The Internicola Law Firm, P.C.

The 3 Types of Franchise States

Every state is somewhat unique when it comes to their handling of franchises. While all franchises must abide by the Federal Trade Commission's Franchise Rule of 2007, there are even more unique laws and requirements for each state.

Before you start making plans to franchise in another state, you need to consider what type of state it is.

States fall into 3 categories regarding franchise laws:  

• franchise registration states;
• filing states; and
• non-registration states. 

The registration states require a franchise to register with a state government office and file the franchise disclosure document with that office. The 15 states in this category are: California, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

Filing states do not require registration, but do require filing your franchise disclosure document with a state office. These 9 states are: Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky, Maine, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Utah.

The remaining 26 states and District of Columbia do not require filing or registration of your franchise or franchise disclosure document. However, these states do have other laws governing the operation and establishment of a franchise.

If you are considering developing your franchise in other states, you'll need to learn and understand the state laws and how they may impact your franchise disclosure document (FDD). An experienced New York franchise lawyer can help you with this process and advise which multi-state registration strategy is best for your franchise. 

Contacting a New York Franchise Lawyer

If you are an entrepreneur interested in franchising your business, there is a lot you need to know, including the significance of evaluating your trademark and how to approach the preparation of your FDD. For a limited time, get the franchise law report from New York franchise lawyer Charles N. Internicola, Esq. to determine whether or not your business is right for franchising. Contact us today at 1-800-976-4904 for more information about Mr. Internicola's franchise law services in New York, and how he assists entrepreneurs franchise their business nationwide.