Texas Right to Repair Takes Effect September 1, 2026: What House Bill 2963 Does, and What It Leaves Out

What Changed, and When

House Bill 2963, passed by the 89th Texas Legislature in its 2025 regular session, adds Chapter 121 to Subtitle C, Title 5, of the Texas Business & Commerce Code, titled “Diagnosis, Maintenance, and Repair of Certain Digital Electronic Equipment.” Section 4 of the enrolled bill states that the Act takes effect September 1, 2026.

The core duty, Section 121.051(a). For digital electronic equipment, including parts for that equipment sold or used in Texas, the original equipment manufacturer shall, not later than one year after the date of the first sale of the equipment in this state, make available on fair and reasonable terms to any independent repair provider or to an owner the documentation, replacement parts and tools — or their equivalents — that are required for diagnosis, maintenance or repair. The manufacturer may deliver those directly, through an authorized repair provider, or through a third-party provider.

What “fair and reasonable terms” means, Section 121.001(7). The enrolled text defines the phrase rather than leaving it to argument:

• Tools may not be conditioned on the recipient being an authorized repair provider, and must be offered without charge, or at a cost equivalent to the lowest actual cost at which the manufacturer offers the tool to an authorized repair provider, taking discounts and rebates into account. A physical tool may be charged at the actual cost of procuring, preparing and sending it.
• Replacement parts may not be conditioned on the recipient being an authorized repair provider, and must be offered at costs and terms equivalent to those given to authorized repair providers.
• Documentation may not be conditioned on authorized status and must be provided without charge, except for the reasonable actual cost of preparing and sending a printed copy on request.

What the chapter covers, Section 121.002(a). The chapter applies only to digital electronic equipment sold to a consumer in Texas — defined in Section 121.001(3) as an individual entering a transaction primarily for personal, family or household purposes — and only where the equipment has a wholesale price of at least $50.

The forward-only limit, Section 2 of the Act. This is the provision most likely to surprise a reader. Chapter 121 “applies only to digital electronic equipment that was originally made available for sale in this state by an original equipment manufacturer on or after the effective date of this Act.” Texas Public Radio, reporting on the law the day before it took effect, put the practical result plainly: devices already on the market before September 1, 2026 are not covered.

Contract waivers are void, Section 121.003. A contract provision — including one in an agreement between an authorized repair provider and a manufacturer — that purports to waive, avoid, restrict or limit the manufacturer’s obligation to comply with the chapter is void and unenforceable. Section 3 of the Act carves out one exception: where the chapter conflicts with a provision of an authorized-repair-provider agreement entered into before the effective date, that earlier provision prevails.

Who in Texas This Reaches

• Texans who buy covered electronics on or after September 1, 2026. The scope is statewide — the chapter attaches to equipment sold to a consumer in Texas, not to a region or a county.
• Independent repair businesses operating in Texas. Section 121.001(9) defines an independent repair provider as a person or business operating in the state that is neither an authorized repair provider nor affiliated with one, and that is engaged in diagnosis, maintenance or repair. Nathan Proctor of U.S. PIRG, an advocacy group that campaigned for the bill, told Texas Public Radio the law “allows Texans to get access to parts, tools, and other things you need to fix modern electronics.” That is the advocate’s characterization; the statute controls.
• Owners generally. Section 121.001(22) defines “owner” as an individual or business entity that owns digital electronic equipment, while the applicability section in 121.002(a) is written around equipment sold to a consumer. How those two provisions fit together for a particular device is exactly the sort of question a lawyer reads the file to answer.
• Manufacturers and retailers reviewing their Texas obligations, and authorized repair networks whose contracts predate the effective date.

What is carved out, Section 121.002(b). The exemption list is long and worth reading before assuming a device qualifies. It excludes critical-infrastructure information technology equipment; motor vehicle manufacturers who comply with an industry memorandum of understanding; powersports vehicles and outboard motors; medical devices; farm equipment manufacturers who comply with an industry memorandum of understanding; aerospace, airplane and train equipment; heavy equipment; commercial and industrial electrical equipment; large home appliances such as refrigerators, ovens, microwaves, air conditioning and heating units — though not countertop or stand-alone small appliances; safety communications equipment; fire alarm, intrusion detection, life safety and physical access control equipment; video game consoles; and a manufacturer that instead provides an equivalent or better replacement part at no charge at the consumer’s discretion.

