U.S. lemon law guide by state
Every U.S. state has a lemon law that forces manufacturers to refund or replace a defective new vehicle. Compare coverage months, mileage limits, repair-attempt rules, and remedies — plain English, side by side.
Not legal advice. Lemon laws are complex and change often. Verify current statute text and consult a licensed attorney in your state before filing a claim.
52
States
12mo
Median coverage
4
Typical attempts
13
Arbitration req.
Quick qualifier
Is your car actually a lemon?
Four signals most state lemon laws look for. Hit most of them and you likely have a claim — pick your state below for the exact thresholds.
Defect appeared early
Lemon laws focus on the first 12 to 36 months or 12,000 to 24,000 miles after delivery, depending on the state. In California that window only triggers a legal presumption — it isn't a cutoff.
3+ failed repair attempts
The dealer has tried — and failed — to fix the same defect three or four times. One or two attempts may be enough if the defect is a serious safety risk.
30+ days out of service
Cumulative, not consecutive. If your car has been unavailable for warranty repairs for about a month, most states treat that as a qualifying threshold on its own.
Safety, use, or value impaired
The defect has to substantially impair the vehicle — not just annoy you. Weak A/C or a rattle usually isn't enough; a brake, steering, or repeated stall issue usually is.
Directory
Compare state lemon laws
Click any column header to sort. Click a state name to open its full plain-English guide with statute citation, qualifying criteria, remedy explanation, and filing process.
| State | Statute | Months | Miles | Attempts | Days out | Arb. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AL Alabama | Ala. Code § 8-20A-1 et seq. | 12 | 12,000 | 3 | 30 | — |
| AK Alaska | Alaska Stat. § 45.45.300 et seq. | 12 | 12,000 | 3 | 30 | — |
| AZ Arizona | Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 44-1261 et seq. | 24 | 24,000 | 4 | 30 | — |
| AR Arkansas | Ark. Code Ann. § 4-90-401 et seq. | 24 | 24,000 | 3 | 30 | — |
| CA California | Cal. Civ. Code § 1790 et seq. | 18† | 18,000† | 4 | 30 | — |
| CO Colorado | Colo. Rev. Stat. § 42-10-101 et seq. | 24 | 24,000 | 3 | 24‡ | — |
| CT Connecticut | Conn. Gen. Stat. § 42-179 et seq. | 24 | 24,000 | 4 | 30 | Required |
| DE Delaware | Del. Code Ann. tit. 6, § 5001 et seq. | 12 | — | 4 | 30 | — |
| DC District of Columbia | D.C. Code § 50-501 et seq. | 24 | 18,000 | 4 | 30 | Required |
| FL Florida | Fla. Stat. § 681.101 et seq. | 24 | — | 3 | 30 | Required |
| GA Georgia | Ga. Code Ann. § 10-1-780 et seq. | 24 | 24,000 | 3 | 30 | — |
| HI Hawaii | Haw. Rev. Stat. § 481I-1 et seq. | 24 | 24,000 | 3 | 30 | — |
| ID Idaho | Idaho Code § 48-901 et seq. | 24 | 24,000 | 4 | 30‡ | Required |
| IL Illinois | 815 ILCS 380/1 et seq. | 12 | 12,000 | 4 | 30‡ | — |
| IN Indiana | Ind. Code § 24-5-13-1 et seq. | 18 | 18,000 | 4 | 30 | — |
| IA Iowa | Iowa Code § 322G.1 et seq. | 24 | 24,000 | 3 | 30 | — |
| KS Kansas | Kan. Stat. Ann. § 50-645 | 12 | — | 4 | 30 | — |
| KY Kentucky | Ky. Rev. Stat. § 367.840 et seq. | 12 | 12,000 | 4 | 30 | Required |
| LA Louisiana | La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 51:1941 et seq. | 12 | — | 4 | 45 | — |
| ME Maine | Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 10, § 1161 et seq. | 36 | 18,000 | 3 | 15‡ | — |
| MD Maryland | Md. Code Ann., Com. Law § 14-1501 et seq. | 24 | 18,000 | 4 | 30 | — |
| MA Massachusetts | Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 90, § 7N1/2 | 12 | 15,000 | 3 | 15 | Required |
| MI Michigan | Mich. Comp. Laws § 257.1401 et seq. | 24 | — | 4 | 30 | — |
| MN Minnesota | Minn. Stat. § 325F.665 | 24 | 18,000 | 4 | 30‡ | — |
| MS Mississippi | Miss. Code Ann. § 63-17-151 et seq. | 12 | 12,000 | 3 | 15 | — |
| MO Missouri | Mo. Rev. Stat. § 407.560 et seq. | 12 | — | 4 | 30‡ | — |
| MT Montana | Mont. Code Ann. § 61-4-501 et seq. | 24 | 18,000 | 4 | 30 | Required |
| NE Nebraska | Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-2701 et seq. | 12 | — | 4 | 40 | — |
| NV Nevada | Nev. Rev. Stat. § 597.600 et seq. | 12 | 12,000 | 4 | 30 | — |
| NH New Hampshire | N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 357-D:1 et seq. | 12 | — | 3 | 30 | Required |
| NJ New Jersey | N.J. Stat. Ann. § 56:12-29 et seq. | 24 | 24,000 | 3 | 20 | — |
| NM New Mexico | N.M. Stat. Ann. § 57-16A-1 et seq. | 12 | — | 4 | 30‡ | — |
| NY New York | N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 198-a | 24 | 18,000 | 4 | 30 | Required |
| NC North Carolina | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-351 et seq. | 24 | 24,000 | 4 | 20 | — |
| ND North Dakota | N.D. Cent. Code § 51-07-16 et seq. | 12 | 12,000 | 4 | 30‡ | — |
| OH Ohio | Ohio Rev. Code § 1345.71 et seq. | 12 | 18,000 | 3 | 30 | — |
| OK Oklahoma | Okla. Stat. tit. 15, § 901 et seq. | 12 | — | 4 | 30 | — |
| OR Oregon | Or. Rev. Stat. § 646A.400 et seq. | 24 | 24,000 | 4 | 30 | — |
