States
Georgia lemon law: when a new car is a lemon
What Ga. Code §§ 10-1-780 to 10-1-798 (Georgia Lemon Law) asks before a manufacturer must repurchase or replace a car, the steps on the way and the last day to act.
Does your car meet the Georgia lemon law tests?
Georgia, November 5, 2026 read in the statute
The presumption appears to be met
| Protection period | 2 years or 24,000 miles, whichever comes first: until January 5, 2028 or 24,000 miles. You are inside it. |
| Repair attempts, same defect | Met: needs 3, you have 3 |
| Serious safety defect | Not met: needs 1 attempt, you have no safety defect |
| Days out of service | Not met: needs 30 calendar days, you have 12 |
| Also | The 1-attempt test is for a serious safety defect: life-threatening, a malfunction that stops you from controlling the car, or a risk of fire or explosion. |
| Notice | Statutory overnight delivery or certified mail, return receipt requested, to the address in the owner’s manual, for a final attempt: 7 days to name a repair facility, 14 days to bring the car, 28 days in all from the manufacturer’s receipt (§ 10-1-784). The 30-days test needs no final attempt. Then you choose in writing, and the manufacturer has 20 days to repurchase or replace. |
| Dispute step | State-run arbitration by the Consumer Protection Division, at no cost, after any state-certified manufacturer mechanism, which must be used first (file within 1 year after the period; 40 days to decide). These steps come before a lawsuit (§§ 10-1-786, 10-1-788). |
| Request arbitration by January 5, 2029 (792 days left) | State arbitration application within 1 year after the rights period ends, or 60 days after a certified manufacturer procedure ends, whichever is later (§ 10-1-786). The date shown is the 1-year limit. |
Tests as written in the law; a court or arbitrator decides. Ga. Code §§ 10-1-780 to 10-1-798 (Georgia Lemon Law) · Georgia Consumer Protection Division
The Georgia lemon law in detailThe Georgia Lemon Law, sections 10-1-780 to 10-1-798 of the Georgia Code, protects the buyer or lessee of a new vehicle for 24 months or 24,000 miles after delivery, and miles already on the car at delivery do not count. A reasonable number of attempts is presumed after three repairs of the same defect, after one repair of a serious safety defect, or after 30 days out of service. The two repair counts lead to a final attempt once the manufacturer has written notice, while the 30-day test does not need one. Georgia runs its own arbitration through the Consumer Protection Division, at no cost, after any certified manufacturer mechanism; the application is due one year after the rights period, or 60 days after that mechanism ends, whichever is later. We read the law as published by the division, in its file of January 2025, and its Rule 60-2-1, in early November 2026.
When is the last day to act?
Request arbitration, Georgia
September 5, 2028
| Days from today | 670 left |
| Rule: State arbitration application within 1 year after the rights period ends, or 60 days after a certified manufacturer procedure ends, whichever is later (§ 10-1-786). The date shown is the 1-year limit. | |
State laws read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
The 28 days of the final attempt
The notice goes by statutory overnight delivery or certified mail, to the address in the owner’s manual. From its receipt, the manufacturer has seven days to name a reasonably accessible repair facility, the owner has until the fourteenth day to bring the car, and the attempt must finish within 28 days. If the manufacturer misses those times, it loses the final attempt. After that, the owner chooses in writing, and the manufacturer has 20 days to repurchase or replace.
Business owners count in Georgia
A business with up to ten vehicles registered a year is covered, other than limousines, while trucks over 12,000 pounds, motorcycles and golf carts are not. On a motor home, only the chassis counts. The refund deduction is price times miles at the first delivery for repair, divided by 120,000, or 90,000 for a motor home. The law requires these steps before a civil action.
The Georgia lemon law at a glance
| Law | Ga. Code §§ 10-1-780 to 10-1-798 (Georgia Lemon Law) |
| Protection period | 2 years or 24,000 miles, whichever comes first |
| Repair attempts | 3 attempts on the same defect |
| Serious safety defect | 1 attempt for a serious safety defect |
| Days out of service | 30 calendar days |
| Also | The 1-attempt test is for a serious safety defect: life-threatening, a malfunction that stops you from controlling the car, or a risk of fire or explosion. |
| Written notice | Statutory overnight delivery or certified mail, return receipt requested, to the address in the owner’s manual, for a final attempt: 7 days to name a repair facility, 14 days to bring the car, 28 days in all from the manufacturer’s receipt (§ 10-1-784). The 30-days test needs no final attempt. Then you choose in writing, and the manufacturer has 20 days to repurchase or replace. |
| Dispute step | State-run program. State-run arbitration by the Consumer Protection Division, at no cost, after any state-certified manufacturer mechanism, which must be used first (file within 1 year after the period; 40 days to decide). These steps come before a lawsuit (§§ 10-1-786, 10-1-788). |
| Deadline | State arbitration application within 1 year after the rights period ends, or 60 days after a certified manufacturer procedure ends, whichever is later (§ 10-1-786). The date shown is the 1-year limit. |
| Use offset in a buyback | Price × miles at the first delivery for repair ÷ 120,000 (÷ 90,000 for a motor home). |
| Vehicles covered | Personal use, or a business with up to 10 vehicles a year other than limousines; leases of at least 1 year. Not trucks over 12,000 lb, motorcycles, golf carts, mopeds, ATVs, boats or trailers; on a motor home, the chassis. Miles on the vehicle at delivery do not count. |
| Used cars | Not covered. |
| State page | Georgia Consumer Protection Division |
| Level of reading | read in the statute |
| What we read | The Georgia Lemon Law as published by the Consumer Protection Division (file of January 2025, code through the 2024 session) and its Rule 60-2-1, read on November 1 and 2, 2026. |
From written notice to a decision
Certified mail, return receipt requested.
Earliest decisionbetween Nov 13, 2026 and Dec 23, 2026
1. Done · milestone
Written notice reaches the manufacturer
Oct 16, 2026
Statutory overnight delivery or certified mail, return receipt requested, to the address in the owner’s manual, for a final attempt: 7 days to name a repair facility, 14 days to bring the car, 28 days in all from the manufacturer’s receipt (§ 10-1-784). The 30-days test needs no final attempt. Then you choose in writing, and the manufacturer has 20 days to repurchase or replace.
Ga. Code §§ 10-1-780 to 10-1-798 (Georgia Lemon Law)2. In progress · 4 weeks
Final repair window
Nov 13, 2026
28 days for the final attempt from the manufacturer’s receipt of the notice, then 20 days to repurchase or replace (Ga. Code 10-1-784).
Ga. Code §§ 10-1-780 to 10-1-798 (Georgia Lemon Law)3. Upcoming · 0 day – 6 weeks
Dispute program decides
Nov 13, 2026 – Dec 23, 2026
A program that follows 16 CFR Part 703 must decide within 40 days of receiving your dispute. State-run arbitration by the Consumer Protection Division, at no cost, after any state-certified manufacturer mechanism, which must be used first (file within 1 year after the period; 40 days to decide). These steps come before a lawsuit (§§ 10-1-786, 10-1-788).
16 CFR 703.5(d)4. Upcoming · milestone
Accept, refuse or go further
Nov 13, 2026 – Dec 23, 2026
State arbitration application within 1 year after the rights period ends, or 60 days after a certified manufacturer procedure ends, whichever is later (§ 10-1-786). The date shown is the 1-year limit.