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The Pre-Sale Availability Rule was published as a final rule in 1975 and most recently amended in 2015. Section 102(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act,15 U.S.C. 2302(b)(1)(A), directed the Commission to prescribe rules requiring that the terms of any written warranty on a consumer product be made available to the consumer or prospective consumer prior to the sale of the product. Accordingly, the Commission issued Rule 702, which requires sellers and warrantors to make the terms of a written warranty available to the consumer prior to sale. Among other things, the rule requires sellers to make warranties readily available by either (1) displaying the warranty document in close proximity to the product, or (2) furnishing the warranty document on request and posting signs in prominent locations advising consumers that warranty information is available. The rule requires warrantors to provide materials to enable sellers to comply with the rule's requirements. It also sets out the methods by which warranty information can be made available prior to the sale of the product in instances where the product is sold through catalogs, mail order, or door-to-door.

The E-Warranty Act of 2015, which was signed into law on September 24, 2015, directed the FTC to revise the Pre-Sale Availability Rule to permit the option of using Internet Web sites to post warranty terms, in addition to the other methods that the Pre-Sale Availability Rule already allows. On September 6, 2016, the FTC announced the issuance of a final rule amending the Pre-Sale Availability Rule. 81 FR 63664. The final rule was effective on October 17, 2016.

Overall Description of Deadline: The E-Warranty Act of 2015, Public Law No. 114-51, requires the FTC to revise its current warranty regulations in accordance with the Act by September 24, 2016.