What This Changes Legally

• A refusal to supply parts or documentation now has a statute behind it. Before Chapter 121, a manufacturer’s decision to restrict parts and manuals to its own authorized network was largely a matter of private contract. As of September 1, 2026 it is measured against a statutory duty for covered equipment.
• Pricing has a floor written into the definition. Charging an owner or independent shop more than the lowest cost offered to an authorized provider is addressed directly by Section 121.001(7), rather than left to be argued as unfairness in the abstract.
• Enforcement runs through the Attorney General, and only the Attorney General. Section 121.101(a) gives the Attorney General exclusive authority to enforce the chapter. Before filing suit the office must give at least 30 days’ written notice identifying the specific provisions alleged to be violated, delivered by certified mail with return receipt requested or by first-class mail with proof of delivery.
• There is a cure period. Under Section 121.101(c), the Attorney General may not bring the action if, within that 30-day window, the person cures the violation and provides a written statement that the violation was cured and that no further violations are intended.
• After the cure period, a violation is a deceptive trade practice. Section 121.102 provides that a violation following the cure period is a deceptive trade practice in addition to those described by Subchapter E, Chapter 17 — the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices–Consumer Protection Act — and is actionable under that subchapter. Section 121.103 lets the Attorney General seek an injunction and recover reasonable attorney’s fees and investigation expenses.
• No private right of action under the chapter. Section 121.104 states that the chapter may not be construed to create, provide a basis for, or be subject to a private right of action for a violation of the chapter or any other law. Texas Public Radio summarized the result the same way: the Attorney General can enforce the law, but it does not create a private right for consumers to sue over violations. How Section 121.102 and Section 121.104 read together is an open question that a lawyer can work through against a specific set of facts.
• Manufacturer liability for independent repairs is limited. Section 121.054 provides that a manufacturer or authorized repair provider is not liable for damage or injury to equipment, individuals or property resulting from repair, diagnosis, maintenance or modification performed by an independent repair provider or owner, including indirect and consequential damages, loss of data, privacy or profits, and reduced functionality.
• A manufacturer has an alternative to supplying parts. Under Section 121.053, instead of making documentation, parts or tools available, a manufacturer may give an owner who is the original purchaser a reimbursement of the purchase price, or an equivalent or better readily available replacement at a price equal to or less than the sum of the replacement parts, provided at the consumer’s discretion.

None of this decides any particular dispute. Whether a specific device is covered, whether the one-year window has run, whether an exemption applies, and what remedy is actually available are questions that turn on the paperwork in a specific file.

What Kind of Option Might Apply

This page is information, not legal advice, and it is not a prediction about any device or any dispute. What a lawyer can review includes:

• For a consumer refused a part, a manual or a pairing tool: a consumer protection lawyer can check the purchase date and the date the model was first offered for sale in Texas, read the exemption list against the device, and explain what the chapter does and does not provide.
• For someone whose repair transaction went wrong on its own terms: misrepresentation, overcharging or damage in a repair may raise claims that exist independently of Chapter 121, including under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, in warranty, or in contract. A lawyer can identify which body of law fits the facts.
• For an independent repair shop shut out of parts or tools: a business or litigation lawyer can review supplier correspondence, pricing offered to authorized providers where it is known, and any contract terms that purport to waive the chapter.
• For a shop or provider with a pre-September 2026 authorized-repair agreement: a business lawyer can read Section 3 of the Act against the agreement and explain which provisions survive.
• For a manufacturer or retailer: a business lawyer can assess Texas obligations, the notice-and-cure mechanism, and what the deceptive trade practice designation means for exposure.
• For anyone considering a complaint to the state: the Texas Attorney General accepts consumer complaints, and a lawyer can explain how a complaint and a private claim relate to each other.

Why Acting Quickly Can Matter

The effective date is fixed: September 1, 2026. Because the chapter reaches only equipment first offered for sale in Texas on or after that date, and because the manufacturer’s duty attaches no later than one year after the first sale in the state, the calendar is part of the legal question rather than a detail around it. Receipts, model and serial numbers, order confirmations, warranty paperwork, the written refusal, and the correspondence with a manufacturer or its authorized shop are easiest to gather while they are recent. Claims that arise out of a repair transaction carry their own filing deadlines — the Deceptive Trade Practices Act sets its own limitations provision in Section 17.565 of the Business & Commerce Code, and contract and warranty claims run on different clocks. Which deadline applies depends on the claim. It is best to talk with a lawyer early, while the widest range of options is still open, rather than after a deadline has passed.

Sources

1. Texas Legislature Online, H.B. No. 2963, 89th Legislature, Regular Session — enrolled bill text (PDF; primary document, including new Chapter 121 and the September 1, 2026 effective date).
2. Texas Legislature Online, H.B. 2963 bill history.
3. Texas Legislative Reference Library, 89th Legislature — Effective Dates for Bills.
4. Texas Business & Commerce Code, Chapter 17 (Deceptive Trade Practices) — the subchapter Section 121.102 points to.
5. Texas Public Radio, New Texas laws expand repair rights, regulate solar sellers and recognize gold as money (August 30, 2026).
6. Office of the Texas Attorney General, File a Consumer Complaint.