Right to Repair Laws

State by state

Three state repair laws are verified here, and two are not

Right to repair stopped being a campaign and became statutory text. Three of those texts were read in full for this page, and they do not do the same thing. California sets a duration. Minnesota sets a deadline. Oregon sets a price. If you only remember one thing, remember that the coverage is patchy by design, and the carve-outs are where the arguments happen.

Underneath all three sits a federal rule that has been in place since 1975. The anti-tying provision, Section 102(c) of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, prohibits a warrantor of a consumer product from conditioning its warranty on the consumer's using any article or service identified by brand name, unless the article or service is provided for free or the warrantor obtains a waiver from the Commission⁵. In May 2021 the FTC reported to Congress that there is scant evidence to support manufacturers' justifications for repair restrictions⁶⁵.

One thing this page will not do is describe a law it did not read. New York is named in almost every article on this subject. Both the New York statute page and the bill page returned an HTTP 403 during research, so no New York text was read and none is summarised here. Colorado was not fetched either. Treat any list that includes them without quoting the statute with suspicion, including ours if we ever publish one.

Six things the three verified laws actually do

Each state solved a different part of the problem, which is exactly why coverage looks uneven.

California sets a duration

Manufacturers must supply documentation, functional parts and tools for at least seven years after the last date a model or type was manufactured where the wholesale price is $100 or more, and three years in the $50 to $99.99 band¹. The section became operative on July 1, 2024¹.

Minnesota sets a deadline

The Digital Fair Repair Act requires that parts, tools and documentation be made available within 60 days after the first sale of the equipment in Minnesota³. The duty runs to any independent repair provider or to the owner, on fair and reasonable terms, and applies to equipment sold on or after July 1, 2021³.

Oregon sets a price

Oregon is the only one of the three that defines fair and reasonable terms. Documentation at no charge, tools at no charge and without impeding access, and parts at costs and terms equivalent to the most favorable ones offered to an authorized service provider⁴. Actual printing and shipping costs are the only exceptions.

Who enforces, and from when

California allows a city, county, city and county, or the state to sue for civil liability². Minnesota makes a violation an unlawful practice under section 325D.44 and applies the attorney general's remedies³. Oregon's enforcement section applies only to violations occurring on or after July 1, 2027⁴.

The carve-outs are the real map

California's covered products exclude video game consoles and alarm system products¹. Minnesota separately carves out video game consoles, motor vehicle manufacturers and dealers, medical device makers, off-road and farm equipment, and information technology equipment intended for critical infrastructure³. Read the exclusion list before the duty list.

The trade-off nobody advertises

Minnesota states that no manufacturer or authorized repair provider is liable for damage or injury to equipment, a person or property resulting from repair, diagnosis, maintenance or modification performed by an independent repair provider or owner³. The law that gets you the parts also removes the maker's exposure when the repair goes wrong.

California penalty, first violation$1,000 per day

Effect on your repair billNot measured by any published source

What does it cost?

These statutes contain nearly every real dollar figure in this subject, and none of them is a repair price. California's tiers turn on a wholesale price of $50 to $99.99 or $100 and above¹. Its penalties are set at $1,000 per day for a first violation, $2,000 per day for a second, and $5,000 per day for the third and subsequent violations, recoverable by a city, county, city and county, or the state². That is Senate Bill 244, Chapter 704, titled the Right to Repair Act, approved by the Governor on October 10, 2023².

Oregon's contribution is to push two line items to zero. Documentation and tools must be free, subject only to the reasonable and actual costs of printing or shipping a physical item you requested, and parts must come at terms equivalent to the most favorable an authorized service provider receives⁴. What any of that does to the invoice you eventually pay is unmeasured. There were no published repair prices before these laws and there are none now, so anyone quoting you a saving figure is estimating rather than reporting.

Every figure here is read from the statutory text of California Public Resources Code section 42488.2, California Senate Bill 244 and Oregon Senate Bill 1596. They are thresholds and penalties. They are not repair prices, and no authority publishes one.

Hiring

How to use these laws when hiring a repairer

1

Who does the work

Two different actors. The repair is done by an independent repair provider or by you, which is precisely who the statutes name¹³. The enforcement is done by government: a city, county, city and county, or the state in California², and the attorney general in Minnesota³. Neither text we read gives you a personal action to file yourself.

2

What pros will ask

A shop that knows this area will ask which state the product was first sold or used in, when the model went out of production, and whether the machine falls after the coverage date. California covers products first manufactured and first sold or used there on or after July 1, 2021¹. Minnesota covers equipment sold on or after July 1, 2021³.

3

What to check before signing

In California, look for the written notice a shop must give before repairing when it is not an authorized repair provider, along with its disclosure of used or non-manufacturer parts¹. Ask the shop to keep a written record of any parts request and any refusal by the manufacturer. Enforcement runs on documents, and yours is the only file that will exist.

Right to repair questions, answered straight

Which states have a repair law that covers household appliances?

Three were verified for this page. California's section names an electronic or appliance product outright¹. Minnesota's covers digital electronic equipment, defined functionally as hardware that needs embedded or attached digital electronics to work, which plainly reaches a modern appliance although the statute never says the word³. Oregon uses a similar functional definition of consumer electronic equipment⁴. New York and Colorado are commonly listed elsewhere. Neither statute was readable during research, so neither is described here.

When did each of the three take effect?

California's was added by Statutes of 2023, Chapter 704, approved by the Governor on October 10, 2023, effective January 1, 2024 and operative on July 1, 2024 by its own provisions¹². Minnesota's applies to equipment sold on or after July 1, 2021³. Oregon's bill passed the Senate on February 20, 2024 and the House on March 4, 2024, and its enforcement section applies to violations occurring on or after July 1, 2027⁴.

Can I sue a manufacturer that refuses to sell me a part?

Not under these texts as we read them. California names a city, county, city and county, or the state as the parties that may sue for the per-day civil liability². Minnesota makes a violation an unlawful practice under section 325D.44 and applies the attorney general's remedies under section 8.31³. The practical route is a documented complaint to your state attorney general or city attorney, with the parts request and the refusal in writing.

What does federal law already require?

The Magnuson-Moss anti-tying provision bars a warrantor from conditioning warranty coverage on your use of a brand-name article or service unless it is free or waived by the Commission⁵. FTC's examples are a carmaker voiding a warranty over independent servicing, a printer maker demanding its own ink, and a phone maker voiding coverage over a mall kiosk battery⁵. FTC also warned companies to stop applying seals reading warranty void if seal removed⁵.

Does this mean everything is repairable now?

No, and the gaps are large. Nothing requires a manufacturer to divulge a trade secret, license intellectual property or release source code¹. California's duty lifts entirely if the maker gives you an equivalent or better replacement free¹. Minnesota excuses anything no longer available to the manufacturer itself³. Oregon exempts non-phone equipment first manufactured and first sold or used there before July 1, 2015⁴. Consoles are carved out in both California and Minnesota¹³.

Sources

Where these facts came from

Every figure on this page was read out of the page linked below. We do not cite cost aggregators.

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