Glossary DATANORM
DATANORM is the format manufacturers, technical wholesalers and tradespeople in Germany use to exchange article master data and prices, mainly in construction and building services. A DATANORM file is a text file with fixed record types for articles, prices, texts and discount groups. According to the coordinator's site, it is a data exchange format, not software.
DATANORM is the German file format for sending article data and prices from manufacturers and wholesalers to the trades. Versions and successor.
According to datanorm.de, the German plumbing and sanitary sector was the first to need a shared format because of the number of articles it handles. In 1986 manufacturers, wholesalers and software houses agreed on the first DATANORM format, under the patronage of the industry association VSI. A working group defined it and dissolved in 2008, although German Wikipedia still names it as the publisher. A coordinator has looked after it since.
Version 3 came out in 1990, version 4 in 1994 and version 5.0 in May 1999, the last one. In 2023 the German trade associations ZVSHK, DGH and BVBS launched Open Masterdata as its successor. In October 2026 GitHub blocked an open-source DATANORM library after a takedown notice from someone claiming copyright in the version 4 and 5 specifications. This entry therefore names the record types only.
The supplier produces several files: an article file with article number, short text, price, discount group and EAN, now GTIN, a price-only file (DATPREIS) and files for product groups (.WRG) and discount groups (.RAB). The tradesperson's software imports them for quoting. Record types are marked with letters such as A, B, C, D, P and T. Version 5 adds record G with up to 99 links to images or CAD drawings. The character set is code page 850.
| Version | Year | What it added | Use today, per datanorm.de |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 1990 | articles, discount groups, prices, simple parts lists | older software only |
| 4 | 1994 | semicolon separators, currency, tiered prices, labour times | still the most common |
| 5 | 1999 | header and end records, image links, hazardous goods, DIN 4000 features | when images must be sent |
Source: datanorm.de, version pages and FAQ (Internet Archive, 2025 and 2026).
Siemens offers a version 4 DATANORM file for its building technology range, "gültig ab 01.11.2026" (valid from 1 November 2026). ABB publishes DATANORM with order number, EAN and list price, and a separate BMEcat file with ETIM classification for technical data.
For the tradesperson, articles, prices and discounts arrive without retyping. On the downside, the data sits locally and is only as current as the last file, and the specification is not free: it is sold as a German book or an English developer guide.
| Format | Used for | Difference from DATANORM |
|---|---|---|
| BMEcat | electronic product catalogues for procurement and industry | XML instead of a text file with record types |
| Open Masterdata | master data for tradespeople's software | real-time web service instead of a file |
| UGL | according to STREIT Software, quotes, orders and invoices with the wholesaler | transaction data, not master data |
Source: ZVSHK, press release 14/2023; STREIT Software, UGL (accessed 09.11.2026).
ETIM and ECLASS are classifications. DATANORM 5 can carry features under DIN 4000, and the version pages on datanorm.de do not mention ETIM.
To view and check files, datanorm.de points to its validator paula. To create files from Excel or CSV it mentions DATANORM-writer.
According to datanorm.de, development ended with version 5. The ZVSHK announced in 2023 that Open Masterdata will replace DATANORM "in the medium term" ("mittelfristig"). In the meantime Siemens keeps publishing DATANORM files.
This entry was written in November 2026 with AI assistance, for manufacturers outside Germany who sell to the German technical trade. The facts come from the DATANORM coordinator's pages as saved in the Internet Archive, a ZVSHK press release and manufacturers' pages. It was reviewed before publication and contains no client data.
A technical audit covers this and everything else in one pass.
Request an auditA text file containing a manufacturer's or wholesaler's articles, prices and discount groups. Software used by German tradespeople imports it.
It depends on the software that reads it. According to datanorm.de, version 4 is still the most common, and version 5 is needed for image links.
With a program that understands DATANORM, such as trade software or the viewer paula. According to datanorm.de it is not plain text meant for editing.
Yes, with a program that reads DATANORM and exports it as a table. For the other direction, from Excel or CSV to DATANORM, datanorm.de names the DATANORM-writer. Check the result with a validation tool afterwards.
Open Masterdata, launched in 2023 by ZVSHK, DGH and BVBS. The software queries the data through a web service instead of reading files. No date has been set for the switch.