Quick summary
Floor marking means putting coloured lines, stripes, symbols and signs on a floor so people and vehicles know where to walk, drive, store goods and keep clear. It's done with self-adhesive floor marking tape, line marking paint or vinyl floor signs, and it's one of the cheapest safety jobs you can do on any site.
Quick answer: UK law says traffic routes must be "suitably indicated" where needed for safety, and that routes, obstacles and drop hazards must be permanently marked with a safety colour or signs. Use continuous white or yellow lines for routes, and yellow/black or red/white diagonal stripes for hazards. At Store Fittings Direct, vinyl floor tape starts at £5.40 ex VAT per 50mm x 33m roll (about 16p a metre), line marking paint at £15.77 ex VAT per 750ml can, and floor signs at £19.37 ex VAT.
- ✓Traffic routes: continuous lines, preferably white or yellow depending on your floor colour.
- ✓Hazards and obstacles: alternating yellow/black or red/white stripes, roughly 45 degrees.
- ✓Tape is quick, clean and moveable; paint is cheaper for long runs and works outdoors.
- ✓Slips, trips and falls on the same level were 30% of employee non-fatal injuries reported to HSE in 2024/25.
- ✓Most sites use 50mm lines for walkways and aisles and 75mm+ for main vehicle routes.
On this page
The lawColoursTape vs paintPricesAnti-slipBy site typeHow to mark outMaintenanceWhy buy from usFAQsWhat the law says about floor marking
Straight answer: there's no UK law that says "every warehouse must have yellow lines". But two sets of regulations make floor marking the normal, expected way to show you've kept people and vehicles apart.
The Workplace Regulations 1992 (regulation 17)
Regulation 17 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 says every workplace must be organised so pedestrians and vehicles can move around safely, that traffic routes must be suitable and big enough, and that vehicles and pedestrians should be kept apart where they share a route. Regulation 17(4) is the key line: "All traffic routes shall be suitably indicated where necessary for reasons of health or safety." On a shop floor or warehouse, "suitably indicated" nearly always means lines on the floor plus signs.
The Safety Signs and Signals Regulations 1996
Schedule 1 of the Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996 says places where there's a risk of colliding with obstacles or of falling must be permanently marked with a safety colour and/or signboards, and that traffic routes must be permanently marked with a safety colour. The detailed rules (mirrored in this GOV.UK annex on obstacle and traffic route marking) set out the colours, which we cover in the next section.
What HSE expects to see
HSE's guidance on separating pedestrians and vehicles asks for clear markings to set apart vehicle and pedestrian routes, marked and signposted crossing points, and barriers or guard rails at building entrances, exits and corners so people can't walk straight into traffic. HSE Northern Ireland goes further, saying suitable barriers or guardrails must be provided at any pedestrian walkway that leads directly onto a vehicle route. Paint and tape tell people where to go; warehouse barriers and pedestrian guardrail physically stop them when they don't.
Floor lines are the cheapest bit of your traffic plan. A few rolls of tape can mean the difference between "we told people" and "we showed people".
Floor marking colours: what each one means
Only two colour rules come from the regulations. Everything else is a site colour code you choose, write down and train people on. Sources like this safety colours summary agree on the basics:
| Colour | Typical use | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| White or yellow continuous line | Traffic routes, aisles, walkways, bay edges | Safety Signs Regulations (white or yellow, chosen to contrast with the floor) |
| Yellow/black diagonal stripes | Obstacles, kerbs, column bases, step edges, drop hazards | Safety Signs Regulations (stripes roughly 45 degrees, about equal width) |
| Red/white diagonal stripes | Obstacles and dangerous locations, fire equipment keep-clear areas | Safety Signs Regulations |
| Red | Quarantine, rejects, fire points | Site colour code (no legal meaning) |
| Blue / green | Raw materials, finished goods, first aid, safe areas | Site colour code (no legal meaning) |
| Orange | Goods awaiting inspection, temporary storage | Site colour code (no legal meaning) |
Outside on roads and car parks, HSE notes that white markings regulate traffic and yellow markings regulate parking, the same logic as the public highway. Keep the inside of your building just as simple: one colour for routes, stripes for hazards, and a short list of zone colours on the staff noticeboard.
Floor marking tape vs paint: which should you use?
Both do the job. The right one depends on how busy the floor is, whether the layout will change, and whether you're inside or out.
Floor marking tape
Peel, stick, done. No drying time, no fumes, no masking, and you can lift it when you re-plan the floor. PROline 50mm tape from £5.40 and 75mm tape from £8.14 ex VAT suit shops, stockrooms and warehouses with foot traffic and hand trolleys.
Heavy-duty forklift tape
Where forklift tyres, pallet trucks and scrubber-driers run over the lines, standard tape wears fast. PROline-tape VINYL for forklift traffic is 1,000 micron thick and built for that abuse, from £56.74 ex VAT.
Line marking paint
Cheaper per metre on long runs, works on concrete, asphalt and tarmac, and is easy to touch up. PROline 750ml aerosols cost £15.77 ex VAT, come in 8 colours, and one can marks roughly 50 to 90 metres of 50mm line.
