Every state and Washington, DC has a lemon law for new cars, and no two read the same. Each one sets a window after delivery, the number of repairs or days in the shop after which the maker is presumed to have had its chance, the steps that must come first, and how a refund is worked out. This section gathers all 51 in one table and gives the 16 most-searched states a page of their own, with every rule beside its statute section and the date we read it.
This page is general information, not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Lemon laws, deadlines and required steps vary by state and change. The statute, the maker, a state board or a court decides a claim.
Start here
If the terms are new to you (nonconformity, presumption, use offset), read what a lemon law is and what it covers first. Then find your state in the table of lemon laws in all 50 states and DC: one row per state with the window, the repair and day counts, the first step and the deadline rule in words, and a fold-out with the sections. We read 44 of the 51 laws in current official text on 11 November 2026 and 2 in older official copies, which the table labels (Georgia and Indiana). Five rows say “not confirmed” (Arkansas, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Tennessee and Wisconsin): that means we could not read the official text, not that the state has no law.
If your state has its own page below, read that next. Each follows the same order: the answer, the four things that decide a claim, coverage, the deadline rule, fees, used cars, and links to the official text and the state agency.
The 16 state pages
Window, then repairs of the same defect / repairs of a serious safety defect / days out of service, as each statute counts them (“–” means the state has no separate, lower count for a safety defect). All read 11 November 2026.
| State | Window | Repairs / safety / days | Sections |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | Shorter of the warranty or 2 yrs/24,000 mi | 4 / – / 30 cal | ARS 44-1262(A), 44-1264(A) |
| California | 18 mo or 18,000 mi | 4 / 2 / more than 30 cal | Civ. Code 1793.22(b) |
| Florida | 24 months, no mileage limit | 3 + final / – / 30 cal | Fla. Stat. 681.102(9), 681.104 |
| Georgia | 24 mo or 24,000 mi | 3 / 1 / 30 cal | O.C.G.A. 10-1-782(10), 10-1-784(a)(1) |
| Illinois | 1 yr or 12,000 mi | 4 / – / 30 bus | 815 ILCS 380/2(f), 380/3(b) |
| Indiana | Reported in 18 mo or 18,000 mi | 4 / – / 30 bus | IC 24-5-13-7, -8, -15(a) |
| Massachusetts | 1 yr or 15,000 mi | 3 + final / – / 15 bus | G.L. c. 90, 7N1/2(1), (4) |
| Missouri | Warranty or 1 yr, earlier | 4 / – / 30 working | RSMo 407.565, 407.571 |
| New Jersey | 24,000 mi or 2 yrs | 3 / 1 / 20 cal | N.J.S.A. 56:12-31, 56:12-33(a) |
| New York | 18,000 mi or 2 yrs | 4 / – / 30 cal | GBL 198-a(b)(1), (d) |
| North Carolina | 24 mo or 24,000 mi | 4 / – / 20 bus in any 12 months | G.S. 20-351.3(a), 20-351.5(a) |
| Ohio | 1 yr or 18,000 mi | 3 / 1 / 30 cal, or 8 on any defects | ORC 1345.72(A), 1345.73(A) |
| Pennsylvania | 1 yr, 12,000 mi or the warranty | 3 / – / 30 cal | 73 P.S., secs. 4(a), 6(a) |
| Texas | Warranty or 24 mo/24,000 mi | 4 / 2 / 30 days | Occ. Code 2301.605(a) |
| Virginia | 18 months, no mileage limit | 3 / 1 / 30 cal | Va. Code 59.1-207.11, 59.1-207.13(B) |
| Washington | 2 yrs or 24,000 mi | 4 / 2 / 30 cal | RCW 19.118.021(6), 19.118.041(2) |
The other 35 states and DC are in the 51-state table today; their own pages follow in later batches. To put your own repair count, days and miles beside your state’s numbers, use the lemon law checker. Reaching a number creates a presumption in law, not a result.
The window: what has to happen, and by when
Windows run from delivery, usually “whichever comes first”. The shortest on our pages are 1 year or 12,000 miles in Illinois (380/2(f)) and the warranty or 1 year, whichever ends earlier, in Missouri (RSMo 407.565, 407.571). Florida’s runs 24 months with no mileage limit (681.102(9)), and Virginia’s 18 months with no mileage limit (59.1-207.11).
Read what the window is for in your state. In Arizona, Ohio and New York the defect must be reported inside it (ARS 44-1262(A); ORC 1345.72(A); GBL 198-a(b)(1)). In North Carolina and Pennsylvania the defect must have occurred inside it (G.S. 20-351.3(a); sec. 4(a)). In Texas the repairs are counted inside it (2301.605(a)).
The counts: repairs, safety defects and days
You may read that “a car is a lemon after three repair attempts” everywhere. We checked it against the statutes, and it isn’t what the texts say. Three repairs of the same defect is the number in Ohio, New Jersey, Virginia and Pennsylvania; four in Illinois, New York, North Carolina and Texas. Some states also set a lower count for a defect likely to cause death or serious injury: one repair in Ohio (1345.73(A)(4)), Georgia (10-1-784(a)(1)(A)), New Jersey (56:12-33(a)(3)) and Virginia (59.1-207.13(B)(2)); two in California (1793.22(b)(1)), Texas (2301.605(a)) and Washington (19.118.041(2)). Others, such as Illinois, Missouri and Pennsylvania, have no separate safety count.
