DIN, the German Institute for Standardization, is a private organization registered as a non-profit association. Its members come from industry, associations, public authorities, commerce, the trades and research organizations.

By agreement with the German Federal Government, DIN is the acknowledged national standards body that represents German interests in European and international standards organizations. The permanent staff at DIN coordinates the entire standardization process at national level and are responsible for organizing German participation in standards work at European and international level.

Through its standards and handbooks, DIN facilitates the international exchange of goods and services and encourages cooperation in the realms of intellectual, scientific, technological, and economic activity. More than 12,000 standards address a wide range of topics.

Tasks and objectives of DIN:

• Ensuring the participation of all stakeholders regardless of their economic position and language skills
• Promoting the free movement of goods through active involvement in international and European standardization
• Holding the secretariats of European and international committees
• Adopting European and international standards at national level
• Maintaining the uniformity and consistency of the standards collection
• Actively contributing to consensus building
• Continuously optimizing its state-of-the-art electronic infrastructure for standards development, in order to make standards work easier for its experts
• Avoiding duplication of work.