Wear protective gloves sign (M009)
A blue circle with a white glove means protective gloves must be worn where the sign is posted. It is sign M009 in ISO 7010.
How to read it
The blue circle is ISO 3864-1’s mandatory action sign, indicating “a specific course of action is to be taken”, and ISO 7010 registers the glove as M009, “Wear protective gloves”. Great Britain’s Safety Signs and Signals Regulations 1996 call it “Safety gloves must be worn”.
Also searched as: gloves symbol, lab gloves symbol, M009, protective gloves symbol, safety gloves must be worn, safety gloves sign.
These explain what each sign means and which standard sets it. What to do in a laboratory is set by the lab’s own rules, signs and trained staff; for a chemical, refer to its label and safety data sheet.
Gloves on a lab door sign
The University of Houston’s lab door signs use a glove pictogram where gloves are required for entry, which its safety office says applies when handling hazardous substances may be incidentally required to enter, move through or leave the lab, and at all times when handling hazardous substances. The same office notes that gloves come in different lengths, thicknesses and materials, and that one lab commonly calls for two or more types depending on the work.
Look-alikes
ISO 7010 also has P028, “Do not wear gloves”: a glove in a red ring with a diagonal bar. The colour and the bar are what separate the two. A hand on its own in a red ring is P010, “Do not touch”.
Read next
- Next in Lab safety symbolsWear protective clothing sign (M010)A blue circle with a white figure in a long coat means protective clothing must be worn where the sign is posted. It is sign M010 in ISO 7010.
- The same shape in African flagsFlag of EthiopiaEthiopia’s flag is green, yellow and red in equal horizontal stripes with a blue disc in the centre holding a yellow star of equal lines with yellow rays. Ethiopia’s Flag Proclamation makes the green labour, fertility and development, the yellow hope, justice and equality, and the red sacrifice and heroism for freedom and equality; the blue disc is peace and the star the unity of Ethiopia’s nations, nationalities and peoples.
More lab safety symbols
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with circles or lines.
Sources
- ISO 3864-1:2011, Graphical symbols — Safety colours and safety signs — Part 1: Design principles for safety signs and safety markings (preview), ISO 3864-1:2011, International Organization for Standardization, preview via iTeh Standards, 3.5, Table 1, 6.3
- ISO 7010:2011, Graphical symbols — Safety colours and safety signs — Registered safety signs (preview), ISO 7010:2011, International Organization for Standardization, preview via iTeh Standards, Table 1
- The Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996, Schedule 1, SI 1996/341, legislation.gov.uk (UK Government), Part II, 3.3
- Laboratory Doorsigns, University of Houston Environmental Health and Safety, Personal Protective Equipment
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 9, 2026. How we research
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