Georgia lemon law: when your car is a lemon and how to claim
In Georgia, a new car counts as a lemon after 3 repairs for the same problem, 1 for a serious safety defect or 30 days in the shop within the first 24 months or 24,000 miles. First, send the manufacturer a written notice: the free letter below does it.
Checked against official sources: Oct 22, 2026
Your next 4 steps in Georgia
Keep every repair order
Get a written repair order at every visit, with the date, mileage and days in the shop. In Georgia, a car is presumed a lemon after 3 repairs for the same problem, 1 for a serious safety defect or 30 days in the shop.
Send the manufacturer a written notice
After the repair attempts above, notify the manufacturer by statutory overnight delivery or certified mail, return receipt requested, at the address in the owner's manual, that it gets a final repair attempt. Write your notice letter ↓
Let the manufacturer make its final repair attempt
The manufacturer must name a reasonably accessible repair shop within 7 days, you must deliver the car within 14 days, and the manufacturer has 28 days from receiving your notice to fix it.
Ask for a refund or replacement, use arbitration, or call a lawyer
Before suing, Georgia requires you to go through the Georgia State-Operated Lemon Law Arbitration (Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division). See the Arbitration section below for who goes first and the deadlines.
When a car is a lemon in Georgia
The manufacturer has had a reasonable number of attempts if, within the 2-year/24,000-mile period: a serious safety defect (life-threatening, affects your ability to control the car, or creates a fire or explosion risk) was repaired once and is not fixed; the same defect was repaired 3 times and is not fixed; or the car was out of service for repairs for a total of 30 days. For the safety-defect and 3-attempt routes, you must then give the manufacturer one final repair attempt after written notice. The 30-days route does not require a final repair attempt.
Period: 2 years from original delivery or the first 24,000 miles after delivery, whichever comes first. It is extended if the car is in the shop for repair on the day it would end, and by one day for each day repairs are unavailable due to a strike, disaster or declared emergency.
Is your car a lemon in Georgia? A quick check
Notice to the manufacturer
Required. After the repair attempts above, notify the manufacturer by statutory overnight delivery or certified mail, return receipt requested, at the address in the owner's manual, that it gets a final repair attempt. The manufacturer must name a reasonably accessible repair shop within 7 days, you must deliver the car within 14 days, and the manufacturer has 28 days from receiving your notice to fix it. If it fails (or after 30 days out of service), send a second written notice by the same methods saying whether you want a repurchase or a replacement; the manufacturer then has 20 days to act. The Attorney General's office offers a Final Repair Opportunity Notice (Form A) and a Vehicle Repurchase or Replacement Request (Form B), and asks you to send it a copy.
Arbitration
Required. You must use the Lemon Law's remedies, including state arbitration, before you can bring a lawsuit under it. You file an arbitration application with the Attorney General within 1 year after your Lemon Law rights period ends. The state program is free to you (it is funded by the $3 fee paid when the car was bought or leased), and the Attorney General's office says no manufacturer currently has a Georgia-certified program, so you can go straight to state arbitration.
Georgia State-Operated Lemon Law Arbitration (Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division)
Deadline to sue or file in Georgia
File your state arbitration application with the Attorney General within 1 year after the Lemon Law rights period ends, or within 60 days after a certified manufacturer program's proceeding ends, whichever is later (O.C.G.A. § 10-1-786(a)). Either side may appeal the arbitration decision to superior court within 30 days (§ 10-1-787(a)).
What you can get
Your choice of repurchase (refund) or replacement. A refund covers the purchase price (cash price including any trade-in allowance) plus collateral charges (such as sales tax, title charges, dealer-installed options and earned finance charges) and incidental costs (such as towing, rental cars and repair charges), minus a reasonable offset for use: purchase price times the miles you drove before you first took the car in for that defect, divided by 120,000 (90,000 for a motor home). A replacement has no offset for use, and the manufacturer also pays your incidental costs and the costs of the replacement deal. Lessees who choose a refund get back all lease payments plus incidental costs, minus the offset.
Attorney fees: Sometimes. Arbitrators may award attorney's fees and expert witness fees to a consumer who wins, and if the manufacturer appeals and you win again, you recover your attorney's fees and court costs.
Free lemon law notice letter
Most states require you to tell the manufacturer in writing and give it a last chance to fix the car. Fill this in, download the letter, sign it and mail it to the manufacturer. Keep a copy.
Georgia law says to send this notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by statutory overnight delivery. Keep the receipt.
Who to contact
- Office
- Georgia Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division (Lemon Law)
- Phone
- 404-458-3827
Official page · Official lemon law guide
Forms
What the law covers
- New vehicles
- Yes
- Used vehicles
- No
- Leased vehicles
- Yes
- Which vehicles
- New self-propelled vehicles made mainly to carry people or property on public roads, bought, leased or registered in Georgia, including demonstrators titled as new. Not covered: trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating over 12,000 lbs, motorcycles, golf carts, trailers and campers that are not self-propelled, and the living quarters, office or commercial space of a motor home (the motor home's vehicle and chassis are covered). Vehicles titled as used, or titled to anyone other than a new-car dealer before you, are not covered.
