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Lemon laws by state, compared
Pick two states to see their lemon laws side by side, or scan the table of all 51 jurisdictions below, each linked to its own page and its official text.
Compare two state lemon laws
| California read on the official state page | Texas read on the official state page | |
|---|---|---|
| Protection period | 18 months or 18,000 miles, whichever comes first | 2 years or 24,000 miles or the warranty term, whichever ends first |
| Repair attempts | 4 attempts on the same defect | 4 attempts on the same defect |
| Safety defect | 2 attempts for a serious safety defect | 2 attempts for a serious safety defect |
| Days out of service | more than 30 calendar days | 30 calendar days |
| Notice | Direct notice to the manufacturer only if the warranty or owner’s manual clearly requires it. | Written notice to the manufacturer (certified mail preferred) and at least one chance to repair. |
| Dispute step | Manufacturer program first. If the manufacturer has a state-certified third-party dispute program and disclosed it, you must use it before relying on the presumption in court. | State-run program. Complaint to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles ($35 fee), which holds the hearing. |
| Deadline | Not set in the text we read | TxDMV complaint within 6 months after the earliest of the warranty end, 24 months or 24,000 miles. |
| Vehicles covered | New vehicles sold in California, including demonstrators; the presumption is a guide, not an absolute rule. | New cars, trucks, vans, motorcycles, ATVs, motor homes and towable RVs, bought or leased. Loaner days do not count. |
| Used cars | Used cars sold with a manufacturer’s new-car warranty can fall under Song-Beverly (not modeled here). | Used vehicles: warranty-performance complaint only, no refund or replacement. |
Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1793.2 and 1793.22 (Song-Beverly Act, Tanner Act) · California Attorney General · Tex. Occ. Code §§ 2301.601 to 2301.613 · Texas DMV. Everything you enter stays in this browser: nothing is sent or stored.
Every state and the District of Columbia has a lemon law for new cars, and no two are written alike. They share a structure: a protection period after delivery, a presumption that the car is a lemon once the same defect has been repaired a set number of times or the car has spent a set number of days at the shop, a notice to the manufacturer, a dispute step and a deadline. The numbers change across state lines. As we read them on November 1, 2026, 29 jurisdictions start the presumption at four repair attempts and 21 at three; the days test runs from 15 business or working days in Maine, Massachusetts and Mississippi to 45 calendar days in Louisiana; and 14 run or name a state program to hear claims. Where no official text could be opened, as for New Mexico, the table says not confirmed.
State laws read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
All 50 states and DC
| State | Protection period | Attempts | Days out of service | Dispute step | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 1 year or 12,000 miles, whichever comes first (the tests can run to 2 years or 24,000 miles) | 3 | 30 calendar days | Manufacturer program first | confirmed |
| Alaska | 1 year or the warranty term, whichever ends first | 3 | 30 business days | Manufacturer program first | confirmed |
| Arizona | 2 years or 24,000 miles or the warranty term, whichever ends first | 4 | 30 calendar days | Manufacturer program first | confirmed |
| Arkansas | 2 years or 24,000 miles, whichever is later | 3 (1 safety) | 30 calendar days | Manufacturer program first | confirmed |
| California | 18 months or 18,000 miles, whichever comes first | 4 (2 safety) | more than 30 calendar days | Manufacturer program first | confirmed |
| Colorado | 2 years or 24,000 miles, whichever comes first | 3 (2 safety) | 24 business days | Not stated | confirmed |
| Connecticut | 2 years or 24,000 miles, whichever comes first | 4 (2 safety) | 30 calendar days | State-run program | confirmed |
| Delaware | 1 year or the warranty term, whichever ends first | 4 | more than 30 calendar days | Manufacturer program first | confirmed |
| District of Columbia | 2 years or 18,000 miles, whichever comes first | 4 (1 safety) | 30 days | State-run program | confirmed |
| Florida | 2 years | 3 | 30 calendar days | State-run program | confirmed |
| Georgia | 2 years or 24,000 miles, whichever comes first | 3 (1 safety) | 30 calendar days | State-run program | confirmed |
| Hawaii | 2 years or 24,000 miles or the warranty term, whichever ends first | 3 (1 safety) | 30 business days | State-run program | confirmed |
| Idaho | 2 years or 24,000 miles or the warranty term, whichever ends first | 4 (1 safety) | 30 business days | Manufacturer program first | confirmed |
| Illinois | 1 year or 12,000 miles, whichever comes first | 4 | 30 business days | Manufacturer program first | confirmed |
| Indiana | 18 months or 18,000 miles, whichever comes first | 4 | 30 business days | Manufacturer program first | confirmed |
| Iowa | 2 years or 24,000 miles or the warranty term, whichever ends first | 3 (1 safety) | 30 calendar days | Manufacturer program first | confirmed |
| Kansas | 1 year or the warranty term, whichever ends first | 4 | 30 calendar days | Manufacturer program first | confirmed |
| Kentucky | 1 year or 12,000 miles, whichever comes first | 4 | 30 calendar days | Manufacturer program first | confirmed |
