Tools
Lemon law deadline calculator
Enter the state, the delivery date and the length of the warranty. The calculator counts the protection period and the filing deadline as the state’s text sets them, and the days left from today.
Lemon law deadline: how long do you have?
File the state complaint, Texas read on the official state page
September 5, 2027
| Today (November 5, 2026) | 304 days left |
| Protection period | 2 years or 24,000 miles or the warranty term, whichever ends first, to March 5, 2027 |
| Rule: TxDMV complaint within 6 months after the earliest of the warranty end, 24 months or 24,000 miles. | |
Count from the day the car was delivered to you. Tex. Occ. Code §§ 2301.601 to 2301.613 · Texas DMV
Lemon law deadlines are short and they are counted in three different ways. Some run from delivery, like the three years of Maryland, Minnesota and South Carolina or the 30 months of Colorado and Washington. Some run from the end of the protection period, like the six months of Arizona and Texas or the year of Iowa and Oregon. Others run from the end of the express warranty, often combined with a limit from delivery, as in Missouri, Mississippi and North Dakota, where the earlier of the two applies, and Tennessee, where the later one does. The step that must be taken by the deadline differs too: a lawsuit in most states, a request for state arbitration in Florida, Georgia, Hawaii and Washington, a complaint to the Department of Motor Vehicles in Texas. The calculator above applies each rule as read on November 1, 2026.
When must a dispute program decide?
Decision due by (16 CFR 703.5(d))
December 5, 2026
| Days from today | 30 left |
| After that: You may go to court on the federal claim | |
Applies to programs that follow the FTC rule; some states set their own time.
State laws read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
Deadlines we could read
| State | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Alabama | Lawsuit within 3 years of the original delivery (§ 8-20A-6). |
| Alaska | Written notice within 60 days after the end of the warranty or of the first year, whichever comes first. |
| Arizona | Lawsuit within 6 months after the earlier of the warranty end or 2 years / 24,000 miles from delivery (§ 44-1265). |
| Arkansas | Lawsuit within 2 years after the defect is first reported to the manufacturer or dealer (Act 297, Sec. 20): enter that date yourself, the calculator cannot know it. |
| Colorado | Within 30 months of delivery; the time is suspended during arbitration under § 42-10-106 and while the car is unavailable because of repairs (SB 24-192). |
| Florida | Request arbitration within 60 days after the 24-month rights period ends; a lawsuit within 1 year after the rights period or after the final arbitration action (§§ 681.109, 681.112). |
| Georgia | 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. |
| Hawaii | SCAP arbitration or a lawsuit within 1 year after the rights period ends. |
| Idaho | Within 3 years of the original delivery (Attorney General’s guide; the section itself was not read). |
| Illinois | Complaints must be filed within 12 months of the purchase date (Illinois Attorney General). |
| Indiana | Lawsuit within 2 years after the defect is first reported to the manufacturer or dealer, suspended during the dispute procedure: enter that date yourself, the calculator cannot know it. |
| Iowa | Lawsuit within 1 year after the rights period ends when there is no certified program (§ 322G.8). |
| Kentucky | Lawsuit within 2 years of the original delivery (KRS 367.842). |
| Louisiana | Lawsuit within 3 years of delivery or 1 year after the warranty ends, whichever is later (51:1944). |
| Maine | State arbitration within 3 years of delivery or the term of the express warranty, whichever is earlier (§ 1169). |
| Maryland | Lawsuit within 3 years of the original delivery (§ 14-1502(k)). |
| Massachusetts | Request state arbitration within 18 months of the original delivery. |
| Minnesota | Lawsuit within 3 years of delivery, or 6 months after the mechanism’s decision if you applied within 3 years (subd. 10). |
| Mississippi | Lawsuit within 1 year after the warranty ends or 18 months after delivery, whichever is earlier, or 90 days after the panel’s decision. |
| Missouri | Lawsuit within 6 months after the warranty ends or 18 months after delivery, whichever is earlier; 90 days after a dispute procedure (§ 407.573). |
| Nebraska | Lawsuit within 1 year after the warranty ends or 2 years after delivery, whichever is earlier. |
| Nevada | Lawsuit within 18 months of the original delivery. |
| New Hampshire | Within 1 year after the warranty ends or after the last repair, whichever is later (RSA 357-D:11). The date shown counts from the end of the warranty. |
| North Dakota | Lawsuit within 6 months after the warranty ends or 18 months after delivery, whichever is earlier (§ 51-07-21). |
| Ohio | Lawsuit within 5 years of the original delivery (§ 1345.75). |
| Oregon | Lawsuit within 1 year after the protection period ends (summary of ORS 646A, not confirmed). |
| South Carolina | Lawsuit within 3 years of the original delivery (§ 56-28-70). |
| South Dakota | Lawsuit within 3 years of the original delivery (§ 32-6D-11). |
| Tennessee | Lawsuit within 6 months after the later of 1 year from delivery or the end of the express warranty (Attorney General). |
| Texas | TxDMV complaint within 6 months after the earliest of the warranty end, 24 months or 24,000 miles. |
| Vermont | Proceedings within 1 year after the express warranty ends (§ 4179). |
| Virginia | Lawsuit within the 18-month rights period, or 12 months after the manufacturer’s procedure ends if you used it in time (§ 59.1-207.16). |
| Washington | Request arbitration within 30 months of the original delivery (RCW 19.118.090). |
| Wisconsin | Lawsuit within 36 months of delivery (§ 218.0171(7)). |
How the calculator counts
Months are added as calendar months: a car delivered on March 10 reaches six months on September 10. Where the text says the earlier of two dates, the calculator takes the earlier; where it says the later, as in Tennessee, the later. The protection period ends at its time limit; the calculator does not know your mileage, so if you reach the miles first, the period, and any deadline counted from it, end sooner.
Colorado suspends the time during arbitration and while the car is unavailable because of repairs; the calculator shows the plain 30 months, which is the earliest the deadline can fall. Arkansas and Indiana count two years from the first report of the defect, a date the calculator does not ask for, so it gives the rule and no date.
Start early
Every step before the deadline takes time: the notice letter, the manufacturer’s final repair, a program’s 40 days, a state program’s scheduling. An owner who waits for the last month often finds that the deadline has passed while the program was still deciding. The notice letter builder gets the first step done in a few minutes.