- Who can claim
- A person who buys or leases a new vehicle for personal, family or household use (not for resale), and a business that buys or leases 10 or fewer new vehicles a year (limousine rental services excluded). Lessees are covered if the lease is for at least 1 year and they are responsible for repairs.
Used cars in Georgia
Georgia's Lemon Law covers only new vehicles; vehicles titled as used, or previously titled to anyone other than a new-car dealer, are not covered. There is no separate used-car lemon law.
Good to know
- Small businesses that buy or lease 10 or fewer new vehicles a year are covered, not just personal-use buyers.
- It is illegal to tell you that you must use a manufacturer arbitration program that the Attorney General has not certified; the AG's office asks you to report this at 404-458-3827.
- A bought-back lemon can be resold only with written disclosure of the buyback and the defect, plus a manufacturer warranty on that defect for 1 year or 12,000 miles.
Questions about Georgia's lemon law
How many repair attempts make a car a lemon in Georgia?
The manufacturer has had a reasonable number of attempts if, within the 2-year/24,000-mile period: a serious safety defect (life-threatening, affects your ability to control the car, or creates a fire or explosion risk) was repaired once and is not fixed; the same defect was repaired 3 times and is not fixed; or the car was out of service for repairs for a total of 30 days. For the safety-defect and 3-attempt routes, you must then give the manufacturer one final repair attempt after written notice. The 30-days route does not require a final repair attempt.
How long does Georgia's lemon law cover a car?
2 years from original delivery or the first 24,000 miles after delivery, whichever comes first. It is extended if the car is in the shop for repair on the day it would end, and by one day for each day repairs are unavailable due to a strike, disaster or declared emergency.
Do I have to notify the manufacturer in Georgia?
Required. After the repair attempts above, notify the manufacturer by statutory overnight delivery or certified mail, return receipt requested, at the address in the owner's manual, that it gets a final repair attempt. The manufacturer must name a reasonably accessible repair shop within 7 days, you must deliver the car within 14 days, and the manufacturer has 28 days from receiving your notice to fix it. If it fails (or after 30 days out of service), send a second written notice by the same methods saying whether you want a repurchase or a replacement; the manufacturer then has 20 days to act. The Attorney General's office offers a Final Repair Opportunity Notice (Form A) and a Vehicle Repurchase or Replacement Request (Form B), and asks you to send it a copy.
Do I have to go to arbitration in Georgia?
You must use the Lemon Law's remedies, including state arbitration, before you can bring a lawsuit under it. You file an arbitration application with the Attorney General within 1 year after your Lemon Law rights period ends. The state program is free to you (it is funded by the $3 fee paid when the car was bought or leased), and the Attorney General's office says no manufacturer currently has a Georgia-certified program, so you can go straight to state arbitration.
What can I get under Georgia's lemon law?
Your choice of repurchase (refund) or replacement. A refund covers the purchase price (cash price including any trade-in allowance) plus collateral charges (such as sales tax, title charges, dealer-installed options and earned finance charges) and incidental costs (such as towing, rental cars and repair charges), minus a reasonable offset for use: purchase price times the miles you drove before you first took the car in for that defect, divided by 120,000 (90,000 for a motor home). A replacement has no offset for use, and the manufacturer also pays your incidental costs and the costs of the replacement deal. Lessees who choose a refund get back all lease payments plus incidental costs, minus the offset.
Is there a deadline to file a lemon law claim in Georgia?
File your state arbitration application with the Attorney General within 1 year after the Lemon Law rights period ends, or within 60 days after a certified manufacturer program's proceeding ends, whichever is later (O.C.G.A. § 10-1-786(a)). Either side may appeal the arbitration decision to superior court within 30 days (§ 10-1-787(a)).
Does Georgia's lemon law cover used cars?
Georgia's Lemon Law covers only new vehicles; vehicles titled as used, or previously titled to anyone other than a new-car dealer, are not covered. There is no separate used-car lemon law.
Car not covered, or the period has passed? Federal warranty law may still help, and small claims court can handle smaller repair bills.
Federal warranty lawSources
- O.C.G.A. §§ 10-1-780 to 10-1-798, Georgia Lemon Law (Georgia Consumer Protection Division)
- Georgia Lemon Law statute text, PDF (Georgia Consumer Protection Division, Jan. 2025)
- Lemon Law FAQs - Georgia Consumer Protection Division
- Lemon Law Process (Steps to Follow) - Georgia Consumer Protection Division
- Lemon Law Complaint Process - Georgia Consumer Protection Division
- Additional Lemon Law Forms - Georgia Consumer Protection Division
Last checked: Oct 22, 2026.
Law: Georgia Lemon Law, O.C.G.A. §§ 10-1-780 to 10-1-798