Does every U.S. state have a lemon law?

Yes. All 50 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico have enacted consumer-protection lemon laws, and try.vin indexes 52 of them on this page. Specific coverage windows (months and miles), repair-attempt thresholds, days-out-of-service rules, and arbitration requirements vary significantly — click into your state to see the exact numbers.

Does the lemon law cover used vehicles?

In most states, the new-car lemon law applies only to vehicles purchased or leased new. A few states (notably Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey) have a separate used-car lemon law. Everywhere else, a used vehicle sold with a written warranty may still be protected by the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.

How many repair attempts qualify a vehicle as a lemon?

Most states set the threshold between three and four repair attempts for the same defect, with a lower bar (often one or two attempts) if the defect poses a serious safety risk. A vehicle that has been out of service for warranty repairs for 30 cumulative days also typically qualifies. Exact thresholds vary — see your state's page.

What documentation should I keep?

Keep every repair order the dealer gives you — each must show the date, the mileage at arrival, the defect as reported, the work performed, and the parts replaced. Also save your purchase agreement, the manufacturer's warranty booklet, any written correspondence, and records of days the vehicle was unavailable. These form the backbone of a lemon-law claim.

How much does a lemon-law attorney cost?

In nearly every state with a fee-shifting provision, lemon-law attorneys take cases on contingency — they collect fees from the manufacturer if you win, not from your recovery. The upfront cost is usually zero. Always confirm the fee arrangement in writing before signing a representation agreement.

Is manufacturer arbitration binding?

It depends on the state and program. State-run arbitration programs are typically non-binding on the consumer (you can reject the outcome and sue) but binding on the manufacturer. Manufacturer-run programs like BBB Auto Line are also usually non-binding on consumers. Read the program rules before agreeing to arbitrate.

What is the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act?

Magnuson-Moss (15 U.S.C. § 2301) is the federal law governing consumer-product warranties. It runs in parallel to state lemon laws and often fills the gaps — it applies to used vehicles sold with a written warranty, to buyers whose state deadline has passed, and to claims that fall outside narrow state definitions. Attorney fees are recoverable under Magnuson-Moss in nearly every state.

How do I know if a used car has been a lemon?

A manufacturer buyback under a state lemon law leaves a permanent "lemon" or "buyback" brand on the vehicle's title in most states. Before buying a used car, run the 17-character VIN through try.vin — the vehicle history report surfaces every title brand, including lemon buyback, salvage, flood, and rebuilt.

Is the information on try.vin legal advice?

No. try.vin summarizes publicly available statutory headlines in plain English so you can compare the rules across states. The law changes, and the specifics of any claim depend on your facts. Before filing suit or signing a settlement, verify the current statute text and consult a licensed consumer-protection attorney in your state.

All 50 states · D.C. · Puerto Rico

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.

Do I qualify?

All 50 states Plain English Statute-cited Free, no signup

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.

Sample state

Preview

TX · Tex. Occ. Code § 2301.601

Texas Lemon Law

Enacted 1983 · covers new + leased · refund, replacement, or cash

Coverage window 24 months / 24k miles

Repair attempts 4 for same defect

Days out of service 30 cumulative

Arbitration Required

Attorney fees Recoverable

States

Median coverage

12mo

Typical attempts

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

Within the first 18–24 months or 18,000–24,000 miles (varies by state). The first time you reported it to the dealer is what matters, not when the fix drags on.

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.

