VDE is directly involved in the formulation of German national standards and is one of the most experienced certification bodies in Europe, enjoying a high reputation worldwide. It completes a total of 18,000 certification projects each year for nearly 2,200 German companies and 2,700 customers from other countries. To date, 200,000 types of electrical products in nearly 50 countries around the world have obtained the VDE mark.

Introduction to VDE Certification

The VDE Testing and Certification Institute in Offenbach, Germany, is an institute affiliated with the Verband Deutscher Elektrotechniker (VDE for short), founded in 1920. As a neutral and independent institution, the VDE laboratory inspects and certifies electrical products according to German VDE national standards, European EN standards, or IEC international electrotechnical commission standards based on applications. In many countries, the VDE certification mark is even more well - known than the domestic certification mark and is especially recognized and valued by importers and exporters.

In China, the diversification of the export directions of electrical products has led importers from Europe, Australia, Southeast Asia, and other regions to put forward requirements for safety certifications such as GS (Germany), BEAB (UK), IMQ (Italy), and the CE mark. Most complete - machine manufacturers break down these requirements during the certification process and require their suppliers of electrical safety components to ensure obtaining a high - level safety certification mark. This is also an external promoting reason why more and more component manufacturers hope to obtain the VDE mark.

Test Areas Applicable to VDE

· Electro - thermal and electric appliances

· Data processing and medical equipment

· Lamps and electronic products

· Cables and insulating materials

· Installation equipment and control devices

· Electronic components

· EMC testing

VDE Certification Process

1. Submit the official application form and the structure parameter table - which are important documents for applying for VDE.

2. Application confirmation - After receiving the official application form and the structure parameter table, VDE will officially confirm the application in writing within about 2 - 4 weeks and send invoices, factory inspection questionnaires, and other materials.

3. Sample submission - When the VDE application is confirmed, the specific sample submission requirements and the relevant standards based on which the tests are carried out will be informed. After the samples are completed, they must be self - tested according to the standard requirements or sent to the relevant domestic laboratories for pre - testing. Only after passing the pre - testing can the samples be safely and accurately sent to VDE for testing by express delivery.

· Once all the test items are passed, the applicant will be notified immediately.

· The test results may also have defects. For some minor defects, the certification body will communicate with VDE. As long as they are slightly corrected, there is no need to resubmit the samples, and VDE can issue the certificate.

· When major defects occur in the test results, the certification body will discuss the reasons for the failure with the applicant. If necessary, ask VDE to return the failed test samples for reference and analysis. After the samples are modified and improved, the re - inspection procedures shall be handled, and the samples shall be resubmitted until they are qualified. If the samples are resubmitted within six months, the re - testing cost will be much more favorable.

4. Factory inspection - Including the factory review before certification and the regular or irregular supervision and review after certification. Before the factory review, the certification body will appoint experts to assist the manufacturing plant in self - checking the production facilities, experimental equipment, measurement, and the entire quality system against the VDE requirements. If the inspectors put forward rectification requirements during the review, they will assist the manufacturing plant in quickly discussing the rectification measures and promptly implementing them until the re - inspection is qualified.

5. Certification - On the premise that the factory inspection is successfully passed, if the sample test is qualified, VDE will promptly notify the applicant of the results, and the VDE certificate will be issued soon.

Documents Required for VDE Certification

1. Product description

2. Model difference description

3. Circuit diagram

4. German - language instruction manual

5. Parts and materials list

6. CB test report

7. Other required materials

VDE Certification Factory Review

In principle, VDE conducts factory reviews twice a year. The content of the factory review mainly focuses on the consistency between the products and the samples, but it also reviews the quality management documents such as the relevant inspection procedures, records, and measurement.

Items Not in Conformity with VDE Certification

1. Poor cleanliness and hygiene

2. Poor safety conditions

3. Failure to meet environmental protection standards

4. Unsafe chemicals

5. Absence of a safety - responsible person

6. Lack of first - aid training and fire - fighting drills

7. Failure to provide and use PPE

8. Absence of MSDS

9. Overtime work

10. Wages below the minimum wage standard

11. Illegal employment of child labor

12. Illegal use of underage workers

13. Collecting deposits, detaining identity cards, or restricting personal freedom

14. Body searches, corporal punishment, and violation of workers' rights

15. Wage arrears

16. Absence of legal welfare benefits

17. "Three - in - one" factory building, and machine equipment without safety devices

18. Crowded dormitories with poor accommodation conditions.

19. Failure to be inspected and certified by the local health department

20. Inadequate toilet and bathing facilities

21. Limited passageways

22. Lack of gender segregation

23. Insufficient ventilation equipment

24. Unreasonable quantity and distribution of fire extinguishers and fire hydrants

25. Unsafe factors

Details of VDE Certification Application

1. Initial consultation - The applicant provides the company profile and the current situation description of the product to be certified by VDE to our company, such as product model, name, parts list, drawing, working schematic diagram, technical parameter table, user manual, and other materials.

