State Specific Franchise Laws for Franchisors
The offer and sale of a franchise requires compliance with federal and state franchise laws. Franchisors must develop, maintain, register, and disclose a uniform Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD). The FDD must be registered in the franchise registration states, filed in the franchise filing states, and disclosed in every state to a prospective franchisee. Franchisors must manage and maintain their FDD, franchise disclosures and franchise relationships in compliance with a broad range of state franchise regulations and state franchise relationship laws.
Federal Franchise Laws
At the federal level franchising is regulated by the Federal Franchise Rule and franchise regulations implemented and enforced by the Federal Trade Commission. Franchisors must disclose a properly issued and current franchise disclosure document 14 days before offering or selling a franchise. Under the federal rule, franchise compliance is largely self-regulated and franchisors are not required to file or register their FDD with any federal agency.
State Franchise Laws
At the state level there are various franchise registration, filing, disclosure, and relationship laws that are imposed on franchisors and that vary from state to state. States that require FDD registration are known as the franchise registration states and, typically, impose the most stringent franchise laws and regulations. Franchise registration states require annual FDD registration, franchise filing states require either one-time or annual franchise filings, and non-registration states do not require any FDD registration or filings. Below we include links and information related to the state specific franchise laws. The Franchise map is interactive and links to state specific pages that outline the franchise requirements for each state.
STATE FRANCHISE REGISTRATION STATUS AND FRANCHISE LAWS
