Current Edition Checked October 24, 2026
It replaced the 2016 edition; German OEMs and many of their tiers require it for supplier process audits.
What It Covers
A question-based audit of the processes that develop and produce a product, scored to show how well each process element performs, rather than whether a system exists.
Who It Applies To
Suppliers to German OEMs and their tiers, and organizations that use it to audit their own suppliers.
Key Requirements
- Process elements P1 to P7, from potential analysis and project management through supplier management and production to customer care.
- Each question scored 0, 4, 6, 8 or 10, with an overall result and grade (A, B, or C).
- Downgrading rules, so a single poor question can lower the grade regardless of the total.
- Qualified VDA 6.3 process auditors, with the audit tied to a specific product and process.
What an Auditor Asks to See
- The last internal VDA 6.3 audit, its scores, and the action plan.
- Evidence for the questions marked with an asterisk, which can trigger downgrading.
Where Systems Fall Short
- Audits scored generously by the team that runs the process.
- Action plans that answer the score rather than the cause.
How QES Helps
Pre-audits scored the way a German OEM auditor would score them, with action plans that close the cause.
Related Standards
Sources. VDA QMC — Quality Management Center publications (opens in a new tab); DQS — Changes to VDA 6.3:2023 (opens in a new tab). Status checked October 24, 2026. This page summarizes VDA 6.3; it does not reproduce or replace it. Buy the standard from its publisher, or read the regulation in its official text, before relying on a detail. Not legal advice.