6 McDonald's Rules Every Diner Should Know

McDonald's is making some big changes in 2026, and in light of its mission to push innovation and efficiency to improve the customer experience, it also has some rules in place that customers should know about. Despite its laid-back fast-food design, some of these rules are strictly enforced and worth knowing so you're not caught off guard if you plan to stop by the Golden Arches. You might be surprised to learn about McDonald's unique tipping policy or the drive-thru timing limits.

Learning about some of these policies will help you get the most from your McDonald's experience, and it will also help the employees working behind the scenes serve up your mouth-watering order without a hitch. We've broken down the most important rules every McDonald's customer should know, covering everything from one-sauce policies to drive-thru etiquette, so your next trip goes smoothly, and McDonald's can continue to run like the well-oiled machine it is.

While tipping is most often seen as a kind and welcome gesture of appreciation, McDonald's has a strict "no tipping" policy. This might come as a relief to some customers in the age of tipping fatigue. Employees are not allowed to accept tips from customers, and McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski feels so strongly about this policy that he actually elected to terminate the company's relationship with the National Restaurant Association (NRA) as a result.

Kempczinski strongly opposes tipped wages, telling CNBC (via Restaurant Dive), "If you are a restaurant that allows tips or has tips as part of your equation, you're essentially getting the customer to pay for your labor." Additionally, the company explains that individually rewarding employees takes away from the team environment it seeks to bolster. Instead, if customers are interested in tipping, the company recommends making a donation to Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC), which provides support for families with sick children.

In 2025, McDonald's implemented a new policy that had customers fuming. One thing you don't want to mess with is customers' love for sauces. The company's new sauce policy states that a four or six-piece McNugget meal only comes with one sauce, which customers insist is simply not enough, especially with so many high-ranking dipping sauces to choose from. A 10-piece McNugget meal comes with two sauces, and a 20-piece meal comes with three; any additional sauces must be purchased in addition to the meal.

Frustrated customers online claim this is nowhere near enough sauce, especially if you want to mix and match your favorite flavors. Customers on Reddit accuse the move of being a total cash grab on McDonald's part to make up for people spending less on fast food in general. However, other customers online seem to think the sauce policy is not standardized at the corporate level because some McDonald's locations charge for dipping sauce while others let it slide.

The penny shortage created some urgency around transitioning away from cash payments and focusing on card and mobile payments. The company's strategy in 2026 is to streamline and develop technology strategies to improve the customer experience and get more people in and out as fast as possible. With the U.S. Treasury halting penny production, the McDonald's corporation implemented a new policy that can alter the final cost of meals for some customers who pay in cash.

In late 2025, McDonald's launched a rounding system for cash-paying customers without exact change, all to avoid using pennies. Essentially, your final price may be rounded slightly up or down to the nearest 5 cents. For instance, if the cost ends in 1 or 2 cents, it will be rounded down to 0; if it ends in 3 or 4 cents, it will be rounded up to 5 cents.

McDonald's stopped the all-day breakfast in 2020 after pressure from the COVID pandemic hit the company. Today, it keeps some strict rules around breakfast and lunch hours that do not waver (despite almost constant complaints from customers). If you've ever tried to order a burger and fries at 9:00 a.m. from the Golden Arches, chances are you've left sorely disappointed. The restaurant serves breakfast from opening until around 10:30 or 11:00 a.m., depending on the location, and then serves lunch after that.

When asked what McDonald's employees would love for customers to know, one employee explained on Reddit that a customer habit they can't stand is when they request breakfast items like hash browns after breakfast hours. It's simply not possible, no matter how many times you ask. The reason you can't order a Big Mac during breakfast hours is that there is a limited number of grills, and something like a burger requires higher cooking temperatures than scrambled eggs, so they cannot be cooked on the same machine at the same time. So, if you're really craving that burger, you'll have to wait patiently until the breakfast menu switches over, and check out this genius tip for getting a fresh burger every time.

McDonald's is all about efficiency, with a goal of getting satisfied customers in and out of the store quickly. One of the things that current and former employees wish customers understood is how to maneuver through the drive-thru lanes and windows without holding up the line behind them. According to some employees online, they are timed on how quickly they can get customers through the drive-thru and are evaluated based on their performance. One employee in Australia even claimed that employees will be reprimanded for missing performance targets, like getting customers through the drive-thru rapidly.

In some restaurants, McDonald's even performed a test where if customers were not out of the drive-thru within two minutes, they received a free iced coffee. In order to help employees and customers out, there are a few simple rules you should follow. If you're using the app, load the code before entering the drive-thru, so you're not waiting for it to load. If you have multiple passengers, allow the driver to order for everyone so the employee on the other end can hear you clearly.

One tried-and-true rule of McDonald's is that if you're looking for the fastest way to order, it's going to be by using the mobile app. The store has integrated several new solutions to ensure that ordering ahead of time with the app will save you time and get you your order as fast as possible. For example, if you order ahead on your phone, employees can start prepping your food so that it is ready upon arrival.

Mobile orders can be picked up at the counter, in the drive-thru, or in the parking lot with curbside pickup. As the company continues to innovate and improve efficiency with its mobile processes, the app is quickly becoming the most common way to place food orders. It already has one of the biggest loyalty programs in the world, and plans to continue this growth to include 250 million active 90-day users by 2027.