A method is disclosed for checking the absence of voltage on a power electronic component connected to a high-voltage battery and to an electrical machine in a high-voltage network of a motor vehicle, which component has a higher voltage than a low-voltage network of the motor vehicle. The power electronic component includes an intermediate circuit capacitor, a passive discharge resistor, a plug-in terminal for at least one high-voltage load and a fuse which is connected upstream of the plug-in terminal. Following disconnection of the high-voltage battery from the high-voltage network and when the connector of the cable plugged into the plug-in terminal is withdrawn from the plug-in terminal or a target terminal, a feed voltage is applied via the high-voltage contacts of the plug connection and the voltage curve and/or, after a defined charging time interval of the intermediate circuit capacitor, the resistance is measured by means of a measuring instrument, wherein an absence of voltage is determined in the event of a voltage curve lying in an intended range or a resistance lying in an intended range.