Quick rule of thumb
- ✓Shop floor, stockroom, office, light warehouse: standard vinyl tape.
- ✓Forklift routes and loading areas indoors: heavy-duty forklift tape or line marking paint.
- ✓Yards, car parks, outdoor walkways: line marking paint with an applicator.
- ✓Layout likely to change in the next year: tape, because it comes up cleanly.
- ✓Hundreds of metres to do: a wheeled applicator, either tape or paint. It pays for itself in time saved.
Floor marking prices (ex VAT)
Here's what the main products cost from our floor marking and repairs range. All prices are ex VAT; our product pages show both ex and inc VAT.
| Product | What it's for | From (ex VAT) |
|---|---|---|
| PROline Tape 50mm x 33m | Aisles, walkways, bay edges (6 colours + 3 striped) | £5.40 |
| PROline Tape 75mm x 33m | Main routes, wider lines | £8.14 |
| PROline-tape VINYL for forklift traffic | 1,000 micron tape for forklift and pallet truck areas | £56.74 |
| PROline Line Marking Paint 750ml | Painted lines, indoors or out (8 colours) | £15.77 |
| PROLiner Paint Applicators | HANDliner £46.20, PROliner £171, ROADliner £228 | £46.20 |
| PROline Paint Line Marking Set | Applicator plus paint, ready to go | £223.29 |
| PROline-tape Marking System Kit 50mm | TAPEliner, 2 rolls, chalk line, knife | £305.49 |
| Hazard Warning Tape 66m | Yellow/black or red/white stripes | £12.09 |
| PROline Floor Signs 430/450mm | Pedestrian route, forklift area, keep clear and more | £19.37 |
| PROline Floor Markers (T, L, X) | Pallet and location corners, pack of 10 | £23.91 |
| PROline Anti-Slip Tape Panels x10 | Steps, ramps, wet entrances | £12.26 |
| PROline Anti-Slip Floor Paint 5L | R10 anti-slip coating, about 20m² per tin | £125.23 |
What a typical job costs
Say you want to mark 100 metres of 50mm yellow aisle line in a stockroom. With tape, that's four 33m rolls of PROline 50mm at £5.40 each: about £21.60 ex VAT, with 32 metres spare. With paint, it's two 750ml aerosols at £15.77 each (about £31.54 ex VAT) plus an applicator from £46.20 if you don't already have one. Either way, the materials cost less than an hour of a contractor's time. Add a handful of floor signs at £19.37 each at junctions and doors and you've got a properly marked route.
100 metres of yellow aisle line costs about £21.60 ex VAT in tape. Floor marking is the cheapest safety upgrade on most sites.
Anti-slip tape and floor paint for winter
November is when wet entrances, icy ramps and slippery loading bays start causing accidents. According to HSE's kind of accident statistics, slips, trips or falls on the same level made up 30% of non-fatal injuries to employees reported under RIDDOR in 2024/25, and HSE describes slips and trips as the single most common cause of major injury in UK workplaces. That's the biggest single category on the list.
Anti-slip tape panels
Pre-cut panels with an aluminium oxide grit for steps, ramps, walkways and vehicle steps. Rated for -30°C to +70°C, indoors or out. From £12.26 ex VAT for 10.
Conformable anti-slip tape
Conformable tape on an aluminium backing moulds to chequer plate and textured metal stairs. 18.3m rolls from £30.69 ex VAT in black, yellow or black/yellow.
Anti-slip floor paint
PROline anti-slip floor paint has quartz grit mixed in and is rated R10 (DIN 51130). Roll it onto concrete, asphalt or paving: one 5 litre tin covers about 20m². From £125.23 ex VAT.
Pair anti-slip treatments with the basics: entrance matting to stop water being walked in, and a grit bin by outdoor steps and ramps so staff can treat ice before it catches someone out.
Floor marking by site type
Warehouses & distribution
Pedestrian walkways, forklift routes, racking aisles and pallet locations. Use heavy-duty tape where trucks turn, and back it up with rack and column protection.
Shops & supermarkets
Keep-clear zones by fire exits, stockroom routes, and aisle widths kept clear of displays. Tape is best because shop layouts change.
Loading bays & yards
Painted walkways, crossing points and hazard stripes on dock edges. See our guide to protecting loading bays.
Car parks
White bay lines, yellow no-parking areas, and wheel stops from £24.08 ex VAT so cars stop before walls and walkways.
Factories & workshops
Machine keep-clear zones, PPE signs at entrances (eye, ear, footwear) and stripes on step edges and obstacles.
Schools, NHS & councils
Delivery routes kept away from pedestrian doors, anti-slip on ramps and steps, and clear signage for visitors who don't know the site.
How to plan and apply floor markings
Walk the site and draw it
Sketch where vehicles go, where people need to walk, and where they cross. HSE says routes across open areas and yards should be marked and signed, and crossings kept to a minimum.