2. Establishment of an agency relationship - The principal (applicant) and the agent sign an agency agreement to further clarify the responsibilities, rights, and obligations of both parties in written contract form to ensure that both parties can closely cooperate during the application process, so that the application work can be smoothly carried out and achieve the expected goal. At the same time, the power of attorney is the legal basis that our company must present to VDE to prove that it is indeed entrusted by the applicant.

3. Official application form and structure parameter table - These are important documents for applying for VDE. The applicant can provide relevant materials and entrust our company to translate and fill them in. After being signed by the applicant, they will be sent back to VDE.

4. Application confirmation - After receiving the official application form and the structure parameter table, VDE will officially confirm the application in writing within about 2 - 4 weeks and send invoices, factory inspection questionnaires, and other materials.

5. Sample submission - When the VDE application is confirmed, the specific sample submission requirements and the relevant standards based on which the tests are carried out will be informed. Our company can assist the VDE applicant in obtaining the relevant standards, clarifying all relevant test items, test methods, and so on. After the samples are completed, they must be self - tested according to the standard requirements or sent to the relevant domestic laboratories for pre - testing. Only after passing the pre - testing can the samples be safely and accurately sent to VDE for testing by express delivery.

· Once all the test items are passed, the applicant will be notified immediately.

· The test results may also have defects. For some minor defects, after communicating with VDE, as long as they are slightly corrected, there is no need to resubmit the samples, and VDE can issue the certificate.

· When major defects occur in the test results, our company will discuss the reasons for the failure with the applicant. If necessary, ask VDE to return the failed test samples for reference and analysis. After the samples are modified and improved, our company will handle the re - inspection procedures and resubmit the samples until they are qualified. If the samples are resubmitted within six months, the re - testing cost will be much more favorable.

6. Factory inspection - Including the factory review before certification and the regular or irregular supervision and review after certification. Before the factory review, Shanghai Dexin will assist the manufacturing plant in self - checking the production facilities, experimental equipment, measurement, and the entire quality system against the VDE requirements. If the inspectors put forward rectification requirements during the review, they will assist the manufacturing plant in quickly discussing the rectification measures and promptly implementing them until the re - inspection is qualified.

7. Certification - On the premise that the factory inspection is successfully passed, if the sample test is qualified, VDE will promptly notify Shanghai Dexin of the results, and the VDE certificate will be issued soon.

The Shortcut for Electrical Components to Obtain the VDE Mark

Generally speaking, there are two ways to carry out the type - approval test for VDE certification: The first way is that the enterprise directly consults VDE and completes the application process, and mails a considerable number of test samples to Germany according to the requirements of VDE test engineers. The tests are carried out item by item according to the German VDE standards, and all the test costs are paid according to the total time spent on the VDE test workload and the work price of German engineers. The second way is that the enterprise first applies for the "CB test" to the domestic CB laboratory that has a good cooperative relationship with VDE, and then converts the CB test report into the type - test report for VDE certification. As we know, the CB test certificate is uniformly formulated by the Certification Body Committee (CCB) of the International Electrotechnical Commission's Electrical Product Safety Certification Organization (IECEE), and is a certificate issued by a certification body recognized by IECEE - CCN in a country (in China, CCEE is the issuing unit of the CB test certificate). Together with the attached test report, it is used to notify the certification bodies of other countries that the samples of a certain electrical product have been tested and passed according to the unified IEC standards. More than 30 countries in the world have joined the CB system, and VDE is also a member laboratory of CB. Therefore, the CB test report issued by us can be basically directly accepted, so the tests of the main items can be completed in China. Only when there are national differences between the German DIN standards and the IEC standards for individual test items, will the VDE engineers notify the agent to send individual samples to supplement the difference test items, and then the test results can be comprehensively confirmed.

By comparing the two methods, it is not difficult to see that for the first way of applying for VDE, because the test is carried out overseas, it is difficult for the enterprise to understand the entire experiment. In addition, the possibility of passing the VDE test at one time is generally small, so it is necessary to communicate back and forth and send samples overseas many times, and the project cycle is difficult to control. In addition, the unit labor cost of VDE German technicians is still much higher than that of domestic technicians, so the total cost may be relatively high. The second way seems to be divided into two stages: domestic testing and overseas supplementation. In fact, it takes advantage of the fact that the local testing stations in China are relatively familiar with the technical conditions of the products, and can communicate and improve in a timely manner when problems are found, as well as the price difference of labor at home and abroad and other favorable conditions. Through the operation of some actual projects, practice has proved that the method of applying for VDE certification using the CB test report can be said to be a shortcut that saves both time and cost.