A method for manufacturing a mold for a retroreflective element, the mold having plural polygonal faces having a common vertex, the method including the steps of: roughing of a polygonal face in which cutting is carried out such that a predetermined cutting amount in a finishing process is left with respect to a desired shape; and finishing of the polygonal face in which a blade portion is made to move relatively towards the vertex while an angle of relief of the blade portion is kept within 1 degree so as to carry out cutting of the predetermined cutting amount, wherein a depth of cut for each one-time cutting operation is 2 micrometers or smaller, and the movement of the blade portion is a combination of a motion towards the vertex and an oscillation.