The right to repair in Texas took the form of House Bill 2963, which Governor Greg Abbott signed on June 20, 2025 and which takes effect September 1, 2026.1Waste Dive. Texas Governor Abbott Signs Right-to-Repair Electronics Bill Once in force, the law requires makers of most consumer electronics with a wholesale price of at least $50 to supply replacement parts, repair documentation, and specialized tools to device owners and independent repair shops on the same terms they offer their own authorized providers.2Texas Capitol. HB 2963, Enrolled Version If you own a phone, laptop, tablet, television, smartwatch, or fitness tracker first sold in Texas on or after that date, you will be able to get it fixed outside the manufacturer’s channel without the manufacturer blocking access to what the repair requires.
Which Products Are Covered
The law applies to digital electronic equipment first sold in Texas on or after September 1, 2026, with a wholesale price of $50 or more. Devices sold before that date are not covered, and neither are business-to-business or government transactions.2Texas Capitol. HB 2963, Enrolled Version
Several large product categories sit outside the law entirely:
- Motor vehicles, and farm equipment made by manufacturers that comply with an industry memorandum of understanding on repair access
- Medical devices and products used in medical settings
- Heavy equipment and commercial or industrial electrical equipment
- Aerospace, airplane, and train equipment
- Home appliances with embedded electronics, including refrigerators, ovens, air conditioners, and home security systems
- Video game consoles
- Safety communications equipment used by police, fire, or emergency services
- Critical infrastructure IT equipment3Texas Capitol. HB 2963, Introduced Version
If your appliance has a smart feature or your home security system acts up, HB 2963 is not the law to lean on.
What Manufacturers Have to Provide
For each covered product, the manufacturer has up to one year from that product’s first sale in Texas to make parts, tools, and documentation available to both independent repair providers and individual owners.2Texas Capitol. HB 2963, Enrolled Version The law sets out what “fair and reasonable terms” actually looks like:
- Tools must be available at no cost, or at a price no higher than what the manufacturer charges its own authorized repair providers. Physical tools can be charged at actual procurement and shipping cost.
- Parts must be supplied directly or through authorized distributors at the same cost and terms offered to authorized shops.
- Documentation must be free, apart from reasonable printing and shipping charges for physical copies.2Texas Capitol. HB 2963, Enrolled Version
A manufacturer cannot require that the recipient be an authorized repair provider to get access. Independent shops do not need any new license, certification, or registration to receive parts and manuals, and they are not required to follow manufacturer-prescribed procedures or use manufacturer-approved parts.4Repair.org. Texas Right to Repair Any contract clause that tries to waive these obligations is void.5Texas Capitol. HB 2963, Engrossed Analysis
The law also carves out space for manufacturers’ legitimate concerns. Trade secrets do not have to be shared except where disclosure is necessary for diagnosis, maintenance, or repair. Nothing in the law requires sharing source code, and manufacturers do not have to supply tools or documents that would disable electronic security locks, anti-theft systems, or cybersecurity features. A manufacturer may also require an internet connection or remote authorization before a part or tool will function. Manufacturers are not liable for damages, data breaches, or injuries resulting from repairs done by owners or independent shops.5Texas Capitol. HB 2963, Engrossed Analysis
You Can Choose Repair Instead of a Replacement
Earlier right-to-repair laws in other states let manufacturers off the hook by offering to replace a broken device rather than making parts and manuals available for a real repair. Repair advocates called this the “Amazon loophole.”6Manufacturing Dive. Right to Repair Electronics, Texas, Google, Farm Equipment
Texas closed it. A manufacturer may still offer you a refund or an equivalent replacement, but you have the explicit right to choose repair instead, and the manufacturer must honor the choice.5Texas Capitol. HB 2963, Engrossed Analysis Liz Chamberlain of iFixit called the Texas provision a “big step forward” and said the group has written similar language into the template bill it offers other states.6Manufacturing Dive. Right to Repair Electronics, Texas, Google, Farm Equipment
What the Law Does Not Fix
HB 2963 does not address “parts pairing,” the practice of using software to disable a device or feature when the system detects a replacement component the manufacturer did not approve. Oregon, Washington, and Colorado have banned this in their right-to-repair laws. Texas has not.6Manufacturing Dive. Right to Repair Electronics, Texas, Google, Farm Equipment A Texas repair shop can get genuine parts and the manual to install them, but a manufacturer that uses software locks on components can still limit how a repaired device functions. Consumer Reports and other advocates have asked lawmakers to revisit this in a future session.7Consumer Reports. Consumer Reports Applauds Texas Legislature for Passing Right to Repair Bill
The law also does not reach backward. Only products first sold in Texas on or after September 1, 2026 are covered.9Texas Capitol. HB 2963, Enrolled Version
How a Violation Gets Enforced
If a manufacturer refuses to provide what the law requires, you cannot sue them yourself. Enforcement is handled exclusively by the Texas Attorney General, and the law creates no private right of action.8Texas Capitol. HB 2963, Enrolled Version
Before taking action, the Attorney General must give the manufacturer written notice and 30 days to fix the problem. A failure to cure within that window becomes a deceptive trade practice under Chapter 17 of the Texas Business and Commerce Code, and the state can seek court orders along with attorneys’ fees and enforcement costs.4Repair.org. Texas Right to Repair There are no automatic fines or per-day penalties written into the law, and the Legislative Budget Board concluded no new funding was needed to enforce it.10Texas Policy Research. 89th Legislature HB 2963
In practice, that means a consumer or shop that hits a wall will need to file a complaint with the Attorney General’s consumer protection division rather than take the manufacturer to court directly.
What Repair Access Could Save You
The bill’s own analysis pointed to a repair that cost $215 through a manufacturer’s authorized shop but only $12 for the parts alone.5Texas Capitol. HB 2963, Engrossed Analysis A 2023 TexPIRG Education Fund report found that Texas households spend an average of $1,767 a year on new devices, and estimated that extending product lifespans by 50% through repair could save a family around $382 annually, or roughly $4.1 billion across the state.11PIRG. Texas Becomes First Red State to Pass Right to Repair Legislation Representative Giovanni Capriglione, who authored the bill, also cited electronic waste, described in the analysis as the nation’s fastest-growing category of solid waste.
A Note on Tenant Repair Rights
People searching “right to repair in Texas” sometimes mean something different: a renter’s right to have a landlord fix problems in a home or apartment. That is a separate body of law under Texas Property Code Chapter 92, which requires landlords to repair conditions that materially affect a tenant’s health or safety, such as sewage leaks, faulty wiring, or roof damage.12Texas Attorney General. Renters’ Rights To trigger the obligation, a tenant must be current on rent and give the landlord written notice, ideally by certified mail with return receipt. The landlord then has a presumed reasonable period of seven days to begin a diligent effort to fix the problem; if the first notice was not sent by certified or registered mail and nothing has started within seven days, a second notice is needed. If the landlord still fails to act, the tenant can terminate the lease, have the repair done and deduct the cost from rent, or sue in justice court for repairs, a rent reduction, and damages of one month’s rent plus $500, along with court costs and attorney’s fees.13Texas Law Help. Right to Repairs as a Tenant Landlords are barred from retaliating against a tenant who makes a good-faith repair request for six months after the complaint. Tenants do not have a blanket right to withhold rent for problems that do not affect health or safety.