Right to repair, the idea that consumers and independent repair shops should be able to fix electronics without being forced to use the original manufacturer, has gone from a niche advocacy cause to active law in a growing number of states. But coverage varies enormously by state, by product category, and by what manufacturers are actually required to provide. This guide covers where things stand in the largest and most legislatively active states as of this writing; state law changes regularly, so always check your specific state's current statute before assuming your rights.
What "right to repair" actually requires where it exists
Where a right-to-repair law is in effect, it typically requires manufacturers to make diagnostic tools, repair manuals, and replacement parts available to independent repair shops and consumers on fair and reasonable terms, not just to the manufacturer's own authorized repair network. It does not typically require manufacturers to make devices easier to physically open, and it doesn't override a manufacturer's separate warranty terms, which can still be voided by certain kinds of self-repair depending on the product and the specific law's language.
Why state law is the relevant layer here
There's no comprehensive federal right-to-repair law covering consumer electronics as of this writing, which is why coverage is a patchwork that depends on your state. A handful of states passed electronics-focused right-to-repair laws over the past several years, with more states introducing similar bills in nearly every legislative session. Because bills can pass, stall, or take effect on a delay, the single most important thing this article can tell you is to check your own state legislature's current bill status directly, not to treat any specific list as permanent.
How to check your own state right now
Search your state legislature's official website for "right to repair" or "fair repair act" alongside your state's name, or check your state attorney general's consumer protection page, which often summarizes consumer electronics rights in plain language. Advocacy-group trackers can be a useful starting point for finding the right bill number, but they are not a substitute for reading the state's own current statute, since advocacy groups sometimes describe a bill's intended effect rather than its final, enacted text.
What's generally covered and what isn't
Where right-to-repair laws exist, they most commonly cover smartphones, laptops, and sometimes larger consumer electronics and appliances. Categories like video game consoles, certain medical devices, and motor vehicles are often handled under separate, sometimes more limited, legal frameworks, or excluded entirely depending on the specific state law's scope. Don't assume a law covering phones automatically covers, say, your lawn equipment or your car's onboard electronics; read the specific statute's defined scope.
Practical steps regardless of your state
Even in states without a specific right-to-repair statute, independent repair shops can often still legally repair out-of-warranty devices using third-party or salvaged parts; what's protected varies is whether the manufacturer is required to make official parts, tools, and documentation available to those shops. If an independent shop tells you they can't get official parts for your device, ask specifically whether that's a legal restriction in your state or a business decision on the manufacturer's part; the two have very different implications for whether contacting your state attorney general's office would help.
Why this matters more for some products than others
The practical impact of right-to-repair law varies a lot by product category. For smartphones and laptops, where the aftermarket repair ecosystem is already large and competitive regardless of the law, the main effect is forcing manufacturers to sell the exact same parts and diagnostic access to independent shops that they already give their own authorized network, closing a price and availability gap rather than creating a repair option from nothing. For newer or more specialized electronics categories, the law can matter more directly, since without it, independent repair may not be commercially viable at all if a manufacturer refuses to sell parts to anyone outside its own network.
What manufacturers have generally done in response
Manufacturer response to the spread of state right-to-repair laws has generally taken one of two forms: expanding an official self-service repair or parts program nationally (sometimes to preempt a patchwork of differing state requirements with one consistent national policy), or complying narrowly, state by state, only where legally required. Checking whether a specific manufacturer has a national self-service repair program, several of the largest electronics makers now do, can sometimes get you official parts and tools regardless of whether your specific state has its own right-to-repair statute at all.
A note on warranty impact
A common misconception is that any self-repair or third-party repair automatically voids your manufacturer warranty entirely. In most states, federal law (specifically the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, separate from state right-to-repair statutes) already restricts a manufacturer's ability to void an entire warranty just because you used a third-party part or repair shop, unless the manufacturer can show that specific third-party work actually caused the specific problem being claimed under warranty. This federal protection exists independently of whether your state has passed its own right-to-repair law, which is a distinction worth knowing when a retailer or manufacturer representative implies otherwise.
Bottom line
Right to repair is one of the fastest-moving areas of state consumer law right now. Treat any list of "which states have it" as a snapshot that can go out of date within a single legislative session, and verify your own state's current status directly before making a repair decision based on a legal right you assume you have.
