Summary

The EU Right to Repair Directive (2024/1799), effective July 30, 2024, introduces strong repair rights to extend product lifecycles, reduce waste, and foster a circular economy. This regulation shifts expectations for manufacturers, retailers, and consumers by enforcing repair obligations, transparency, and equal access to repair services.
A close-up of a person repairing a disassembled smartphone on a white workbench, surrounded by small precision tools, screws, and a separated screen under soft natural light.

What is the EU Right to Repair Directive and Why Does It Matter?

The directive mandates that manufacturers must repair listed products fairly and promptly, even after legal warranties expire. It empowers consumers with freedom to choose repairers and requires manufacturers to supply spare parts and repair information at reasonable prices. This creates a clearer, fairer landscape for product maintenance while driving sustainability.

What Are the Key Rights and Obligations Under the Directive?

  • Obligation to Repair: Manufacturers must repair products defined in Annex II — appliances like washing machines, refrigerators, smartphones, and tablets — within reasonable timeframes and costs.
  • Consumer Freedom: Consumers can choose any repair service — manufacturer or third party — without fear of voiding warranties.
  • Access to Repair Information: Manufacturers must supply third-party repairers with technical info and spare parts at fair prices.
  • Transparency: Repair prices and service details must be openly available online; consumers receive a standardized repair info form before works begin.
  • Warranty Extensions: Legal guarantees extend by one year after a covered repair.
  • Scope & Spare Parts: The current scope covers certain appliances and electronics, with obligations to provide spare parts and prevent software or hardware blocking.
  • Refurbished Replacements: If repair is impossible, refurbished products may be offered.

How Will This Directive Impact Manufacturers and Retailers?

Manufacturers and retailers face new compliance obligations involving repair service provision, transparency, and technical cooperation with third-party repairers. While this may require operational adjustments, it also opens up business opportunities in circular service models, customer loyalty, and brand differentiation.

What Are the Timelines and Compliance Deadlines?

  • Adopted: June 13, 2024
  • Enforced: July 30, 2024
  • National implementation deadline: July 2026
  • EU online repair platform launch: July 2027

What Are the Benefits of Embracing Repair and Circularity in Business?

Repair programs can lower waste management costs, create new revenue streams, and enhance customer relationships. Extending product lifespans reduces environmental impact through less production and waste.

A high-angle photo of a wooden desk divided in two: the left side shows a laptop screen labeled “EU LAW,” a checklist titled “COMPLIANCE,” and a document labeled “CONTRACT”; the right side features a notebook with “BUSINESS STRATEGY,” a flow from “CUSTOMERS” to a euro symbol, and a green stamp reading “REFURBISHED.”

How Can Brands and Retailers Implement Successful Take-Back and Repair Programs?

Brands can leverage integrated take-back and resale platforms to streamline repair and circular processes. Automated systems ensure transparency, timely part availability, and compliance. Tools like koorvi's resale as a service solutions enable seamless circular commerce.

What Role Does the EU Online Repair Platform Play in the Circular Economy?

The forthcoming EU-wide online platform, launching in 2027, will help consumers find repair services and sellers of refurbished goods, making repair and reuse more accessible and fostering circular business at scale.

Turning Compliance Into Competitive Advantage

The EU Right to Repair Directive not only enforces repair rights but also opens new business models grounded in sustainability and circularity. Brands that embrace these changes can drive profitability, customer loyalty, and reduced environmental impacts.

➡️ Explore koorvi’s Circularity Check to start your circular journey today.

FAQs

What is the EU Right to Repair Directive and when does it come into effect?

The EU Right to Repair Directive is legislation adopted on June 13, 2024 and enforced from July 30, 2024 that mandates manufacturers must repair listed products fairly and promptly even after legal warranties expire. The directive empowers consumers with freedom to choose any repairer without voiding warranties and requires manufacturers to supply spare parts and repair information at reasonable prices. National implementation must be completed by July 2026, with an EU-wide online repair platform launching in July 2027 to help consumers find repair services and sellers of refurbished goods, making repair and reuse more accessible across member states.

Which products are covered by the EU Right to Repair Directive and what are manufacturers’ obligations?

The directive currently covers products defined in Annex II including household appliances like washing machines and refrigerators, as well as smartphones and tablets. Manufacturers must repair these products within reasonable timeframes and costs, supply spare parts and technical information to third-party repairers at fair prices, publish repair prices and service details openly online, provide consumers with a standardized repair information form before work begins, and extend legal guarantees by one year after covered repairs. Additionally, manufacturers cannot use software or hardware blocking to prevent repairs and must offer refurbished replacements when repair is impossible.

How does the EU Right to Repair Directive empower consumers and change their repair options?

The directive fundamentally shifts consumer rights by granting freedom to choose any repair service, whether manufacturer-operated or third-party, without risking warranty voidance. Consumers receive transparent pricing through openly published repair costs and service details, standardized repair information forms before work begins to ensure informed decisions, warranty extensions of one year after covered repairs providing longer product protection, and access to a broader network of qualified repairers through technical information and spare part availability requirements. Starting July 2027, the EU online repair platform will further simplify finding local repair services and refurbished product sellers, making sustainable consumption choices easier and more accessible.

What business opportunities does the Right to Repair Directive create for manufacturers and retailers?

While the directive imposes new compliance requirements, it simultaneously opens significant business opportunities in circular economy models. Manufacturers can develop new revenue streams through certified repair services and spare parts sales, build stronger customer relationships through ongoing service touchpoints beyond the initial sale, differentiate their brand as sustainability leaders in increasingly eco-conscious markets, reduce waste management costs by keeping products in use longer, and potentially attract new customer segments valuing repairability and longevity. Retailers can establish repair service partnerships, offer extended warranties with confidence, and integrate refurbished product sales into existing channels, turning regulatory compliance into competitive advantage.

How can companies implement compliant repair and circular business models efficiently?

Successfully implementing repair and circularity programs requires strategic planning across operations, technology, and customer experience. Companies should establish transparent repair pricing and service information published online, develop partnerships with qualified third-party repairers or build in-house capacity, ensure spare part availability and technical documentation accessibility, create standardized processes for warranty extensions and repair information forms, and integrate digital systems that track repairs, manage parts inventory, and ensure regulatory compliance. Brands can accelerate implementation by leveraging specialized platforms like koorvi that provide comprehensive resale-as-a-service solutions, managing take-back programs, refurbishment workflows, repair tracking, and branded circular commerce channels efficiently while ensuring compliance with evolving EU regulations.