Pick your colour code
White or yellow for routes, yellow/black or red/white stripes for hazards, then a short list of zone colours. Write it down and put it on the noticeboard.
Clean and dry the floor
Tape and paint both fail on dust, oil and damp. Sweep, degrease and let the floor dry fully. Cold, damp floors in winter need extra care.
Snap a chalk line
A chalk guide line (£21.77 ex VAT) gives you a dead-straight guide over long runs, so lines look professional.
Apply and press down
Use an applicator for long runs and a pressure roller (£16.46 ex VAT) to bed tape down properly, especially at joins and corners.
Add signs and barriers
Floor signs at junctions and doors, barriers and guard rail where walkways meet traffic, and observation mirrors from £31.54 ex VAT at blind corners.
Maintenance: when to re-mark
Faded lines are worse than useless: they tell people the rules don't matter. HSE's guidance on signs and road markings is blunt: tyres soon scrub markings away, so renew them when they fade, and don't wait for a planned refresh if they're dangerously faded.
- ✓Check lines and signs as part of your regular site walk-round, and after any layout change.
- ✓Patch worn sections straight away: a 33m roll of tape costs less than a coffee round.
- ✓Watch turning points, doorways and loading areas, where wheels wear lines fastest.
- ✓Re-check racking and impact protection at the same time: damaged barriers usually sit next to worn lines.
- ✓Lift old tape fully before re-taping, or new tape won't stick properly.
Why buy floor marking from Store Fittings Direct
- ✓A wide range of floor marking tape, line marking paint, applicators, hazard tape, floor signs and anti-slip products, alongside barriers, bollards and warehouse protection.
- ✓Prices shown both ex VAT and inc VAT, so trade buyers see the real number straight away.
- ✓Free delivery on over 90% of our products.
- ✓Over 30 years' experience supplying retailers, the NHS, councils, warehouses and construction sites.
- ✓ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified, and a SEDEX member.
- ✓Every one of our Google reviews is five stars.
- ✓Not sure what you need? Call our advice line on 0116 318 4182.
Mark out your site properly this winter
Tape from £5.40, paint from £15.77 and floor signs from £19.37 ex VAT, with free delivery on most of the range.
Shop floor markingCall 0116 318 4182Floor marking FAQs
Is floor marking a legal requirement in the UK?
There's no single law that says every floor must be marked, but the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 say traffic routes must be "suitably indicated where necessary for reasons of health or safety", and the Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996 say traffic routes, obstacles and places where people could fall must be permanently marked with a safety colour or signs. In practice, if forklifts, pallet trucks or vans share space with people, you should mark it.
What colour should warehouse floor markings be?
For traffic routes the official guidance prefers continuous white or yellow lines, picked to stand out against your floor. Hazards and obstacles are marked with alternating yellow and black or red and white diagonal stripes. Other colours (blue, green, red, orange) are fine for zones like storage, quarantine or finished goods, but there's no UK law setting what they mean, so write your colour code down and train staff on it.
Is floor marking tape or paint better?
Tape is quicker, cleaner and ready to use straight away, so it suits shops, warehouses and layouts that change. Paint is cheaper per metre for long runs, works outdoors on tarmac and concrete, and is easier to touch up. For heavy forklift traffic use thick, heavy-duty vinyl tape or a proper line marking paint, and re-mark when lines fade.
How much does floor marking tape cost in the UK?
At Store Fittings Direct, PROline vinyl floor tape starts at £5.40 ex VAT for a 50mm x 33m roll (about 16p a metre) and £8.14 ex VAT for 75mm x 33m. Yellow/black or red/white hazard versions cost £6.94 (50mm) and £10.37 (75mm). Heavy-duty 1,000 micron forklift tape starts at £56.74 ex VAT.
How wide should floor marking lines be?
UK law doesn't set a line width. Most sites use 50mm tape or paint for general aisle and walkway lines and 75mm or wider for main vehicle routes and areas that need to be seen from further away. Whatever you choose, keep widths consistent across the site so people learn what the lines mean.
How long does floor marking tape last?
It depends on traffic. Standard vinyl tape is fine for foot traffic and light trolleys; areas with forklift wheels, pallet trucks and floor scrubbers wear tape much faster, which is why heavy-duty 1,000 micron tape exists. HSE's advice is simple: renew markings when they fade, and don't wait for a planned refresh if they've become dangerously faded.
Do I need anti-slip tape on stairs and ramps?
There's no blanket rule that says you must, but slips, trips and falls on the same level caused 30% of employee non-fatal injuries reported to HSE in 2024/25, and stair edges, ramps and wet entrances are classic trouble spots. Anti-slip tape or anti-slip floor paint is a cheap fix: our anti-slip panels start at £12.26 ex VAT for a pack of 10.
Can I use floor marking paint outdoors?
Yes. PROline line marking paint sticks to concrete, asphalt, tarmac, metal and tiles, so it's suitable for yards, car parks and loading areas. HSE notes that outdoor road markings can be made reflective by adding tiny glass beads, and that tyres scrub markings away over time, so plan to re-mark busy outdoor routes.
