A VDI Standard is a future-oriented, practical working document. With its assessment and evaluation criteria, it provides well-founded decision-making aids and forms a benchmark for flawless technical procedures. VDI Standards provide experts with the certainty that they are guided by a recognized rule of technology and act accordingly. In principle, VDI Standards have the character of recommendations. Initially, anyone is free to apply them, i.e. they can be used, but do not have to be. The application of a VDI Standard does not release the user from the responsibility for his own actions and is therefore at his own risk. Experience has shown that in a legal dispute, a court will base its decision on the state of the art, i.e. as a rule on the standards and guidelines available for this purpose.

If a VDI Standard is withdrawn, it no longer meets the recognized state of the art at the time of withdrawal. In many cases, not all parts of the text, especially the general content, are necessarily incorrect or outdated. Replacement and/or follow-up documents are referred to on the VDI website.
Withdrawn VDI Standards, which for example form the basis of a private law contract, remain valid for this particular contract. This also applies to contracts concluded after the withdrawal. 
Withdrawn VDI Standards are also available from DIN Media. For withdrawn VDI Standards, the citation rules for e.g. bachelor and master theses, dissertations, lecture notes or textbooks continue to apply.

Before a VDI Standard is published, a draft or amended VDI standard is published. Within a time-limited objection period, anyone can submit criticism and suggestions for changes during the objection procedure, for example using an objection form.

Objections must be submitted in formal written form to the responsible VDI Technical Society, preferably by e-mail in the form of the table template provided by the VDI on its Internet pages.
The responsible VDI Standards Committee examines all comments within approximately three months after the objection period has expired. The principles of section 3 of VDI 1000 (VDI Standardization work; principles and procedures) apply here.
A decision on the consideration of objections is made according to the principles explained in section 4.5 of VDI 1000. Each objector will be informed in writing of the result of the examination of his/her objection.

If a VDI stadard is revised, in exceptional cases a draft VDI standard amendment can be published instead of a new VDI standard draft, which contains only the amendments to the VDI standard concerned. This procedure is only permissible if only minor changes are made to the VDI standard. These are, for example, changes of a predominantly editorial nature and adaptations to ordinances, laws or similar.

The creation of VDI standards is financed by the Association of German Engineers. Therefore, VDI standards are generally not provided free of charge, but are offered for sale through our sales partner, the DIN Media in Berlin. This is the only way to continue and finance the VDI standardization work. VDI standards can be viewed free of charge at public display points.

The preparation of VDI standards is financed by the Association of German Engineers. For this reason, VDI standards are not provided free of charge, but are offered for sale through our sales partner, DIN Media in Berlin. This is the only way to continue and finance the VDI standardization work. VDI members receive a 10% discount on the purchase of VDI guidelines. VDI standards can be viewed free of charge at public display points.

VDI standards are distributed by our partner, DIN Media in Berlin. The easiest and fastest way is to download the documents from the Beuth Verlag webshop. (www.dinmedia.de/en)

The copyright for VDI standards is held exclusively by the Association of German Engineers (Verein Deutscher Ingenieure e. V.). In addition to the direct purchase of VDI standards, there is the possibility of licensing for certain purposes. These include copying on special VDI copy paper, translations, publications in extracts, creation of software based on VDI standards, feeding into internal company networks, etc. Please note the respective license conditions.

• VDI standards copying paper
• printing/copying of VDI standards for literary, advertising or teaching purposes
• translation of VDI standards into foreign languages
• reproduction of VDI standards in electronic form for literary, promotional or teaching purposes
• use of VDI standards in software programs
• VDI standards in internal company networks (see next question)

Questions about the license terms should be directed to rili@vdi.de.

A network license offers you the following advantages:

• The time-consuming borrowing of VDI standards from the standards body or requesting a licensed copy is no longer necessary. You have access to the desired documents at any time.
• Every employee can research and call up any required VDI standard on your intranet from his or her own PC, for example with the help of your document management system.
• An unlimited number of employees can simultaneously access the same VDI standard. So you only need to order a VDI standard once.

Annual royalties (as at 2021)

(Prices plus 7 % value added tax)

If you have further questions regarding the network license, please contact DIN Media: 

DIN Media
Am DIN-Platz 
Burggrafenstraße 6 
10787 Berlin 
 
Tel.: +49 30 2601-2221
Fax: +49 30 2601-1259 
 
E-Mail:    normenticker@dinmedia.de 
Internet: www.dinmedia.de