Right to repair: the nine state laws, and what each covers
Which states require parts, tools and manuals, when each law starts, whether it forbids parts pairing — plus the repair-versus-replace arithmetic.
Nine states had enacted consumer-electronics repair laws as of October 2026. Each one turns on three questions — the state, the date the product was first sold, and the product category — and the same model can be covered in one state and not in the next.
| State | When it starts | Parts pairing |
|---|---|---|
| New York | In force for equipment first sold or used on or after July 1, 2023 | None |
| Minnesota | Effective July 1, 2024 | None |
| California | Operative July 1, 2024 | None |
| Oregon | In force; the parts-pairing rule is keyed to equipment first made and sold after January 1, 2025 | Yes, for equipment first made and sold after January 1, 2025 |
| Colorado | Effective January 1, 2026 | Yes, for equipment first made and sold after January 1, 2026 |
| Washington | Obligations begin January 1, 2026 | Yes, for products first made and sold after January 1, 2026 |
| Connecticut | Effective July 1, 2026 | None |
| Texas | Effective September 1, 2026 | None |
| Kansas | Applies from July 1, 2027 | None |
| Any other state | No consumer-electronics repair statute | Not restricted |
Coverage is keyed to the date the product was sold, so a law taking effect in 2026 mostly protects 2026 models — not the phone in your pocket. And these laws are enforced by a state attorney general rather than by an individual consumer\u2019s suit, which is why the pairing column matters as much as the start date: a part you can buy and the software refuses is not a repair.
The second number is not the sticker price of a new device. It is net replacement cost — the price of the equivalent new device minus what the broken one is worth to somebody, as a trade-in credit or a sale for parts.
The line is a rule of thumb, not a rule: the article's words are "well under half" and "over". Three things it cannot see are whether the device is still inside a state parts window, whether a repair today is the last one available, and whether you would be buying a warranty extension you cannot use.
A three-year-old phone, $799 for the current equivalent, $150 trade-in credit on the broken unit, so net replacement is $649. The quote is the only thing that changes between the rows.
| Case | Net replacement | Quote | Share | The line says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The article’s repair case | $649 | $249 | 38% | Repair it |
| The article’s replace case | $649 | $450 | 69% | Replace |
Two rules decide a repair, and they are not the same rule. One decides whether the part exists for you to buy — that is a state question, and the answer changed sharply between 2023 and 2026. The other decides whether repairing costs you the warranty — that is federal, and the answer has not changed since 1975.
Getting the order right matters, because the two answers are independent: a state repair law does not strengthen your warranty, and the warranty law does not get you a part.
The federal half applies everywhere
The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act limits what a warranty may require of you. Section 2302(c) bars a manufacturer from conditioning a written or implied warranty on your using any article or service identified by brand, trade or corporate name, with two narrow exceptions — the item is provided free under the warranty, or the FTC has granted a waiver. Section 2302(e) limits the whole thing to products that cost the consumer more than $5.
The boundary is the part readers trip over: a manufacturer may still deny a specific claim if it shows the third-party part or the independent repair caused that failure. “We will not cover your cracked screen because you used a third-party battery” is not allowed. “We will not cover the screen because the third-party battery you installed leaked into it” is.
What a state law adds, and what decides whether it reaches you
Every law on the list follows one template: a manufacturer that supplies parts, tools and documentation to its authorised network must make the same things available to owners and independent repairers on fair and reasonable terms. Three details separate them, and all three are in the lookup: the date the law starts, the product categories it excludes, and whether it restricts parts pairing.
The date is the one that catches people. Coverage is keyed to when the product was first sold or used, not when you bought it, so a law taking effect in 2026 does not reach a device bought in 2024. Texas draws the line differently again — by wholesale price rather than by date.
What the tool will not tell you
- Whether you have a claim. These laws are enforced by a state attorney general, not by an individual consumer’s suit. Oregon’s penalty of up to $1,000 a day reaches only conduct on or after July 1, 2027, which means the teeth arrive two years after the duty.
- Whether a part you can buy will work. That is the pairing column, and it is the axis that decides whether a repair law has any effect at all.
