Barricade tape is made with durable, resilient, tear-proof plastic materials such as polyethylene, polypropylene, or nylon. It is at least 2 mm thick and 3 inches wide.However, different manufacturers offer different sizes and thicknesses of barricade tape. Other common sizes of barricade tape are 2, 4 or 6 inches wide and 4 or 10 mm thick.

Barricade tape often has a bright background and pre-printed bold warning text. It is also possible to purchase plain barricade tape and write a custom message on it. However, care should be taken when using custom tape, as all barricade tape designs are required to comply with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) regulations (when used for purposes subject to regulation by these organizations).