Right to repair laws by state currently exist in roughly a dozen states as of 2026, covering consumer electronics, powered wheelchairs, agricultural equipment, and motor vehicles. The common thread is simple: manufacturers must sell the same parts, share the same repair manuals, and license the same diagnostic tools to owners and independent repair shops that they already give to their authorized service centers. Coverage, exclusions, and penalties vary a lot from one state to the next, so the state you live in largely determines what you can demand and what a manufacturer can refuse.
Which States Cover Consumer Electronics
Consumer electronics laws are the broadest and fastest-growing category. They typically reach smartphones, tablets, laptops, and home appliances, and they require manufacturers to make parts, documentation, and diagnostic software available on fair and reasonable terms.
New York
New York was first. Governor Hochul signed the Digital Fair Repair Act in late 2022, and it applies to digital electronic equipment manufactured and first sold or used in New York on or after July 1, 2023.1Governor Kathy Hochul. Governor Hochul Signs the Digital Fair Repair Act Into Law Manufacturers must give independent shops and consumers the same diagnostic and repair information they provide to their own authorized centers.
Minnesota
Minnesota’s Digital Fair Repair Act took effect July 1, 2024. It reaches any hardware product that relies on digital electronics to function, provided the manufacturer already offers repair resources to its authorized service network.2Office of the Minnesota Attorney General. The Right to Repair in Minnesota Motor vehicles, medical devices, off-road farm equipment, and video game consoles are explicitly excluded.3Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 325E.72 – Digital Fair Repair
California
California’s Right to Repair Act (SB 244) became operative July 1, 2024, and covers electronics and appliances first manufactured and sold in the state on or after July 1, 2021.4California Legislative Information. California Code Public Resources Code 42488 – Right to Repair Act How long resources must stay available depends on the wholesale price. For products between $50 and $99.99, manufacturers must keep parts and documentation available for at least three years after the last production date. For products at $100 or more, it’s at least seven years. Video game consoles and alarm systems are out; laptops and tablets are in.
Oregon
Oregon’s SB 1596, signed March 28, 2024, is the first state law to ban parts pairing (more on that below). Beyond that ban, which applies to devices manufactured after January 1, 2025, Oregon follows the same template of required access to parts, tools, and manuals.5Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code – Senate Bill 1596
Colorado
Colorado’s Consumer Right to Repair Digital Electronic Equipment Act (HB24-1121) took effect January 1, 2026. It covers digital electronic equipment first manufactured and sold or used in the state after July 1, 2021, and it mirrors Oregon by banning parts pairing.6Colorado General Assembly. HB24-1121 Consumer Right to Repair Digital Electronic Equipment Excluded categories include marine vessels, aviation equipment, motor vehicles, most medical devices (powered wheelchairs are covered separately), certain safety and security equipment, construction and energy equipment, and video game consoles.
Washington, Connecticut, and Texas
Washington’s consumer electronics law also took effect January 1, 2026. Connecticut is set to enact right-to-repair provisions from a consumer protection omnibus bill (SB 3) in mid-2026, and Texas has a consumer electronics repair law scheduled for September 2026.
Parts Pairing and Why It Matters
Early right-to-repair laws guaranteed access to parts and manuals but said nothing about what happened after you installed the replacement. Manufacturers responded by embedding software that checks whether each component is an original, serialized part. Install a physically identical third-party screen or battery and the device may reduce performance, disable features, or display persistent warnings.
Oregon and Colorado have directly outlawed this. Both prohibit manufacturers from using parts pairing to disable functionality, degrade performance, or display misleading alerts about unidentified components.5Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code – Senate Bill 15966Colorado General Assembly. HB24-1121 Consumer Right to Repair Digital Electronic Equipment In every other state, a manufacturer can comply with the law by selling you the part while making it functionally useless through software. If parts pairing matters to the repair you’re planning, check whether your state addresses it, not just whether parts are available.
States with Powered Wheelchair Laws
Powered wheelchairs are their own category because authorized-dealer turnarounds can leave users stranded at home for weeks. Colorado’s HB22-1031 took effect January 1, 2023, and requires wheelchair manufacturers to provide parts, embedded software, firmware, diagnostic tools, and repair documentation to owners and independent shops.7Colorado General Assembly. HB22-1031 Consumer Right to Repair Powered Wheelchairs A manufacturer’s failure to comply is treated as a deceptive trade practice.
At least five more states have followed: California (SB 1384), Maryland, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. Nevada’s and Oregon’s wheelchair laws took effect January 1, 2026. The structure is consistent across these states: the same repair resources must flow to consumers and independent technicians that go to authorized dealers, and calibration functions must be accessible after a hardware replacement without requiring a trip back to the manufacturer.
States with Agricultural Equipment Laws
Colorado is also the first state to address farm equipment, through the Consumer Right to Repair Agricultural Equipment Act (HB23-1011), effective January 1, 2024.8Colorado General Assembly. HB23-1011 Consumer Right to Repair Agricultural Equipment Manufacturers must give farmers and independent shops the same diagnostic documentation, schematics, software, firmware, and tools provided to authorized dealers, at fair and reasonable cost. Note that most electronics-focused laws, including Minnesota’s, specifically exclude off-road agricultural machinery, so farm-equipment coverage depends on a dedicated statute.
