Technical Standards

Classification of Czech technical standards (ČSN)

Czech technical standards (ČSN) are divided into classes and groups. Each standard is identified by the abbreviation "ČSN" and six digits (Třídicí znak). The first two digits indicate a class, the second two digits identify a group within a class, and the last two digits are serial numbers.

List of classes for ČSN standards (in Czech)

Any European or international standard (EN, ETSI, ISO, IEC, etc.) that is transformed into the Czech standards format becomes a ČSN standard. Such standards comprise approximately 90% of the total annual production of technical standards in the Czech Republic.

European or international standards are transformed into the system of Czech standards (with a prefix and notation completed by the abbreviation "ČSN") in the following ways:

• By translation: About 60% of transformed standards are translations into Czech. They typically include the title page, body text, and any attachments.
• By using the original standard: In such cases, only the title page, description, and any attachments are in Czech. The body text is in its original language (English or French).
• Approval for direct use: The title and number of the standard are in Czech; the text is in English.

Patterns and examples of the designation of Czech standards (in Czech)

ICS (International Classification for Standards): Complete guide for free download. It classifies standards into fields that you can use for searching in most of standards databases.

Standards in the library

• We have over 38,500 print Czech technical standards (ČSN).
• Contains all ČSN standards that have been published since the end of 2003, plus all standards published since 1.1.2004.
• Available at the Central Library of Czech Technical University on the 5th floor.
• Only for in-library use only (cannot be checked out).
• If you do not find a printed CSN standard in the NTL Fund, and you think we should own it, you can suggest a purchase.
• For copyright reasons, printing or reproduction is not possible.

Organization of print standards:

Standards are organised into classes, then into groups, and then sorted within groups by standard numbers.

Other print international standards are not available in our library.

Electronic access to ČSN standards

• We also offer a full-text database for Czech standards, ČSN online (Periodicals Reading Room, 3rd Floor).
• All ČSN standards are available as well as European or international standards that have been included in the Czech standards system.
• You can view standards as a library visitor; library registration is not required.
• For copyright reasons, printing or reproduction (including downloads) of these standards is not possible; please be prepared to take notes while viewing them.

Electronic access to other international standards

Immediate access to full-text of international standards is currently only available via the IEEE Xplore Digital Library database (for registered library patrons only).

Standards in other Czech libraries

The Moravian Land Library in Brno owns a collection of the German DIN standards. This collection is complete for 1993-2000 with only some standards available for 1978-1992.

Searching ČSN standards in the ČSN online database

You can find your standard in many ways. The easiest methods involve using the standard's reference number or selected keywords from a title.

When you use Quick Search (Rychlé hledání), your query will work only using a standard reference number (e.g., ČSN ISO 7220) or only the number without other specific symbols.

For searching by title in English (Název anglicky) or by ICS code (ICS kód), you must use Advanced search (Podrobné vyhledávání v normách).

You didn't find the standard in the ČSN online database?

Tips for searching:

• Make sure that the search box is empty before you enter a query.
• Do not use wildcards or truncation (*, ?,  etc.). When searching by title, you can only use root words (e.g., construct method).
• Standard validity (Platnost normy): Make sure that your choice is valid (Pouze platné) or not valid (Pouze neplatné) when you are looking for a standard that is out-of-date. You can also search across both categories (Platné i neplatné).

Other problems:

• You see a PDF icon and cannot access the standard's full-text, although you know it's valid.
  Please ask a librarian in the Periodicals Reading Room to login to the database again. You may have been logged out.
• I am looking for an international standard the library does not have.
  The Moravian Land Library in Brno owns a collection of the German standards DIN (complete collection,1993-2000; some standards from 1978-1992), but they can only be used there. You can purchase standards through a specialized provider or visit the Information centre of the Czech Office for Standards, Metrology and Testing at: Biskupsky dvur 5, 110 02 Prague 1 and they can assist you.

How to cite standards in ISO 690 format

Please follow this format:

Data about the reference number, title, place, and publisher are obligatory. Notes are optional and can be used to provide information about classification or validity of a standard; e.g.:

ISO 3584:1975. Road vehicles. Mounting of mechanical coupling devices on rear cross members of trucks. Geneva: International Organization for Standardization, 1975-11-01. ICS 43.040.70.

You can generate and manage your citations with the Citace PRO reference manager, available to all registered library patrons. Select the button NTK - Národní technická knihovna to login using your username and password.

