Overview#
VDE stands for Verband der Elektrotechnik, Elektronik und Informationstechnik, the German association for electrical, electronic and information technology. In compliance work the name turns up in two quite different places: in the numbers on German electrotechnical standards, and as a test mark on products. It also co-runs the DKE.
What the number on a standard means#
German adoptions of electrotechnical standards carry a VDE classification in brackets. For example, the German version of EN IEC 63000 is DIN EN IEC 63000 (VDE 0042-12). The VDE number is just the German filing of the same standard, and the technical content is unchanged from the European and international versions.
You will also see the same document written as DIN VDE, with both prefixes run together. That form says the standard is a German national edition, which is the DIN part, that has been given a place in the VDE classification. It does not mean there are two documents to obtain.
Two things called VDE#
The word turns up on a standard and on a product, and they are not related. Confusing them is the usual reason a supplier sends the wrong evidence.
A German classification of a standard document, written in brackets: DIN EN IEC 63000 (VDE 0042-12). It tells you where the standard sits in the German electrotechnical filing. It says nothing about any product.
Voluntary third-party certification, awarded by VDE's testing and certification institute after the product has been tested against a standard. It is evidence about that product, from an outside body.
Neither is a substitute for CE marking, which the manufacturer declares on its own responsibility. A product can carry both, one, or neither, because the three answer different questions.
Who runs the standards work#
VDE and DIN jointly run the DKE, which is Germany's link into the IEC.