States with Automotive Repair Laws
Automotive right to repair has moved through ballot initiatives rather than legislatures. Massachusetts voters approved Question 1 in 2020, expanding the state’s existing motor vehicle repair law to cover telematics (the wireless systems that transmit mechanical and diagnostic data from modern vehicles). Manufacturers selling vehicles in Massachusetts must equip them with a standardized, open-access data platform starting with model year 2022.9General Court of Massachusetts. Acts of 2020 Chapter 386 – An Act to Enhance, Update and Protect the 2013 Motor Vehicle Right to Repair Law The auto industry sued to block enforcement, but a federal judge denied the temporary restraining order in mid-2023, allowing the attorney general to begin enforcement. Some manufacturers responded by disabling telematics features entirely in Massachusetts-sold vehicles rather than opening them up.
Maine voters approved a similar initiative (Initiated Bill 3) in November 2023, requiring motor vehicle manufacturers to give independent shops the same on-board diagnostic and repair access that new-vehicle dealers get.10Maine State Legislature. Automotive Right to Repair Working Group Report As of 2026, automotive right to repair remains state by state.
The Federal Warranty Protection You Already Have
Even in states without a right-to-repair law, the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act stops one of the most common manufacturer tactics: voiding your warranty because you used an independent shop or a non-branded part. The Act prohibits any warrantor from conditioning a written or implied warranty on your use of a specific brand of article or service.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 2302 – Rules Governing Contents of Warranties A “warranty void if opened” sticker or an authorized-service-only policy is illegal unless the manufacturer can prove to the FTC that the product only works properly with its specific parts or service.
The FTC’s regulation is blunter: terms like “this warranty is void if service is performed by anyone other than an authorized dealer” are deceptive, because a manufacturer cannot escape warranty liability for defects unrelated to who did the repair.12eCFR. 16 CFR 700.10 – Prohibited Tying In 2021, the FTC adopted a policy statement committing to increased enforcement and urged consumers to report violations.13Federal Trade Commission. FTC to Ramp Up Law Enforcement Against Illegal Repair Restrictions
Magnuson-Moss protects your warranty when you choose independent repair. It does not force manufacturers to sell you parts or share repair documentation. That gap is exactly what state right-to-repair laws fill. And if a manufacturer can show that a specific defect was directly caused by an unauthorized part or service, it can still deny that particular claim. What it cannot do is issue a blanket policy refusing all warranty coverage the moment you step outside its authorized network.
What’s Excluded From Right to Repair Laws
Every state right-to-repair law carves out categories of products. Knowing what’s excluded matters as much as knowing what’s covered, because a manufacturer refusing to help with an excluded product is doing nothing illegal.
- Medical devices. Every comprehensive electronics law so far exempts medical devices, with powered wheelchairs handled through their own dedicated laws. The exemption is designed to avoid conflict with FDA servicing rules.
- Motor vehicles. Consumer electronics laws uniformly exclude cars and trucks; automotive repair is addressed separately in Massachusetts and Maine.
- Farm equipment. Minnesota and other electronics-focused laws exclude off-road agricultural machinery. Colorado addressed it through a standalone statute.
- Video game consoles. California, Minnesota, and Colorado all exclude dedicated gaming consoles. General-purpose computers like laptops and tablets remain covered.
- Security and safety equipment. Alarm systems, fire protection equipment, and emergency communication devices are commonly excluded.
Exclusions vary, so check your state’s actual statute before assuming a product is covered. Colorado’s HB24-1121, for example, also excludes marine vessels, aviation equipment, and certain construction and energy equipment.6Colorado General Assembly. HB24-1121 Consumer Right to Repair Digital Electronic Equipment
Who Enforces These Laws and What the Penalties Are
No state so far has given consumers a private right of action to sue manufacturers directly for violating a right-to-repair law. Enforcement runs through state attorneys general.
In New York, the attorney general can seek an injunction and restitution, with a maximum civil penalty of $500 per violation.14New York State Senate. Senate Bill S1320 Minnesota treats a violation as a deceptive trade practice, which opens up the full range of remedies under its consumer protection statute.2Office of the Minnesota Attorney General. The Right to Repair in Minnesota Colorado also treats violations as deceptive trade practices, which can carry civil penalties of up to $20,000 per violation under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act.
In practice, that means enforcement depends on your attorney general’s priorities. If a manufacturer ignores a request, your most useful move is a consumer complaint to the state AG’s office, backed by a documented record of what you asked for and what you got (or didn’t).
How to Request Parts, Manuals, and Diagnostic Tools
Filing a request is straightforward, but sloppy paperwork gives a manufacturer easy grounds to delay. Pull your device identifiers first: serial number for a computer, IMEI for a phone, VIN for farm machinery. Know exactly which part, manual, or diagnostic tool you want before you contact anyone.
Most manufacturers now run dedicated portals for repair resource requests, often labeled “Service Information” or “Parts and Manuals” on their support site. Enter the model number and production year precisely. A mismatch is an easy reason to reject or stall the request. Save screenshots and confirmation emails of everything you submit.
State laws generally require resources on “fair and reasonable terms,” meaning the price and conditions must track what the manufacturer charges its own authorized network. If authorized dealers pay $50 for a diagnostic subscription and you’re quoted $500 for the same tool, that pricing likely violates the statute. If a request goes unanswered or the pricing looks unreasonable, document the exchange and file a complaint with your state attorney general’s consumer protection division. That paper trail is what any enforcement action will be built on.