber, not for a name they have never heard.
- Your business name. This is what they will try to remember, or search for later.
- One phone number. One. Big. The number is the whole point of the van.
- Where you work. A town or a couple of areas. It answers “do they come out to me?” before anyone has to ring and ask.
That is it. Four lines. If you are arguing with yourself about a fifth, it belongs on the website.
The trade goes above the name, because nobody is looking for you. They are looking for what you do.
What to leave off the van
Most extra lettering on a van makes the four main lines smaller, so it costs you calls. Everything on this list is on somebody’s van right now.
- A list of services. Twelve bullet points at the size they have to be to fit is twelve things nobody reads. Your trade already implies most of them.
- Your email address. Nobody has ever typed an email address off a moving van.
- Your full postal address. Customers come to you or you go to them - either way, the address belongs on the website and the Google listing.
- Social media handles. Same problem as the email, plus the icons eat space.
- A website address, if the name gives it away. If you are Marsh Plumbing at marshplumbing.com, the name is the web address. Print it once, small.
- Stock clip art. A generic spanner or leaf says nothing your trade name has not already said, and it dates fast.
Making van lettering readable from across the road
Readable van lettering comes down to three decisions: letter size, colour contrast and typeface. Signwriters wish more customers understood all three.
Size
Letter height sets how far away a word can be read. US road-sign guidance uses a minimum of 1 inch of letter height per 30 feet of reading distance - roughly 2.5 cm for every 9 metres (FHWA, 2009). That figure is for plain road-sign lettering read by drivers who are looking for it. A van is seen in passing, so go well above it.
The simple test is to stand at the far kerb, about the width of a road away, and look at your van. Anything you cannot read from there is decoration. In practice the phone number wants to be the height of a hand span, not the height of a finger.
Contrast
Dark text on a white van, or light text on a dark van. That is the whole rule. Mid-grey on white, or red on dark blue, looks fine on a screen at arm’s length and disappears at twenty metres. If you are unsure, squint at the design - if it goes mushy, so will the van.
Web accessibility rules put a number on the same idea. They ask for a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. The aim is that people with low vision can read it (W3C, 2023). A van at a distance is hard for everyone to read, so aim well past those numbers. Any free online contrast checker will test your two colours.
One typeface, no slants
One family, two weights at most. Italics, scripts, outlines, drop shadows and gradients all cost legibility and buy nothing at speed.
Four lines, largest to smallest
Twelve service bullets at one size
Ink on white, or white on ink
Mid-grey on white, or colour on colour
One bold sans-serif
Script, italic or outlined type
One phone number
Phone, mobile, email and two handles
Plain flat colour
Gradients and drop shadows
Where the lettering goes on the van
Letter both sides and the back door of the van, because each is seen by different people.
- The sides are seen by people on the pavement and by drivers you pass. They carry all four things.
- The back is seen by the driver behind you, stuck at a light, for far longer than anyone sees the sides. It only needs the trade and the number, very large.
- The bonnet and roof are seen by almost nobody. Skip them.
Try this now
Before you approve anything, ask the signwriter to show the design on a photograph of your actual van, not a generic template. Sliding doors, window lines and body creases move text in ways a flat drawing hides.
Markings the law or your trade body may require
Some vans must carry registration or licence numbers by law, depending on the trade, the vehicle and the country. Check this before the design is final, so a required mark has a planned place.
In the US, for example, commercial motor vehicles covered by federal rules must show the carrier’s name and USDOT number on both sides. The rule says the lettering must contrast sharply with the background and be readable in daylight from 50 feet (Cornell LII, 49 CFR 390.21T). Other countries, and some trade bodies, have their own display rules or membership marks.
Ask your own trade body or licensing authority rather than guessing. If a mark is required, put it small and low where it does not compete with the four main lines.
Before you send the design to the signwriter
A signwriter needs a print-ready file, not a description. Handing over a vector file is the difference between getting your design and getting their interpretation of it.
- The phone number is correct - read it out loud, digit by digit, twice
- Your trade is the largest thing on the side
- It is readable from the far kerb, checked by standing there
- Two colours, strong contrast, no gradients
- The back carries the trade and the number only
- Any legally required markings have a place
- The design is shown on a photograph of your own van
- The file is vector, not a screenshot of one
- The same name, colours and typeface as your website and your signage
0 of 9 checked
That last one matters more than it sounds. A customer who saw the van on Tuesday and finds your website on Thursday should not have to work out whether it is the same firm. It is the whole argument for settling the identity once, and the same logo file then works on your shop sign, your business cards and your Google Business Profile photo.
A few common questions.
How much does van lettering cost?
The design and the application are two separate costs. A signwriter or wrap shop charges for cutting and applying the vinyl, which depends on the size of the van and how much of it you are covering - simple lettering on both sides and the back is the cheap end, a full wrap is the expensive end. The design file is a separate job, and once it exists it can be applied to a second van, a sign or a flyer without being redrawn.
Can I letter a leased van?
Usually, but check the lease first. Most lease agreements allow vinyl lettering as long as it is removed cleanly at the end of the term, and some specifically forbid full wraps or anything that needs adhesive on trim. Cut vinyl lettering on flat panels is the safest option, and a good fitter will remove it without marking the paint.
Is a full wrap worth it over plain lettering?
For most local trades, no. A wrap costs several times what lettering does, and the four things that actually bring in calls - trade, name, number, area - are the same either way. A wrap makes sense when the van itself is the shopfront, such as a mobile coffee or grooming business, where the vehicle is what the customer walks up to.
What if my business name does not say what I do?
Then the trade goes first and larger, and the name goes underneath. Somebody looking for a plumber will not stop to work out whether Hartley & Sons might be one.
Do I need my registration or licence numbers on it?
That depends on your trade and where you work. Some regulated trades and vehicle classes have display requirements - in the US, for example, commercial vehicles covered by federal rules must show a USDOT number on both sides, legible from 50 feet - and some trade bodies ask members to show a membership mark. Check with your own trade body rather than guessing, and if a mark is required, put it small and low where it does not compete with the four main lines.
