Right to Repair in Germany: What Sellers Must Do

For sellers into Germany, the Right to Repair Directive (EU) 2024/1799 is a new EU-wide framework that strengthens consumers’ ability to have covered goods repaired. It entered into force on 30 July 2024, and Member States — including Germany — must transpose it into national law by 31 July 2026. Until that German text is in place, the Directive sets the direction rather than the final rulebook.

This guide explains what the Directive introduces and what a store supplying German consumers should prepare for. For the wider framework, see our Right to Repair law page.

What the Directive introduces

At its core, the Directive creates a right to request repair from producers for goods covered by EU reparability requirements — including items such as smartphones and tablets, and many household appliances. This right can be exercised even after the legal guarantee has ended, encouraging repair over replacement across a product’s life.

The Directive is backed by several practical tools:

• A European Repair Information Form so consumers get clear, comparable details about a repair and its cost.
• National online repair platforms to help consumers locate repairers.
• A 12-month guarantee extension where a product is repaired under the guarantee.
• Restrictions on anti-repair practices that hinder independent or self-repair.

What it means for German-facing stores

The obligations largely fall on producers, but the effects ripple through the whole selling chain. Retailers will encounter more repair-first expectations from consumers, the European Repair Information Form as a standard reference point, and a marketplace in which the ability to repair covered goods becomes part of the product proposition rather than an afterthought.

Germany does not currently have the same kind of point-of-sale repairability score that France uses, so for many German sellers the Directive represents the main structured push on repairability. That makes understanding its scope — which of your goods are covered — a useful first step.

Transposition is still pending

The German rules that will actually bind sellers depend on national transposition, which is still pending. Germany must complete this by 31 July 2026. The precise duties, procedures and any national specifics will be set out in that German text, so the practical advice is to monitor the transposition and prepare in outline now.

The right to repair is an EU framework in force since 30 July 2024, but Germany’s binding rules await transposition by 31 July 2026.

A practical checklist for the German market

• Identify which of your goods fall under EU reparability requirements (for example smartphones, tablets, many appliances).
• Prepare to work with the European Repair Information Form as a standard reference.
• Review your terms and practices for anything that could count as an anti-repair practice.
• Track German transposition, due by 31 July 2026, for the final national detail.

If you would like a structured review of how your store handles repairability and consumer-guarantee information for German buyers, our PrestaShop compliance audit checks your product information against the applicable rules.

This article is educational and does not constitute legal advice.