A flag goes up on the marshal post. Get the colour right, get the movement right, check whether it's aimed at you specifically, then follow what a marshal or responsible official adds, where the applicable rule makes their direction controlling. That's the whole job — worth doing calmly, using the current rule rather than memory of something someone told you once.
This is a pre-event reference for a 2026 Motorsport UK-permitted kart event, built from the National Competition Rules Edition 4. It isn't a universal flag code, and it doesn't stand in for what a marshal or official tells you live at the circuit. Where a rule leaves a detail to the event, this guide says so and points you to where to check it.
Flag reference
2026 Motorsport UK National Competition Rules, Edition 4 — general kart racing.
Parc Fermé is the controlled area karts may be sent to after a session, or for examination by officials. You'll see it come up several times below.
Start and session control
| Signal | Verified meaning | Immediate response | Scope note |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Flag | Red starting lights are mandatory; the National Flag should be used as the fallback starting signal only if those lights fail. | For a rolling start, go when the flag is raised; for a standing start, go when it's dropped. | Red lights are the primary starting signal; this flag is the specified fallback. |
| False start (green with yellow chevron) | Indicates that the start has been declared invalid. | Follow marshal and official instructions for what happens next. | The restart procedure itself sits outside this reference — ask the responsible official. |
| Green | May indicate a formation lap, or may indicate the end of a yellow-signal zone. | No specific response is prescribed by this provision — treat it as information about what's happening on track. | These are the two uses covered by this reference, not necessarily the flag's only possible uses. |
| Red | Signals that racing stops immediately when an incident requires marshals to enter the track. | Follow marshal directions: no overtaking, stay prepared to stop, and return cautiously to the grid or into Parc Fermé only as directed by the Clerk of the Course or Race Director. | You don't choose the destination yourself. |
| Chequered | Ends a competitive or other session, unless a red signal has been deployed. | After the end-of-race signal specifically, proceed directly to Parc Fermé — no stopping, exchanging objects, or receiving assistance, except necessary marshal assistance. | The Parc Fermé restrictions attach to the end-of-race procedure; a session ended some other way may work differently. |
Danger and surface condition
| Signal | Verified meaning | Immediate response | Scope note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stationary yellow | Warns of an incident or hazard after the marshal post. | Slow sufficiently to retain full control. No overtaking. | Doesn't specify a speed or braking point — that judgement is yours to make. |
| Waved yellow | Greater danger than a stationary yellow. | Slow considerably, and be ready to leave your projected racing line, take evasive action, or stop if necessary. No overtaking. | The added readiness is the point of the distinction from stationary yellow. |
| Yellow with red stripes | May indicate a slippery surface. | When waved, the condition is imminent. No specific manoeuvre is prescribed. | The rule flags that the condition may exist; it doesn't say what to do about it. |
Driver-specific signals
| Signal | Verified meaning | Immediate response | Scope note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue | Static: may mean a kart is following closely. Waved: may mean that kart is trying to overtake. | Information only — the rule doesn't attach an instruction to it. | Not a general track signal; it's about your position relative to one other kart. |
| Diagonal black-and-white | A possible warning about driving standards, directed at an identified driver, that may lead to penalties or a black signal. | Note it. It doesn't itself require you to stop. | Directed at one driver, not the field. |
| Black | May concern driving standards or a technical irregularity, directed at an identified kart. | Stop in the pits or Parc Fermé at the end of the displayed lap, and immediately report to the Clerk of the Course. | Only the identified kart number is required to act. |
| Black with orange disc | Concerns the identified kart specifically, and may indicate mechanical failure. | Go immediately to the pits or Parc Fermé for examination by a scrutineer. | Applies to the kart number shown, not the field generally. |
Yellow changes with motion
The two yellow flags are easy to blend together, and it's worth fixing the difference before you're on track. Picture a kart sitting off-line, danger limited. A stationary yellow there means slowing sufficiently to retain full control, with no overtaking — nothing more specific than that is prescribed. Now picture the danger as greater. A waved yellow calls for slowing considerably, and holding in mind that you may need to leave your projected racing line, take evasive action, or stop if necessary. The rule doesn't say what makes officials choose one flag over the other — just what each one asks of you once it's out.
Direction changes the response
Two of these deserve a closer look, because it's easy to fill the gaps with something half-remembered from another series.
Under a red flag, racing stops immediately when an incident requires marshals to enter the track. From there, they're in charge of what happens next. You follow marshal directions: no overtaking, stay prepared to stop, and return cautiously to the grid or into Parc Fermé only as directed by the Clerk of the Course or Race Director.
Blue works differently. A static blue may tell you a kart is following closely; a waved blue may tell you that kart is trying to overtake. That's the extent of it — the rule doesn't say what you should do in response, so this reference won't invent an instruction telling you to change position or make room for anyone.
The black-family flags reward the same habit: check the kart number before you act. A diagonal black-and-white is a possible warning about driving standards aimed at one identified driver. It may lead to penalties or a black flag, but it doesn't itself require you to stop. A plain black signal may concern driving standards or a technical irregularity; if it's your kart number, you stop in the pits or Parc Fermé at the end of the displayed lap and immediately report to the Clerk of the Course. Add an orange disc to that same black flag, still with your kart number showing, and the meaning narrows further: it may point to mechanical failure, and the response is to go immediately to the pits or Parc Fermé for examination by a scrutineer. Either way, it's the kart number shown that has to act — if it isn't yours, it isn't your move.
The finish has a route
The chequered signal ends a competitive or other session, unless a red signal has already been deployed — that exception is part of the rule, not a footnote. After the end-of-race signal specifically, every kart proceeds directly to Parc Fermé. No stopping on the way, no exchanging objects, no assistance from anyone outside necessary marshal assistance. It's a simple sequence, but it only works if you already know it's coming: see the flag, keep moving, go straight there.
Which instruction controls
Everything above comes from one document. How a particular event runs the details — where marshal posts sit, how a kart number gets matched to a driver-specific flag, what a false-start restart looks like there — may be spelled out in that event's own paperwork. Where it isn't, the responsible event official is who to ask.
The Regulations of the Event are made up of the current NCR, the applicable championship or series regulations, the event's supplementary regulations, and any later written Official Instructions. Supplementary regulations add information needed for that event to run properly. Written Official Instructions can alter or add to the earlier documents, but only through the permitted route — they can't simply contradict a superior regulation. That's a hierarchy to work through — the newest document doesn't automatically override the others.
A short check before you go on track:
- Confirm you're working from the current NCR edition.
- Check the championship or series regulations that apply to your class.
- Read the event's supplementary regulations.
- Check for any later written Official Instructions issued for that event.
- If anything is still unclear after that, ask the responsible event official before you go out.
If you're a parent confirming a young driver is ready, three questions to put to the organiser or the responsible official cover the ground:
- Which briefing and written event documents does my driver need to read?
- How does this event pair a driver-specific flag, like the orange disc, with a kart number?
- If something in the procedure still isn't clear, who should my driver ask before going on track?
A coach or team can help a driver prepare, but they're not the authority on what the rules say. That's Motorsport UK's governing documents, and the officials running the event.
Where to go next
This reference sits within the karting safety and rules hub, alongside guides on finding the governing bodies and rulebooks that apply to a given event and building a race-weekend plan from the official documents themselves. Beyond that, the karting section covers driving, setup, and getting started for the wider sport.
Your next step: before driving, open the applicable event documents and identify the written briefing or responsible event official who will settle any procedure this general reference doesn't answer.