State Lemon Law vs Federal MMWA — Dynamic Comparison Tool

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State

Federal MMWA covers any vehicle sold with a written warranty across all 50 states + DC, regardless of where you live.

Statute
Presumption
Forum
Arbitration
Covers used?

Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (MMWA)

Statute: 15 U.S.C. § 2301 et seq. — federal warranty law
Presumption: "Reasonable opportunity to repair" — fact-specific, not tied to a fixed number of attempts or days
Forum: Federal district court (no arbitration prerequisite in most cases)
Arbitration: NOT required to file suit (with limited exceptions for federally-approved IDSP)
Covers used?: YES — any vehicle sold with any written warranty (factory, CPO, dealer)

MMWA leverage: the manufacturer pays the consumer's attorney fees on prevailing claims (§ 2310(d)(2)). That fee-shifting is what makes contingency representation economically viable even on smaller-value cases. Read more about MMWA fee-shifting →

How the lemon-law process works

A plain-English overview of how a warranty claim comes together.

Read the guide →

Want us to handle it?

Take the case eligibility quiz. We'll tell you whether the facts support a claim — and if so, we can take it on contingency and seek to have the manufacturer pay our fees under federal warranty law.

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Want more state-specific detail? Read the full guide for this state →

What this tool is: A quick comparison of state lemon-law statutes against federal MMWA to help you understand which path makes more sense for your situation. What it isn't: case-specific legal advice. Pick the state where you bought the vehicle. If you bought in one state and moved to another, both states' laws may apply — talk to a lemon-law attorney.

Browse the comparison for any state

Each state has its own deep-dive comparison page below — statute, presumption window, arbitration program, fee-shifting analysis, and our recommended path. Use it when you need to share the comparison with someone else or cite it in writing.