The European Union’s Right to Repair directive is now active, granting consumers easier access to repairs for electronic devices, extending product lifespans, significantly reducing electronic waste, and advancing sustainable circular economy practices across member states.
By Creatives Unite NewsroomNew European Union rules intended to make it easier for consumers to repair goods will apply from 31 July 2026. The rules do not establish a general right to free repairs for every product. Instead, they extend certain consumer guarantees, require manufacturers to repair specified products under defined conditions and introduce measures intended to make repair services easier to find and compare. Member States must transpose the directive adopted in 2024 into national law and apply its provisions from 31 July 2026, according to the European Commission.
When a product proves defective during the legal guarantee period, consumers can choose repair rather than replacement, subject to the existing rules on proportionality. If the seller carries out the repair, the legal guarantee for the product is extended by one year. The repair must generally be free of charge, completed within a reasonable period and carried out without significant inconvenience to the consumer. The seller may refuse repair if it would be disproportionately costly compared with replacement. In that case, the guarantee extension linked to choosing repair does not apply. The Commission’s Questions and Answers on the directive states that the one-year extension applies to products purchased from 31 July 2026.
Manufacturers will have to repair certain consumer goods at a reasonable price and within a reasonable period, even when the defect is identified outside the seller’s legal guarantee period. The obligation is not limited exclusively to the period after the guarantee has expired: it begins when the consumer purchases the product and applies for as long as the relevant EU repairability requirements—particularly spare-parts obligations—remain in force. The duration will therefore vary by product and component. In practice, the Commission estimates that the obligation will generally apply for between five and 10 years, depending on the applicable product rules. A manufacturer may refuse only when repair is impossible; purely economic reasons, such as the cost of spare parts, are not in themselves sufficient.
Repairs may be free or charged at a reasonable price. Manufacturers that make spare parts and tools available must offer them at prices that do not discourage repair. They must also provide accessible information about their repair services and indicative prices for typical repairs. The post-guarantee repair obligation applies only to products covered by EU legislation containing repairability requirements and listed in Annex II of the directive. The categories currently include:
- washing machines and washer-dryers;
- dishwashers and refrigerators;
- televisions and other electronic displays;
- tumble dryers;
- vacuum cleaners;
- welding equipment;
- smartphones, tablets and cordless phones;
- servers and data-storage products; and
- goods incorporating batteries for light means of transport, such as e-bikes and e-scooters.
The list is not closed. It can be expanded when the EU adopts new product-specific repairability requirements. Domestic local space heaters were added to the list by a new Commission Delegated Directive. Manufacturers cannot refuse a repair solely because the product was previously repaired by an independent repairer or by the consumer. They are also prohibited from using contractual, hardware or software techniques that unjustifiably obstruct repair, although product-specific EU rules and legitimate objective reasons may apply.
Repairers may provide consumers with a free, standardised European Repair Information Form before a repair contract is concluded. The form can include the nature of the defect, the proposed repair, the price or method of calculation, the expected completion time, transport or installation costs and the availability of a temporary replacement product. If a repairer provides the form, its terms must generally remain valid for 30 days. The form itself is voluntary, although a diagnostic service may be charged when it is necessary to identify the defect or estimate the repair.
The EU is also establishing an online repair platform connected to the Your Europe portal. It is intended to help consumers find repairers by product category and location, including providers offering cross-border services. The European Commission’s current information page says the platform is expected to become operational in January 2028.
The manufacturer’s obligation applies to consumer goods bought by individuals for non-professional use; it does not generally apply to business-to-business purchases. For products placed on the EU market by manufacturers based outside the EU, responsibility may fall on an authorised representative, importer or, in certain circumstances, distributor. The rules do not prevent consumers from choosing an independent repairer. Nor do they guarantee that every repair will be economically worthwhile. The central change is that, for specified product categories, manufacturers must support repair for a defined period and cannot make repair artificially difficult.