- What your repair should cost. The arithmetic card compares a quote with net replacement cost; the quote itself comes from a shop, and the parts window is what caps it.
The statutes, the FTC enforcement history, the Deere settlement and the EU’s different approach are in Right to repair explained.
Frequently asked questions
- Which states have a consumer-electronics repair law?
- Nine had enacted one as of October 2026: New York, Minnesota, California, Oregon, Colorado, Washington, Connecticut, Texas and Kansas. Kansas applies from July 1, 2027, so it imposes nothing yet. In every other state there is no statutory duty to sell you a part, a tool or a manual.
- Does a state law apply to the phone I already own?
- Usually not. Almost every law keys coverage to the date the product was first sold or used — Minnesota reaches equipment sold from July 1, 2021, New York only equipment first sold or used from July 1, 2023, and Connecticut only products first manufactured and first sold or used from July 1, 2026. A law that takes effect in 2026 mostly protects the 2026 models.
- What is parts pairing, and does any law stop it?
- It is software that ties a component to one specific device through a serial number or a cryptographic check, so the device refuses an otherwise functional replacement. Oregon, Colorado and Washington restrict it, each with carve-outs — Washington and Colorado permit it for stand-alone biometric components, and Oregon allows reduced battery functionality after a thermal event. In the other states the part is legal to sell and the software may still refuse it.
- Can repairing my device void the warranty?
- No. The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act bars a manufacturer from conditioning a warranty on your using a brand-identified part or service, and it applies in every state whether or not your state has a repair law. A manufacturer may still deny one specific claim if it shows the third-party part or the repair caused that particular failure.
- Is the repair-or-replace line a rule?
- It is a rule of thumb: repair if the quote is well under half of net replacement cost, replace if it is over. Net replacement cost is the price of the equivalent new device minus what the broken one is worth as a trade-in or a sale for parts — not the sticker price. The arithmetic cannot see whether the device is still inside a state parts window or whether a repair today is the last one available.
Sources
- Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, 15 U.S.C. § 2302(c) — no warrantor may condition a written or implied warranty on the consumer's using any article or service identified by brand, trade or corporate name; § 2302(e) — the section applies to consumer products actually costing more than $5
- Federal Trade Commission, 'Nixing the Fix: An FTC Report to Congress on Repair Restrictions' (May 2021), and the July 2021 policy statement committing the Commission to enforcement against unlawful repair restrictions
- Federal Trade Commission, 'FTC Approves Final Orders in Right-to-Repair Cases Against Harley-Davidson, MWE Investments, and Weber' (October 2022) — required warranty language and the civil penalty ceiling as stated at the time
- New York General Business Law § 399-nn, Digital Fair Repair Act — equipment first sold or used in New York on or after July 1, 2023; documentation and tools at no charge
- Minnesota Statutes § 325E.72 — effective July 1, 2024, covering equipment sold on or after July 1, 2021; enforced by the Attorney General
- California Public Resources Code § 42488.2 — operative July 1, 2024; parts, tools and documentation for at least three years at a wholesale price of $50 to $99.99 and at least seven years at $100 or more
- Oregon Senate Bill 1596 (2024) — fair and reasonable terms, the parts-pairing prohibition for equipment first manufactured and first sold or used after January 1, 2025, and the civil penalty available for violations on or after July 1, 2027
- Colorado HB24-1121 — effective January 1, 2026; parts pairing prohibited for equipment first manufactured and sold or used after January 1, 2026
- Washington Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1483, Chapter 353, Laws of 2025 — obligations from January 1, 2026, with the parts-pairing prohibition for products first manufactured and sold or used after that date
- Connecticut General Statutes § 42-110x (2026 Supplement) — effective July 1, 2026; parts floor of three or five years on the same price split as California
- Texas House Bill 2963, 89th Legislature (2025), Chapter 121, Business & Commerce Code — effective September 1, 2026; equipment with a wholesale price of at least $50
- Kansas HB 2700 — approved April 9, 2026; applies to equipment made available for sale on or after July 1, 2027