North Dakota lemon law: when your car is a lemon and how to claim
In North Dakota, a new car counts as a lemon after 4 repairs for the same problem or 30 business days in the shop within the first 12 months. 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 North Dakota
Keep every repair order
Get a written repair order at every visit, with the date, mileage and days in the shop. In North Dakota, a car is presumed a lemon after 4 repairs for the same problem or 30 business days in the shop.
Send the manufacturer a written notice
Before you can rely on the presumption, the manufacturer itself must have received direct notification from you or on your behalf and a chance to cure the defect (N.D. Cent. Code § 51-07-19(3)). Write your notice letter ↓
Let the manufacturer make its final repair attempt
If the manufacturer asks for one more repair after your notice, take the car in and get a repair order.
Ask for a refund or replacement, use arbitration, or call a lawyer
If your manufacturer has a dispute program that meets the state’s rules (check your warranty booklet), you may have to use it first. See the Arbitration section below.
When a car is a lemon in North Dakota
Your car is presumed a lemon if the same defect is still there after the dealer or manufacturer has tried to fix it more than three times (so at least 4 tries), or if the car was out of service for repairs for a total of at least 30 business days, counted within the warranty term or the first year, whichever is shorter. The presumption only applies if the manufacturer first got direct notice from you (or someone acting for you) and a chance to fix the defect.
Period: You must report the defect during the manufacturer's express warranty or within 1 year of original delivery, whichever ends first. There is no mileage limit in the law.
Is your car a lemon in North Dakota? A quick check
Notice to the manufacturer
Before you can rely on the presumption, the manufacturer itself must have received direct notification from you or on your behalf and a chance to cure the defect (N.D. Cent. Code § 51-07-19(3)). The law does not set a form or require certified mail, but sending a dated letter to the manufacturer by certified mail gives you proof.
Arbitration
Maybe — check your warranty booklet for an arbitration program (e.g. BBB AUTO LINE). If the manufacturer runs or takes part in a dispute program that meets the FTC rules (16 CFR Part 703), you must use it before you can get a refund or replacement under the lemon law. If you ask for an in-person hearing, it must be held in your home state. North Dakota has no state-run lemon law arbitration program.
Deadline to sue or file in North Dakota
You must file suit within 6 months after whichever comes first: the end of the express warranty, or 18 months after original delivery (N.D. Cent. Code § 51-07-21). So the latest possible deadline is 24 months after delivery.
What you can get
The manufacturer must replace the vehicle with a comparable one, or take it back and refund the full purchase price including all collateral charges. It may deduct a reasonable allowance for your use: no more than 10 cents per mile or 10% of the purchase price, whichever is less, counting only miles you drove before first reporting the defect and while the car was not in for repair. For a lease, you get back all lease payments, cash payments, security deposit and trade-in allowance (minus a use allowance), and the lease ends with no early-termination penalty.
Attorney fees: The North Dakota lemon law sections do not include a provision for recovering attorney fees.
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.
Send it by certified mail with return receipt so you have proof, and keep the receipt.
Who to contact
- Office
- North Dakota Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division
- Phone
- 701-328-3404
What the law covers
- New vehicles
- Yes
- Used vehicles
- No
- Leased vehicles
- Yes
- Which vehicles
- New passenger motor vehicles and trucks with a registered gross weight of 10,000 lb or less, sold or leased in North Dakota. Motor homes ("house cars") are excluded. The Attorney General's fact sheet says motorcycles are not covered. The vehicle must normally be used for personal, family or household purposes.
- Who can claim
- The buyer or lessee (not for resale or re-lease), anyone the vehicle is transferred to for personal use while the express warranty lasts, and anyone else entitled to enforce the warranty.
Used cars in North Dakota
The lemon law covers new vehicles only. The Attorney General's fact sheet says used-car buyers have little protection unless they bought an extended warranty or can prove the seller lied about the car's condition.
Good to know
- If you choose to use the lemon law, you give up other legal remedies based on the same facts (N.D. Cent. Code § 51-07-20).
- A returned lemon can be resold in North Dakota only with a new 12-month/12,000-mile warranty and a signed disclosure that it was returned to the manufacturer for unrepaired defects (§ 51-07-22).
- The deadline to sue is very short: within 6 months after the warranty ends or after the 18-month mark from delivery, whichever comes first (so at most 24 months after delivery) (§ 51-07-21).
Questions about North Dakota's lemon law
How many repair attempts make a car a lemon in North Dakota?
Your car is presumed a lemon if the same defect is still there after the dealer or manufacturer has tried to fix it more than three times (so at least 4 tries), or if the car was out of service for repairs for a total of at least 30 business days, counted within the warranty term or the first year, whichever is shorter. The presumption only applies if the manufacturer first got direct notice from you (or someone acting for you) and a chance to fix the defect.
How long does North Dakota's lemon law cover a car?
You must report the defect during the manufacturer's express warranty or within 1 year of original delivery, whichever ends first. There is no mileage limit in the law.
Do I have to notify the manufacturer in North Dakota?
Before you can rely on the presumption, the manufacturer itself must have received direct notification from you or on your behalf and a chance to cure the defect (N.D. Cent. Code § 51-07-19(3)). The law does not set a form or require certified mail, but sending a dated letter to the manufacturer by certified mail gives you proof.
Do I have to go to arbitration in North Dakota?
If the manufacturer runs or takes part in a dispute program that meets the FTC rules (16 CFR Part 703), you must use it before you can get a refund or replacement under the lemon law. If you ask for an in-person hearing, it must be held in your home state. North Dakota has no state-run lemon law arbitration program.
What can I get under North Dakota's lemon law?
The manufacturer must replace the vehicle with a comparable one, or take it back and refund the full purchase price including all collateral charges. It may deduct a reasonable allowance for your use: no more than 10 cents per mile or 10% of the purchase price, whichever is less, counting only miles you drove before first reporting the defect and while the car was not in for repair. For a lease, you get back all lease payments, cash payments, security deposit and trade-in allowance (minus a use allowance), and the lease ends with no early-termination penalty.
Is there a deadline to file a lemon law claim in North Dakota?
You must file suit within 6 months after whichever comes first: the end of the express warranty, or 18 months after original delivery (N.D. Cent. Code § 51-07-21). So the latest possible deadline is 24 months after delivery.
Does North Dakota's lemon law cover used cars?
The lemon law covers new vehicles only. The Attorney General's fact sheet says used-car buyers have little protection unless they bought an extended warranty or can prove the seller lied about the car's condition.
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
- N.D. Cent. Code ch. 51-07 (includes §§ 51-07-16 to 51-07-22)
- North Dakota Attorney General: North Dakota's "Lemon" Law fact sheet (2006, State Library archive)
- North Dakota Attorney General - Consumer Protection Division & Resources
Last checked: Oct 22, 2026.
Law: North Dakota Lemon Law (duty of manufacturer to repair, replace or refund defective passenger motor vehicles), N.D. Cent. Code §§ 51-07-16 to 51-07-22