Volume 01 - Doc.Info and Retention_2026

In the first edition of Volume 1 of the VDA publication series, “Parts requiring Documentation at Automobile Manufacturers and their Suppliers” from 1973, the existing duty to retain documents, which was assigned the reference term “Mandatory Documentation,” including the designation “D” for mandatory documentation, was its defining component.

The second edition of Volume 1, “Verification” (1998), primarily covered the actual reason for retaining documents: verification, including the designation “A” (mandatory documentation with special archiving).

The third edition of volume 1 of the VDA publication series, “Documentation and Archiving” (2008), focused on the duty to document and appropriately archive critical features. The aim of this edition was to limit the scope of archiving to what was necessary to comply with legal requirements, thus simplifying the application of the guidelines.

The fourth edition of Volume 1 of the VDA publication series, “Documented Information and Retention” from 2018, built on the previous content by comprehensively covering the information and documentation in the product lifecycle. Against a backdrop of increasing product complexity and growing documentation requirements, this edition focuses on handling the documented information appropriately. The scope of archiving continues to be limited to what is necessary to meet legal requirements. The applicable VDA volume of “Product Development: Process description covering special characteristics (SC)” is referenced with regard to the handling of special characteristics.

In this fifth revised edition, the content has been adapted to the current legal framework. In particular, requirements in the areas of data protection and product liability and software-related aspects were reviewed and taken into account appropriately. The aim of the revision was to keep the volume up to date without fundamentally changing the approach of the existing content.