Can an insurance company force you to use aftermarket parts in Texas?

You choose the parts, not the price

Section 1952.301 of the Texas Insurance Code gives you the right to choose the repair shop and parts for your vehicle. That choice cannot be taken away from you by your insurer. When you file a property damage claim against the insurer of the driver who hit you, the same rules apply.

There is one exception to Section 1952.307. You can only use it with your own insurance policy. Insurers may limit the parts they pay for if:

• There is a limitation on the face of the policy.
• Written consent was given by you.
• When you bought the policy, the insurer informed you of the limitations orally and in writing.

That agreement with the other driver's insurer was not signed by you. As a result, section 1952.307 does not apply to claims against that insurer.

A reasonable repair amount must still be paid by the insurer. There is no need to pay the full price for an OEM part. Comparing the insurer's approved estimate with the shop's OEM parts price before repairs begin is a smart idea. You may have to pay more if you choose OEM parts.

A reasonable amount is, in practice, the insurer's own estimate, and that estimate is priced on aftermarket or recycled parts. The A/M and LKQ codes on the estimate are how the reasonable amount is built: each of those lines is priced below the factory part. Neither the statute nor the rule defines the phrase. TDI's consumer guide puts it this way: the insurer is only required to pay for parts of like kind and quality to those that were damaged, meaning a part that matches the damaged one in kind and condition, and it does not have to pay for original parts from the manufacturer. The gap between the estimate and the OEM price is the amount you pay yourself, unless your policy carries an endorsement that pays for OEM parts.

An OEM parts endorsement is an add-on some carriers sell with collision coverage that pays for new factory parts instead of aftermarket or recycled ones. For the parts it covers, the endorsement replaces the reasonable amount limit with the factory price. Liberty Mutual sells one it calls Original Parts Replacement, limited to vehicles ten years old or newer, and its estimate can still include a non-OEM part when the factory part is not available. Progressive says it offers OEM parts coverage for motorcycles but not for cars. State Farm says the final choice of parts rests with the vehicle owner. An endorsement is the reverse of a Section 1952.307 limitation: one buys OEM parts before the crash, the other signs them away. Texas has no age rule that forces OEM parts, so an endorsement is the only route to guaranteed factory parts on your own policy. Ask your agent whether your policy carries either one.

If the crash just happened, read our guide on what to do after a Texas car accident before repairs begin.

Codes for the car parts

Every repair estimate lists a code next to each replacement part.

An aftermarket part is a new part made by a company other than your vehicle's manufacturer, built to fit the same spot. A recycled part is a used original taken from another vehicle. The code next to each line tells you which one the estimate paid for.

Aftermarket and recycled parts most often appear on estimates for exterior sheet metal and lamps. They are less common for frame components and safety parts.

CAPA, NSF, and warranty

Aftermarket parts may display CAPA and NSF certification marks. According to ASTM and SAE standards, CAPA tests fit, performance, durability, and material properties. Regarding dimensions and materials, NSF reportedly compares the part to the original.

CAPA describes its seal this way:

CAPA certification does not mean that aftermarket parts perform the same as an OEM part in every use or repair.

Your warranty will not be voided if you use an aftermarket or recycled part. A dealer or manufacturer may deny warranty coverage for a damaged part only if it can prove that the aftermarket or recycled part caused the damage. It is the dealer's or manufacturer's responsibility to do so.

In some bumpers, radar sensors are installed. There are cameras embedded in windshields that assist drivers. Whether an OEM or aftermarket part is used for replacement or repair, calibration may be required.

The most recent survey we found, published by IIHS in 2023, reported that about half of owners whose crash avoidance features were repaired later experienced problems with them. The reported problems were more common after windshield and crash damage repairs. Repair shops can use I-CAR's Lookup tool to check whether calibration is required. The manufacturer provides the actual calibration procedure.

The insurer's estimate is usually priced on certified aftermarket parts, and the adjuster calls that price the reasonable amount. If a dealer later denies a warranty claim and blames the replacement part, the CAPA or NSF certificate for that part is the first document to send back.