Take the free AI qualifier

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.
Alabama AL	Ala. Code § 8-20A-1 et seq.	12	12,000	3	30	—
Alaska AK	Alaska Stat. § 45.45.300 et seq.	12	12,000	3	30	—
Arizona AZ	Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 44-1261 et seq.	24	24,000	4	30	—
Arkansas AR	Ark. Code Ann. § 4-90-401 et seq.	24	24,000	3	30	—
California CA	Cal. Civ. Code § 1793.2	18	18,000	4	30	—
Colorado CO	Colo. Rev. Stat. § 42-10-101 et seq.	12	—	4	30	—
Connecticut CT	Conn. Gen. Stat. § 42-179 et seq.	24	24,000	4	30	Required
Delaware DE	Del. Code Ann. tit. 6, § 5001 et seq.	12	12,000	4	30	—
District of Columbia DC	D.C. Code § 50-501 et seq.	24	18,000	4	30	—
Florida FL	Fla. Stat. § 681.101 et seq.	24	—	3	15	Required
Georgia GA	Ga. Code Ann. § 10-1-780 et seq.	24	24,000	3	30	—
Hawaii HI	Haw. Rev. Stat. § 481I-1 et seq.	24	24,000	3	30	—
Idaho ID	Idaho Code § 48-901 et seq.	24	24,000	4	30	—
Illinois IL	815 ILCS 380/1 et seq.	12	12,000	4	30	—
Indiana IN	Ind. Code § 24-5-13-1 et seq.	18	18,000	4	30	—
Iowa IA	Iowa Code § 322G.1 et seq.	24	24,000	3	20	—
Kansas KS	Kan. Stat. Ann. § 50-645	12	12,000	4	30	—
Kentucky KY	Ky. Rev. Stat. § 367.840 et seq.	12	12,000	4	30	—
Louisiana LA	La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 51:1941 et seq.	12	—	4	90	—
Maine ME	Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 10, § 1161 et seq.	24	18,000	3	15	Required
Maryland MD	Md. Code Ann., Com. Law § 14-1501 et seq.	24	18,000	4	30	—
Massachusetts MA	Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 90, § 7N1/2	12	15,000	3	15	Required
Michigan MI	Mich. Comp. Laws § 257.1401 et seq.	24	—	4	30	—
Minnesota MN	Minn. Stat. § 325F.665	24	18,000	4	30	—
Mississippi MS	Miss. Code Ann. § 63-17-151 et seq.	12	12,000	3	15	—
Missouri MO	Mo. Rev. Stat. § 407.560 et seq.	12	12,000	4	30	—
Montana MT	Mont. Code Ann. § 61-4-501 et seq.	24	18,000	4	30	Required
Nebraska NE	Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-2701 et seq.	12	12,000	4	40	—
Nevada NV	Nev. Rev. Stat. § 597.600 et seq.	12	12,000	4	30	—
New Hampshire NH	N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 357-D:1 et seq.	12	—	3	30	Required
New Jersey NJ	N.J. Stat. Ann. § 56:12-29 et seq.	24	24,000	3	20	—
New Mexico NM	N.M. Stat. Ann. § 57-16A-1 et seq.	12	12,000	4	30	—
New York NY	N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 198-a	24	18,000	4	30	Required
North Carolina NC	N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-351 et seq.	24	24,000	4	20	—
North Dakota ND	N.D. Cent. Code § 51-07-16 et seq.	12	12,000	4	30	—
Ohio OH	Ohio Rev. Code § 1345.71 et seq.	12	18,000	3	30	—
Oklahoma OK	Okla. Stat. tit. 15, § 901 et seq.	12	—	4	30	—
Oregon OR	Or. Rev. Stat. § 646A.400 et seq.	24	24,000	4	30	—
Pennsylvania PA	73 Pa. Stat. § 1951 et seq.	12	12,000	3	30	—
Puerto Rico PR	P.R. Laws Ann. tit. 10, § 2051 et seq.	12	18,000	3	30	—
Rhode Island RI	R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-5.2-1 et seq.	12	15,000	4	30	—
South Carolina SC	S.C. Code Ann. § 56-28-10 et seq.	12	12,000	3	30	—
South Dakota SD	S.D. Codified Laws § 32-6D-1 et seq.	12	12,000	4	30	—
Tennessee TN	Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-24-201 et seq.	12	12,000	3	30	—
Texas TX	Tex. Occ. Code § 2301.601 et seq.	24	24,000	4	30	Required
Utah UT	Utah Code § 13-20-1 et seq.	12	12,000	4	30	—
Vermont VT	Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 9, § 4170 et seq.	12	—	3	30	Required
Virginia VA	Va. Code Ann. § 59.1-207.9 et seq.	18	—	3	30	—
Washington WA	Wash. Rev. Code § 19.118.005 et seq.	24	24,000	4	30	Required
West Virginia WV	W. Va. Code § 46A-6A-1 et seq.	12	12,000	3	30	—
Wisconsin WI	Wis. Stat. § 218.0171	12	12,000	4	30	—
Wyoming WY	Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 40-17-101 et seq.	12	—	3	30	—

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. Many states also allow a cash settlement where you keep the vehicle.

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. Attorney fees are usually recoverable.

Buying used? Check for a buyback

A lemon buyback leaves a permanent title brand

When a manufacturer repurchases a lemon under state law, most states require that vehicle to carry a lemon or manufacturer-buyback brand on the title forever. If you're about to buy a used car, run the VIN through try.vin — the history report surfaces every title brand instantly, and the AI condition check tells you how the car looks today.

Run a free VIN check AI photo inspection

Title brand found

Manufacturer buyback · 2021

Repurchased under California lemon law (Cal. Civ. Code § 1793.22)

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 authoritative statute and links to the official government source so you can verify the text 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.

Frequently asked questions

Short answers to the questions owners and used-car buyers ask most.

A lemon law is a state statute that protects buyers of new vehicles that turn out to have a persistent manufacturing defect. If a dealer cannot fix the defect within a reasonable number of attempts, the manufacturer must repurchase or replace the vehicle — and in most states must also pay the buyer's attorney fees.

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.

Run a VIN check AI photo inspection