Please do not hesitate to contact our Research team for additional help.

The Czech Office for Standards, Metrology and Testing (ÚNMZ)

• Sale of international standards
  ÚNMZ provides authorized copies of standards at catalogue price. Useful for ISO, IEC, DIN, BS, ASTM, and STN standards.
• Sale of Czech standards – print while you wait
  ÚNMZ can copy ČSN standards at your request at the Information Centre, Biskupsky dvur 5, 110 02 Prague 1.

Authorized Czech standards vendors

• NORMSERVIS s.r.o. - Miroslav Sobotka - Specialist on supplying and managing domestic technical standards (ČSN, STN, TŽ, TPG, TDG, TIN, TNI, TD, TNV, PNE, HŽ) and international standards (ASME, ASTM, BS, SAE, UOP, DIN, ETSI, GOST, IEC, ISO, UIC, UNE, GB, Gazprom, VDI, AD 2000, and many others). RSS news service – information about newly published standards, which you can purchase from their eShop. The RSS service is free of charge.
• Normy.biz - Ing. Jiří Hrazdil – Sale of print Czech standards, as well as the international standards DIN, ASTM, and ASME. Print while you wait. Service updates and archives management of technical standards for quality management systems.

Catalogs and databases

• Beuth Verlag GmbH - Beuth provides easy access to more than 350,000 German (DIN and VDI), European, and international standards.
• ČSN online - Czech technical standards database. Available in the Periodicals Reading Room, 3rd Floor. For copyright reasons, printing or reproduction (including downloads) is not possible. Previews of standards are available; be prepared to take notes.
• EviNor (Evidence of technical standards) - Technical standards, service, normalisation, legislation, and software. This system contains bibliographic data about Czech and international standards (ASME, ASTM, BS, SAE, UOP, DIN, ETSI, GOST, IEC, ISO, UIC, PN, STN, UNE, GB, Gazprom, VDI, AD 2000, and many others).
• IEEE Xplore Digital Library - Full-text standards are available to registered library patrons.
• NSSN (A National Resource for Global Standards) - Search tool for standards from all around the world established by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
• Standards Catalogue (ISO) - Contains more than 19,500 standards issued by the ISO (International Organization for Standardization).

Other bibliographic databases of standards

European institutions

• European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) - Responsible for standardization in the electrotechnical engineering field. It deals with the creation of European Standards (EN), European Specifications (ES), Harmonization Documents (HD), European pre-Standards (ENV), Technical Reports (TR), and CECC European Specifications; searching standards.
• European Committee for Standardization (CEN) - Responsible for developing and defining voluntary standards at the European level in many fields. It deals with the creation of European Standards (EN), European pre-Standards (ENV), CEN Reports (CR), and Workshop Agreements (CWA); searching standards.
• European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) - Produces a variety of standards, specifications, and reports: ETSI EN (telecommunication series), ETSI ES (low-level standards), Technical Specifications (ETSI TS), Technical Reports (ETSI TR), Special Reports (ETSI SR), Group Specifications (ETSI GS) in the fields of telecommunications and electronic communications; searching standards.

International organizations

• American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) - A globally recognized leader in the development and delivery of voluntary consensus standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, and services; browsing standards.
• Deutsches Institut für Normung e. V. (DIN) - This German standards organization develops market-oriented standards and specifications that promote global trade and innovation; searching standards; eShop.
• Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) – IEEE publishes a third of the world’s literature in electrical engineering, computer science, and electronics and is a leading developer of international standards in the fields of power engineering, computer science, medicine, telecommunications, transportation, electrotechnics, and electronics; IEEE GET Program; searching standards; eShop; Czech Section of the IEEE.
• International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) - The world’s leading organization that prepares and publishes International Standards for all electrical, electronic, and related technologies; searching standards; eShop.
• International Organization for Standardization (ISO) - Has published more than 19,500 International Standards covering almost every industry, from technology, to food safety, to agriculture and healthcare.; searching and browsing standards (you must register to purchase standards).
• American National Standards Institute (ANSI) – Incorporated by Reference (IBR) Portal – provides a one-stop mechanism for access to standards that have been incorporated by reference in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). These standards incorporated by the U.S. government in rulemakings are offered at no cost in “read only” format and are presented for online reading. There are no print or download options. (po registraci je možný přístup k plným textům vybraných norem).