FRANCHISE LAW
Franchise Law Articles
Plain-English analysis of FDD reviews, franchise agreements, exit strategy, and ongoing counsel for franchisees and franchisors.
477 articles
Item 21: Audited Financials and Your FDD Renewal
Item 21 requires audited financial statements, and finishing them is the single most common reason an FDD renewal misses its 120-day deadline. The FTC Franchise …
Keeping Item 20 and Item 3 Accurate at Renewal
Item 20 (outlets and franchisees) and Item 3 (litigation) change more than any other part of the FDD — and they are the first places state examiners and …
Late FDD Renewal: The Risks for Franchisors
Letting your FDD lapse doesn’t just create paperwork — it stops your sales, can void your state registrations, and exposes the franchisor to rescission …
Managing FDD Renewals: A Franchisor's Playbook
The franchisors who renew calmly every year manage the FDD as a year-round system — a running change log, an audit booked early, a tracker for each …
Renewing Your FDD Across Registration States
If you sell in registration states, updating the federal FDD is only half of renewal — each state has its own filing and its own deadline, and those deadlines …
Royalty Reporting Form: How Franchise Royalties Work
A royalty reporting form is how a franchisee reports gross sales so the franchisor can calculate the royalty owed. The royalty is almost always a fixed …
The Real Cost of a Lapsed FDD Renewal
Selling franchises on an expired FDD or a lapsed state registration is a violation of federal and state law — and the costs run from a forced “dark …
Trademark Usage Guidelines for Franchisees
Trademark usage guidelines are the written rules that tell franchisees exactly how, where, and when they may use your brand’s marks — the logo, name, …
Turn Your FDD Renewal Into a Franchise Upgrade
The smartest franchisors treat the required annual FDD renewal as a yearly tune-up of the whole franchise offering — not just a compliance chore. Because the …
Updating Your FDD Between Annual Renewals
The FTC Franchise Rule does not let you wait for the annual renewal to fix a material change — you must revise the FDD after the close of each quarter to …
What Changes in an Annual FDD Update
An annual FDD update revises the disclosures that move every year — litigation (Item 3), financial performance (Item 19), outlet counts (Item 20), and audited …
What Makes the Most Successful Franchise Brands Work
The most successful franchise brands share a short list of verifiable traits — durable customer demand, unit economics that work for the franchisee, a …
What to Update in Your Annual FDD Renewal
An annual FDD renewal is mostly a targeted update of the Items that change year to year — your litigation history, fees, financial performance representation, …
What to Update in Your FDD at Renewal
At each annual renewal you refresh the whole Franchise Disclosure Document, but five of its disclosure Items change most often and cause the most compliance …
When Franchisors Need Counsel for FDD Renewals
A franchise attorney earns their fee on an FDD renewal by catching the issues that create liability — material changes, Item 19 substantiation, and multi-state …
10 Tips for Buying a Franchise
The most important rule for buying a franchise is simple: do your due diligence before you sign, not after. A franchise gives you a proven system and a …
5 Legal Traps in Your Franchise Agreement
The five traps that hurt franchisees most are stacked fees, a hollow territory, conditional renewal, post-term non-competes, and one-sided dispute clauses — all …
Buying a Franchise Resale: A Legal Guide for Buyers
Buying a franchise resale means buying an existing, operating unit from a current franchisee — and the deal only closes if the franchisor approves you and you …
Buying a Franchise: The Legal Realities to Know First
The legal reality of buying a franchise is that you are signing a long-term contract written to protect the franchisor, not you — and most of the terms that …
Do Franchises Have to Disclose Their Financials?
A franchisor is not required to tell you how much its franchises earn. That surprises most buyers, but it is the rule: the FTC Franchise Rule requires the …