Days are not all the same days. Illinois and Indiana count business days, and Indiana’s include Saturdays (IC 24-5-13-2); Missouri counts working days (407.571(2)); Massachusetts counts 15 business days (7N1/2(4)(b)); New Jersey 20 calendar days, or 45 for a motor home (56:12-33(a)(2)); Ohio, New York, Virginia and Washington count 30 calendar days.
The steps that come first
- Written notice and a final repair. Florida requires notice by registered or express mail and a final repair attempt (681.104(1)(a), (3)(a)); Georgia certified mail or statutory overnight delivery, then a final repair (10-1-784(a)(2)); New Jersey certified mail, return receipt requested, and one more chance within 10 calendar days (56:12-33(b)); Massachusetts gives the maker one final chance of up to 7 business days (7N1/2(4)). Illinois needs direct written notice before the presumption applies (380/3(h)).
- The maker’s program. In Illinois and Missouri the maker’s own dispute program comes first if it meets the federal rules in 16 CFR 703 (and, in Illinois, you were told about it in writing) (380/4(a); RSMo 407.575). How these programs work, what they cost and whether they bind you is in lemon law arbitration and state boards.
- A state board before court. Texas: a $35 TxDMV complaint, mediation, then a hearing (2301.712, 2301.607(a)). Florida: the Attorney General’s office and the New Motor Vehicle Arbitration Board (681.1095(4)). Georgia: the Attorney General’s arbitration, which must be used before a suit under the law (10-1-785, 10-1-786). Washington: the AG’s arbitration board or a qualifying maker program (19.118.080(3)).
California is a special case: since 2025, makers on the Department of Consumer Affairs’ opt-in list (59 entries on 11 November 2026) follow a second set of court procedures (Code of Civil Procedure 871.20 to 871.30), so the steps there depend on the carmaker.
The remedy and the use offset
The remedy is a replacement or a refund. Who chooses differs: the buyer may choose the refund in California (1793.2(d)(2)) and in Georgia the choice is the consumer’s (10-1-784(b)(1)), while in Missouri it is the maker’s option (407.567.1). Most refunds take off a use offset for the miles you drove, and there is no national formula:
- Price x miles / 120,000: California, miles before the car first went in for the defect (1793.2(d)(2)(C)); Washington, miles before the first diagnosis or repair attempt (19.118.041(1)(c)).
- Price x miles / 100,000: Massachusetts (7N1/2(3)) and New Jersey (56:12-30). New York lets the first 12,000 miles go free (198-a(a)(4)).
- A cap: Pennsylvania, 10 cents a mile or 10% of the price, whichever is less (sec. 5); Virginia, half the IRS business mileage rate (59.1-207.11).
- No formula or none at all: Arizona, Illinois and Missouri allow a “reasonable allowance” with no formula (44-1263(A); 380/3(c); 407.567.1). Ohio’s statute allows no deduction for use (1345.72(B)).
The buyback and refund estimator works these formulas on your own numbers and shows each step. It gives an estimate only: the maker, a board or a court decides.
Deadlines, in words
Deadlines differ more than anything else. Arizona: a suit within six months after the window ends (44-1265(B)). Texas: the TxDMV case within six months after the window (2301.606(d)). Illinois: a suit within 18 months of delivery, plus days in the maker’s program (380/6, 380/4(b)). Missouri: the earlier of 6 months after the warranty expires or 18 months from delivery (407.573.3). Washington: the board request within 30 months of delivery (19.118.090(3)). Ohio: 5 years from delivery, with tolling during a qualified program (1345.75(C)). New Jersey’s lemon law sets none (56:12-29 to 56:12-49), and a general limit may apply. In every state an earlier date may apply. The deadline rule lookup shows each state’s rule in words; it never computes a date for your car.
Fees and used cars
“The maker pays the lawyer” is not what every statute says. Texas and Illinois lemon laws have no fee clause, Ohio entitles a consumer suing a non-complying maker to reasonable fees (1345.75(A)), New Jersey says a prevailing consumer “shall” be awarded them (56:12-42), and Missouri can make an owner pay the maker’s fees, including when the final recovery is not at least 10% more than a pre-suit offer (407.577.2). Each state page gives its own rule; how lemon lawyers are paid and who pays the fees sets them side by side.
Most lemon laws cover new cars only, but five of our state pages also cover a used-car law: Arizona (44-1267), Illinois (815 ILCS 505/2L), Massachusetts (7N1/4), New Jersey (56:8-67 to 56:8-80) and New York (198-b). The full list is in used-car lemon laws by state.
Your next step
Keep every repair order, with its dates, the mileage, the complaint as written and the days in the shop. Then read your state’s page or row, note the steps it requires first and how notice must be sent, and follow its links to the official statute and the state agency.
Statutes and rules checked on 11 November 2026, as cited on each state page.