| Louisiana | 1 year or the warranty term, whichever ends first | 4 | 45 calendar days | Manufacturer program first | confirmed |
| Maine | 3 years or 18,000 miles or the warranty term, whichever ends first | 3 (1 safety) | 15 business days | State-run program | confirmed |
| Maryland | 2 years or 18,000 miles, whichever comes first | 4 (1 safety) | 30 calendar days | Optional | confirmed |
| Massachusetts | 1 year or 15,000 miles, whichever comes first | 3 | 15 business days | State-run program | confirmed |
| Michigan | 1 year or the warranty term, whichever ends first | 4 | 30 days | Manufacturer program first | confirmed |
| Minnesota | 2 years or the warranty term, whichever ends first | 4 (1 safety) | 30 business days | Manufacturer program first | confirmed |
| Mississippi | 1 year or the warranty term, whichever ends first | 3 | 15 working days | Manufacturer program first | confirmed |
| Missouri | 1 year or the warranty term, whichever ends first | 4 | 30 working days | Manufacturer program first | confirmed |
| Montana | 2 years or 18,000 miles, whichever comes first | 4 | 30 business days | Manufacturer program first | confirmed |
| Nebraska | 1 year or the warranty term, whichever ends first | 4 | 40 calendar days | Manufacturer program first | confirmed |
| Nevada | 1 year or the warranty term, whichever ends first | 4 | 30 calendar days | Manufacturer program first | confirmed |
| New Hampshire | the manufacturer’s express warranty term | 3 | 30 business days | State-run program | confirmed |
| New Jersey | 2 years or 24,000 miles, whichever comes first | 3 (2 safety) | 20 calendar days | State-run program | confirmed |
| New Mexico | not confirmed | not confirmed | not confirmed | Not stated | not confirmed |
| New York | 2 years or 18,000 miles, whichever comes first | 4 | 30 calendar days | State-run program | confirmed |
| North Carolina | 2 years or 24,000 miles, whichever comes first | 4 | 20 business days | Manufacturer program first | confirmed |
| North Dakota | 1 year or the warranty term, whichever ends first | 4 | 30 business days | Manufacturer program first | confirmed |
| Ohio | 1 year or 18,000 miles, whichever comes first | 3 (1 safety) | 30 calendar days | Manufacturer program first | confirmed |
| Oklahoma | 1 year or the warranty term, whichever ends first | 4 | 30 business days | Manufacturer program first | confirmed |
| Oregon | 2 years or 24,000 miles, whichever comes first | 3 (1 safety) | 30 calendar days | Not stated | confirmed |
| Pennsylvania | 1 year or 12,000 miles or the warranty term, whichever ends first | 3 | 30 calendar days | Optional | confirmed |
| Rhode Island | 1 year or 15,000 miles, whichever comes first | 4 | 30 calendar days | State-run program | confirmed |
| South Carolina | 1 year or 12,000 miles, whichever comes first | 3 | 30 calendar days | Manufacturer program first | confirmed |
| South Dakota | 1 year or 12,000 miles, whichever comes first (the tests can run to 2 years or 24,000 miles) | 4 | 30 calendar days | Manufacturer program first | confirmed |
| Tennessee | 1 year or the warranty term, whichever ends first | 3 | 30 days | Manufacturer program first | confirmed |
| Texas | 2 years or 24,000 miles or the warranty term, whichever ends first | 4 (2 safety) | 30 calendar days | State-run program | confirmed |
| Utah | 1 year or the warranty term, whichever ends first | 4 | 30 business days | Manufacturer program first | confirmed |
| Vermont | the manufacturer’s express warranty term | 3 | 30 calendar days | State-run program | confirmed |
| Virginia | 18 months | 3 (1 safety) | 30 calendar days | Optional | confirmed |
| Washington | 2 years or 24,000 miles, whichever comes first | 4 (2 safety) | 30 calendar days | State-run program | confirmed |
| West Virginia | 1 year or the warranty term, whichever ends first | 3 (1 safety) | 30 calendar days | Not stated | confirmed |
| Wisconsin | 1 year or the warranty term, whichever ends first | 4 | 30 days | Manufacturer program first | confirmed |
| Wyoming | 1 year | 4 | 30 business days | Manufacturer program first | confirmed |
What the numbers have in common
Almost every state counts repairs of the same defect, not repairs in general. Kansas, Ohio and Arkansas are the exceptions that add a test for many repairs of different problems: ten attempts of any kind in Kansas, eight in Ohio, five separate attempts in Arkansas. Washington adds a test for two different serious safety defects within a year.
A second line, for defects that can cause death or serious injury, appears in 19 jurisdictions. It lowers the count to one or two attempts. Idaho, Maine, Maryland and Minnesota limit it to a failure of the brakes or the steering, so a dangerous fault elsewhere in the car follows the ordinary count.
Calendar days or business days
18 jurisdictions count business or working days, Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming. A week at the shop is seven calendar days but five business days, so a test of 30 business days is about six weeks, while 30 calendar days is a little over four. The checker asks for your total and applies the unit of your state.
Where a state hears the case
A manufacturer program, set up under the federal rule 16 CFR Part 703, is the first step in many states. Others run their own: Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont and Washington. A state program is not paid for by the manufacturer, which is why owners often prefer it. The arbitration guide explains both routes.