| PA Pennsylvania | 73 Pa. Stat. § 1951 et seq. | 12 | 12,000 | 3 | 30 | — |
| PR Puerto Rico | P.R. Laws Ann. tit. 10, § 2051 et seq. | 12 | 18,000 | 3 | 30 | — |
| RI Rhode Island | R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-5.2-1 et seq. | 12 | 15,000 | 4 | 30 | — |
| SC South Carolina | S.C. Code Ann. § 56-28-10 et seq. | 12 | 12,000 | 3 | 30 | — |
| SD South Dakota | S.D. Codified Laws § 32-6D-1 et seq. | 12 | 12,000 | 4 | 30 | — |
| TN Tennessee | Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-24-101 et seq. | 12 | — | 3 | 30 | — |
| TX Texas | Tex. Occ. Code § 2301.601 et seq. | 24 | 24,000 | 4 | 30 | Required |
| UT Utah | Utah Code § 13-20-1 et seq. | 12 | — | 4 | 30‡ | — |
| VT Vermont | Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 9, § 4170 et seq. | 12 | — | 3 | 30 | Required |
| VA Virginia | Va. Code Ann. § 59.1-207.9 et seq. | 18 | — | 3 | 30 | — |
| WA Washington | Wash. Rev. Code § 19.118.005 et seq. | 24 | 24,000 | 4 | 30 | Required |
| WV West Virginia | W. Va. Code § 46A-6A-1 et seq. | 12 | 12,000 | 3 | 30 | — |
| WI Wisconsin | Wis. Stat. § 218.0171 | 12 | — | 4 | 30 | — |
| WY Wyoming | Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 40-17-101 et seq. | 12 | — | 4 | 30‡ | Required |
- California: Presumption period, not a coverage cutoff — see the state page.
Days out of service counted in business or working days, not calendar days: Colorado (business days), Idaho (business days), Illinois (business days), Maine (business days), Minnesota (business days), Missouri (working days), New Mexico (business days), North Dakota (business days), Utah (business days), Wyoming (business days).
Data is a summary of statutory headline rules — not a substitute for reading the full statute or consulting counsel.
How state lemon laws actually work
Four things everyone with a defective new car should understand before they escalate.
What a lemon law covers
A warranty-enforcement statute. It does not apply to "bad buys" or cars that turn out worse than expected — only to vehicles with a manufacturer-covered defect that substantially impairs use, value, or safety and that the dealer cannot repair within a reasonable number of attempts.
The "reasonable number" rule
Most states presume 3–4 failed repair attempts for the same defect — or 30 cumulative days out of service for warranty work — is unreasonable. Some states drop the attempt count to 1–2 for serious safety defects (brakes, steering, airbags, fire risk).
Remedies available
Manufacturer typically owes a full refund (purchase price, taxes, fees, finance charges, minus a mileage offset) or a comparable replacement vehicle. Keeping the car for a cash payment is usually a negotiated settlement — most statutes, including the California and Texas statutes, provide for a refund or a replacement.
Federal backup: Magnuson-Moss
Even when state lemon laws don't apply (used cars, private sales, missed deadlines), the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (15 U.S.C. § 2301) still protects buyers with an express written warranty, and a court can order the manufacturer to pay a winning buyer's attorney fees.
Buying used? Check for a buyback
Many states mark a lemon buyback with a title brand
When a manufacturer repurchases a lemon under state law, many states require a title brand (California's “Lemon Law Buyback,” for example), but not all do — some only require a written disclosure to the next buyer, which can get lost in later resales. If you're about to buy a used car, run the VIN through try.vin — a full history report shows the title brands reported for the vehicle (the free VIN check does not), and the AI condition check (free account) tells you how the car looks today.
Manufacturer buyback · 2021
Repurchased under California lemon law (Cal. Civ. Code § 1793.2(d)(2))
Why it matters
The original buyer returned this vehicle for a persistent defect. Review NHTSA recalls for the VIN and consider an independent inspection before purchase.
Why try.vin
The legal-research directories lock statutes behind jargon. We don't.
All 50 states, compared
Coverage months, miles, repair-attempt count, days-out-of-service rule, arbitration requirement, and remedies — for every U.S. state, D.C., and Puerto Rico.
Free, no signup
The directory, the comparison table, and every state page are free to read — no account, no email required.
Statute citations linked
Every state page cites the statute and links to where you can read it, so you can check the wording yourself.
Plain English, not legalese
Summaries written for owners, not law students. Still rigorous — but you don't need a law degree to understand what you're reading.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the questions owners and used-car buyers ask most.
Know your rights. Know the car.
Pick your state below for the full statutory breakdown — or use the tools to check a specific VIN's history and inspect a used car from its photos.