NEW REPORT: ‘The State of Right to Repair’

New analysis by repair advocates underscores need for enforcement, further state progress to ensure people can fix their stuff 

BOSTON — As newly seated state legislatures across the United States consider Right to Repair legislation, U.S. PIRG Education Fund released a new analysis Thursday of this crucial consumer and environmental issue. The report, “The State of Right to Repair,” reviews Right to Repair advances to date and underscores the need for continued progress to ensure that people can access what they need to repair modern gadgets. The analysis includes information from a U.S. PIRG Education Fund-iFixit survey of 207 repairers, 101 of whom are American shop owners or professional technicians. 

“It’s clear that Right to Repair is gaining ground, but we aren’t done yet,” said Nathan Proctor, co-author of the report and U.S. PIRG Education Fund’s senior director for the Right to Repair Campaign. “More Americans can fix more stuff now versus when our campaign started, but there are more issues to address. Our work is as critical as ever: When people can’t fix stuff, it ends up on the junk pile. It’s annoying, expensive and wasteful.” 

In 2024, 30 states considered some form of Right to Repair legislation and new laws passed in Oregon, California and Colorado. Over the last three years, six states have passed a total of eight right to repair laws. 

“Right to Repair is already a hot topic in state houses across the country in 2025,” added Gay Gordon-Byrne, the executive director of Repair.org. “We know the public is with us, and that what we’re asking for is common sense. We won’t stop until your ability to repair your stuff is fully protected.” 

The majority of professional repair technicians indicate that access to parts and repair instructions has improved — 68% say that parts access has improved, while 64% say that repair information access has improved. However, significant gaps remain, including access to schematics, repair materials for enterprise equipment and appliances, and access to software tools. As the Right to Repair Coalition relaunches its efforts in 2025, advocates point to these as key foci moving forward. 

Photo by TPIN Staff | TPIN

“State of Right to Repair” identifies these priorities for the coalition’s state campaign work this year:

1. Expanding the number of states with active Right to Repair laws;
2. Closing loopholes or gaps in existing laws to ensure that the Right to Repair effectively covers the greatest number of repairs;
3. Working with companies and regulators to ensure effective compliance.

In addition, advocates are focused on “removing restrictions in copyright law that limit repairs and outlaw certain repair tools,” which are controlled at the federal level.  

“We need to listen to the people out there actually repairing devices if we want to live in a more fixable world,” added Elizabeth Chamberlain, sustainability director at iFixit. “Our goal has always been to make sure people can fix their stuff, and while we are excited about our progress, it’s clear we need to keep up the pressure.”