Fit is the practical test. A fender or bumper that does not match the original's dimensions shows in the panel gaps, and a bumper that sits off can hold a radar sensor at the wrong angle. CAPA tests fit for that reason. Calibration resets a sensor that a repair moved. On each line of the estimate the choice is a certified aftermarket part at the insurer's price or a factory part with you paying the difference.

A replacement bumper or windshield can move a radar sensor or a camera out of position, OEM or aftermarket. When the manufacturer's repair procedure calls for a calibration, the calibration is part of the repair and belongs on the estimate. If the estimate leaves it out, ask the shop to send the insurer a supplement, the shop's written request for payment of work the first estimate missed. In our experience the insurer pays for that calibration as part of the reasonable amount, not as a charge you cover. A certified aftermarket part needs the same calibration as a factory part.

Aftermarket and recycled codes rarely appear on frame parts and safety parts. Bumpers, mirrors and windshields carry most of the sensors that need calibration, and those are the parts an estimate replaces most often.

What Texas Law Decides

Texas law decides:

• The insurer cannot choose your repair shop.
• The insurer cannot require a specific brand, age, or condition of the replacement part.
• The insurer must pay no more than a reasonable repair amount if you request OEM parts.
• The insurer must give you the required notice when presenting the vehicle for a damage claim.
• The insurer cannot stop the shop from telling you which parts were used, who made them, and what the insurer was charged.

Here is the notice the insurer must hand you.

The notice has a deadline, and the deadline runs from how you filed the claim:

• In person: the insurer must hand it to you on the spot.
• Written or online claim: it must be mailed within three business days.
• Phone claim: the insurer must read it to you and mail it within 15 days.

A late notice is a fact you can put in writing. Write down the date it arrived, because the first request below starts with that date.

These rules protect the policyholder and the person who was hit alike. Section 1952.302 bars a preferred-shop condition on both kinds of claim, and none of the rules moves the reasonable amount limit. Had SB 1429 passed, OEM glass would have been required on newer cars no matter the price. SB 1429 did not pass, so the price limit still governs every part on the estimate.

Texas has no rule requiring OEM parts based on vehicle age. SB 1429 would have created such a rule, but it died in committee in 2025 and never became law.

State parts rules continue to circulate online. There is a link to a 2017 article on insurance defense. In Texas, we failed to find a "like kind and quality" requirement or a consent requirement.

Get the required notice before disputing a part line on the repair estimate.

What do you request?

Before you begin repairs, follow these steps:

1. Ask for the written notice required under Sections 1952.301 through 1952.307 if the insurer has not provided it.
2. Ask the repair shop for a supplement and a written OEM price. Confirm the difference between the OEM price and the insurer's approved amount before repairs start.
3. Ask the shop for the list of parts used, who made them, and what the insurer was charged. Under Section 1952.304, the insurer cannot stop the shop from giving you that list. It is your proof that an aftermarket part went in.
4. Ask about diminished value while the property damage claim remains open.
5. File a complaint with the Texas Department of Insurance if the insurer does not provide notice or does not respond in writing.

We handle property damage claims when the crash also causes injury.

Texas law does not give you a bad-faith claim against the other driver's insurer. See Allstate Insurance Co. v. Watson and Tex. Ins. Code 541.060(b). The injury claim and the available evidence will provide the basis for negotiations with the other driver's insurer. Adjusters use the same tactics for injury.

A TDI complaint is filed online, and our guide to dealing with insurance companies in Texas walks through the complaint step by step. For a parts dispute, the parts list the shop can give you under Section 1952.304 is the evidence that complaint runs on, and a missing or late notice under Section 1952.305 is the violation it is built to catch. A part that went in without your agreement shows up on that list, and that is what proves the insurer forced it.

Diminished value, the resale loss a repaired car carries, is a separate item on the same property damage claim. Our guide on what to do after a Texas car accident covers who owes it; ask for it while the claim is open, because it closes with the claim.

Against your own insurer, the remedies in Chapters 541 and 542 apply, and the guide linked above explains them. Against the other driver's insurer, the tools for a parts dispute are the written notice, the shop's parts list, the supplement, and the injury claim itself.

Common questions