Withdrawal announced: VDI 4500 Sheet 6 on technical documentation

In June 2025, it was officially announced that Part 6 of VDI Guideline 4500 ("Technical Documentation – Documentation Process – Publishing") would be withdrawn. The guideline is considered technically obsolete and no longer meets the current requirements for modern documentation processes.

However, the withdrawal is not immediate: objections or appeals can still be submitted to the VDI until July 31, 2025. This means that technical communication experts still have the opportunity to get involved in the decision-making process.

VDI 4500 is a central series of guidelines in the field of technical documentation and deals with the structure, creation and provision of technical information, among other things. The planned withdrawal of Sheet 6 illustrates how dynamically the requirements for publication processes are developing - not least due to digitalization, modular content and new output channels.

Anyone working in the field of technical documentation should take the opportunity to find out about the planned changes and comment on them if necessary.