A customer emailed a small-appliance merchant in June asking for a spare part number for a coffee machine that broke fourteen months after purchase — well past the two-year legal guarantee in most member states, but the customer had read about 'right to repair' and assumed the store owed them a repair anyway. The merchant didn't know whether that assumption was correct, and honestly, the answer depends heavily on which product category and which member state you're asking about.
Two Different Laws, Often Confused as One
There are two separate pieces of EU legislation behind the phrase 'right to repair,' and mixing them up is where most confusion starts.
The first is Directive (EU) 2024/1799 on common rules promoting the repair of goods, sometimes called the Right to Repair Directive. It entered into force in 2024, and member states have a transposition deadline of 31 July 2026 — meaning as of this writing, many countries are only now finalising their national implementing legislation. Exact fee caps, platform names, and enforcement mechanics vary by member state, so treat any specific detail as provisional until your national authority publishes its own rules. In broad terms, it obliges manufacturers of certain product categories to repair goods, for a reasonable fee, even after the legal guarantee has expired, for a defined post-guarantee period. It also stops manufacturers blocking legitimate repairs through contract terms or technical restrictions alone, requires spare parts and repair information to be available to independent repairers at reasonable prices, introduces a standardised European Repair Information Form so consumers can compare repair quotes, and pushes member states to set up online repair-matching platforms.
The second is the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, known as ESPR. This is the broader framework that replaced the old Ecodesign Directive. It empowers the Commission to set product-specific requirements around durability, reusability, upgradability, and reparability — spare parts availability periods, repair information, disassembly instructions — and it's the same framework underpinning the Digital Product Passport. ESPR rolls out category by category through delegated acts, so coverage expands over time rather than applying to everything at once.
Which Products Are Actually Covered
| Product category | Repair obligation status |
|---|---|
| Washing machines, dishwashers, refrigerators | Covered under existing ecodesign spare-parts and repairability rules, extended by ESPR |
| Smartphones and tablets | Covered since 2025 ecodesign requirements on battery durability, spare parts, and software updates |
| Servers and data storage products | Covered under ecodesign rules |
| Televisions and other electronic displays | Covered under existing ecodesign rules |
| Textiles, furniture, toys, most non-electrical goods | Not currently covered by repairability or spare-parts obligations, though ESPR can expand scope over time |
What This Means for an Online Seller, Specifically
Most direct repair obligations fall on manufacturers and producers, not on a retailer reselling their goods. But if you're the importer of record, or you sell under your own brand as a private label, you likely inherit manufacturer-level duties rather than lighter reseller obligations. Even a pure reseller has practical exposure: product listings should reflect accurate repairability information where the manufacturer provides a score, and a few member states — France notably — already require a reparability index displayed at the point of sale for certain electronics categories, a model the EU is expected to build on more broadly. Customer service also needs to know how to route repair questions to the right place instead of guessing at an answer that could turn into a complaint.
If you're weighing how this connects to broader sustainability obligations, our guides to EU sustainability rules for online retail and circular economy laws cover the adjacent pieces of this puzzle.
Checklist for PrestaShop Merchants
- Identify which SKUs fall under an ecodesign implementing regulation with repairability or spare-parts requirements — electronics and major appliances are the priority list right now
- Check whether your national market already requires a repairability index at the point of sale, and if so, source it from your supplier or manufacturer
- Add or update product-page fields for spare-parts availability period and repair information or manual links where the manufacturer publishes them
- Confirm with manufacturers whether they participate in a national repair-matching registry or the European Repair Information Form, and link to it from your support pages
- Brief customer service on the difference between the statutory legal guarantee, typically two years, and any extended repair obligation that applies after it for covered categories
- If you import or private-label covered products, review whether you now hold manufacturer-level repair and spare-parts obligations
Preparing your catalogue for repair rules
Pull your product catalog and flag every SKU in the major-appliance and consumer-electronics categories, then check each one against the current ecodesign implementing regulation for that product type — that's the fastest way to know whether repairability disclosures are a real problem for you right now or a non-issue.
Frequently asked questions
Is the EU Right to Repair Directive already in force?
Directive (EU) 2024/1799 entered into force in 2024, but member states are still transposing it into national law, with a mid-2026 deadline. Exact rules, fees, and platforms will vary by country until national legislation is finalised, so treat details as evolving.
Which products does Right to Repair cover today?
Coverage builds on existing ecodesign categories, mainly major household appliances, smartphones, tablets, servers, and some electronic displays. Most general merchandise, textiles, furniture, and toys aren't currently covered, though scope can expand through future ecodesign acts.
Does the retailer or the manufacturer have the repair obligation?
The core repair-after-guarantee obligation generally falls on manufacturers and producers. Retailers reselling third-party branded goods usually aren't directly obligated, but importers and private-label sellers typically inherit manufacturer-level duties.
What is a reparability index, and do I need one?
Some member states already require a reparability or repairability score displayed at the point of sale for certain electronics categories. Source the score from your manufacturer or supplier and display it if your national market requires it.
How does Right to Repair relate to the Digital Product Passport?
Both stem from the same Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation framework. The Digital Product Passport carries product-level data, including repairability and spare-parts information, that supports right-to-repair obligations.
What should I do if a customer asks about repair after the legal guarantee expires?
Check whether the product category is covered by a post-guarantee repair obligation and route the request to the manufacturer's repair or spare-parts programme rather than assuming your store owes a free repair.
Related reading
- Future Digital Product Passport (DPP) Requirements Explained
- EU Sustainability Rules That Will Impact Online Retail
- Why Every Merchant Should Start Preparing for Circular Economy Laws
- Product Safety Compliance Checklist
- Future Packaging & Recycling Regulations for eCommerce
