Oregon is the 5th state to enact a right to repair consumer electronics law, and this law bans manufacturers from using parts paring to prevent 3rd party repairs.
What is Right to Repair?
If a consumer needs to repair their product, they are often restricted to going to the product’s manufacturer or their licensed repair facility. Right to repair laws give consumers a choice, they require manufacturers to enable customers to make repairs themselves, go to a third-party repair facility, or the manufacturers licensed repair facility.
Under such a law, manufacturers must provide to customers or third-party repair facilities any documentation, tool, or part used to diagnose, maintain, or repair a product on fair and reasonable terms.
Are there Right to Repair laws in the US?
There are no federal right to repair laws in the US, but since 2012 seven states have passed some form of a right to repair law. Massachusetts led the way passing a motor vehicle right to repair law. Colorado has laws regarding the repair of power wheelchairs, and agricultural equipment. Since 2022, five states have enacted consumer electronics right to repair laws: California, Colorado, Minnesota, New York, and Oregon. In 2024, 30 different states introduced some type of right to repair legislation although none became laws.
What are the US consumer electronic Right to Repair laws?
California
The California Right to Repair Act went into effect on 1 July 2024. It covers consumer electronic or appliance products, including cell phones, laptops, tablets, televisions, radios, audio or video recording equipment, manufactured and sold in California after 1 July 2021, with a wholesale price of not less than $50. Producers are to provide support for three years after a product priced between $50 and $99.99 was manufactured, and seven years after first manufacturing for products over $100.
Exclusions include video game consoles, medical devices, alarm systems, and agricultural equipment.
Colorado
Colorado’s Consumer Right to Repair Digital Electronic Equipment Act will take effect on 1 January 2026. It will cover consumer electronics, phones, tablets, and other digital devices manufactured and sold or used for the first time in Colorado on or after July 1, 2021.
Exclusions include video game consoles, safety / emergency communication equipment, and medical devices. Powered wheelchairs are covered under the Consumer Wheelchair Repair Bill of Rights Act, which came into effect 1 January 2023.
Notably, Colorado’s law restricts manufacturers from using parts pairing (a manufacturer’s practice of using software to identify component parts through a unique identifier) in a way that would prevent repairs, reduce product functionality / performance, or causes misleading alerts or warnings.
Minnesota
The Digital Fair Repair Act went into effect 1 July 2024, and covers consumer electronics, phones, tablets, laptops and household appliances, sold in Minnesota after 1 July 2021. Parts, tools, and documentation shall be made available within 60 days after the first sale of the digital electronic equipment in Minnesota.
Exclusions include video game consoles, medical devices, specialized cybersecurity tools, and agricultural equipment.
New York
New York was the first state to adopt a right to repair law applying to electronic devices and products. The Digital Fair Repair law went into effect on 28 December 2023. It covers digital electronic equipment (including laptops, smartphones, and tablets) manufactured and sold for the first time in New York on or after 1 July 2023, with a value over $10 (adjusted annually by the consumer price index).
Exclusions include home appliances such as toasters and microwaves, electronic bikes, medical devices, and security devices or alarm systems.
Oregon
Oregon’s right to repair law, Relating to a right to repair consumer electronic equipment, went into effect on 1 January 2025 but will not be enforced until 2027. It covers consumer electronic equipment generally used for personal or household purposes, laptops and all other electronic devices sold since July 2015, and cell phones sold within the state since July 2021. There is a one-year buffer between when a product is available on the market in Oregon and when the law will apply to that product.
Exclusions include any product which has never been available for retail sale to a consumer, video game consoles, electric toothbrushes, medical devices, solar panels, and agricultural equipment.
Like Colorado, Oregon bans parts pairing, The ban on parts pairing applies to covered devices manufactured after 1 January 2025.
Knowing what Right to Repair law applies to your product, if it does at all, is something H2 Compliance can help you understand. cglobal-sales@erpsas.onmicrosoft.com
Details on Canadian right to repair laws coming soon!
Published January 27, 2025