California speed limits by road type.

The limits in one table

The California DMV Driver Handbook, the manual it publishes for the written test, sets out the limits that apply when no other speed is posted. These are the figures as read on November 2, 2026:

The Basic Speed Law comes first

The handbook states that in California you may never drive faster than is safe for current road conditions, and calls this the Basic Speed Law. Whatever the sign says, your speed should depend on the number and speed of other vehicles, the road surface (smooth, rough, graveled, wet, dry, wide or narrow), bicyclists and pedestrians, weather such as rain, fog, snow, wind or dust, and traffic congestion. The handbook gives two concrete examples: reduce your speed by 5 to 10 mph on a wet road, and if you cannot see farther than 100 feet it is not safe to drive faster than 30 mph.

Posted signs and "unless otherwise posted"

Every default above is qualified by the handbook’s words “unless otherwise posted” or a similar phrase. A posted limit sign controls on the road in front of you. The handbook also warns that driving faster or slower than the speed limit can get you cited, and that you must not block normal and reasonable traffic flow by driving too slowly. If another driver is close behind and wants to go faster, it says to move to the right, and a slower driver should use the right lane.

Towing and trucks

The 55 mph figure applies to vehicles towing trailers. The handbook also says you must drive in the far-right lane or a lane marked for slower vehicles when you tow a vehicle or trailer or drive a truck with three or more axles. If no lanes are marked and there are four or more lanes in your direction, you may use only the two lanes closest to the right edge.

School zones, alleys and crossings in practice

The 25 mph school figure applies only while children are outside or crossing, within 500 feet of a school, so the same street can have a different limit at 3 p.m. than at 9 p.m. The alley limit uses the handbook’s definition: any road no wider than 25 feet used to reach the rear or side of buildings or property. The railroad rule is narrow: 15 mph applies only where the tracks cannot be seen for 400 feet in both directions within 100 feet of the crossing, and the handbook says you may go faster if gates, a warning signal or a flagman control the crossing.

A worked example (hypothetical)

A driver towing a boat on a two-lane undivided state highway with no posted limit sign is held to 55 mph by the towing figure, not 65. If a school sits 300 feet from the road and children are crossing, the limit drops to 25 mph for that stretch, and the Basic Speed Law means 55 mph would still be too fast on a fog-bound road with 100 feet of visibility, where the handbook says 30 mph is the most that is safe. No real person is described.

What this page does not cover

This page reports the defaults the DMV Driver Handbook teaches. It is not the Vehicle Code, it does not list fines, points, speed-trap or camera rules, freeway segments posted above or below the defaults, or work-zone and emergency-vehicle rules, and it does not tell you the posted limit on any particular road. Check the sign, and read the California Vehicle Code or a lawyer if you are contesting a citation.

Sources

Read November 2, 2026. Figures are copied from the pages below on that date; agencies change them, so confirm on the official page before you pay or file.

• California DMV, Driver Handbook, Section 7 (continued): the 25 mph business, residential and school figures, the 15 mph alley, blind-intersection and railroad rules, the 10 mph bus rule, the NEV limits and the lane rules for towing.
• California DMV, Driver Handbook, Section 8 (continued): the Basic Speed Law, the 65 mph and 55 mph defaults.
• California DMV, Driver Handbook, Section 8: the wet-road and 100-foot visibility examples.