The verdict
14 of 51 jurisdictions require pre-sale franchise registration; the other 37 are governed only by the federal FTC Franchise Rule. Of the 223 brands with a known headquarters, 156 are based in non-registration states.
- 14
- States requiring registration
- 67
- Tracked brands HQ’d in a registration state
- 26
- Most brands HQ’d in Texas
Registration status and regulating agencies are from each state's franchise statute; headquarters counts are from the FDDs in our database.
How franchise law is split across the states
According to state franchise registration statutes and the FTC's federal Franchise Rule (FDD year 2024), 14 of the 51 US jurisdictions require pre-sale registration, and the 223 franchise brands in our database are headquartered nationwide, most commonly in Texas (26), California (25) and Florida (22). See our methodology for how this is sourced and computed.
Every franchise sale in the United States is governed by the Federal Trade Commission's Franchise Rule, which requires a franchisor to deliver a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) before any sale. On top of that federal floor, 14 states, known as "registration states" - require the franchisor to file and register its FDD with a state regulator before it may offer franchises to residents. The remaining 37 jurisdictions in our table rely on the federal rule alone (some operate "filing" or business-opportunity regimes, but do not require full FDD registration).
The registration states are: California, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin. 14 states provide statutory exemptions (for example, for large or experienced franchisors) that can relieve a brand of the registration requirement in specific circumstances, always confirm current eligibility with counsel, as exemption rules change.
Where the tracked brands are headquartered
Number of franchisors by headquarters state (top 10)
- Texas
Texas
26 brands
- California
California
25 brands
- Florida
Florida
22 brands
- New Jersey
New Jersey
15 brands
- Colorado
Colorado
14 brands
- Georgia
Georgia
13 brands
- Minnesota
Minnesota
12 brands
- Michigan 8
Michigan
8 brands
- Illinois 7
Illinois
7 brands
- Pennsylvania 7
Pennsylvania
7 brands
What this shows Texas is the most common franchisor home base among the brands we track (26 brands).
Registration states & their regulators
| State | Regulating agency | Exemptions |
|---|---|---|
| California | California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) | Yes |
| Hawaii | Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) | Yes |
| Illinois | Illinois Attorney General's Office | Yes |
| Indiana | Indiana Securities Division | Yes |
| Maryland | Maryland Securities Division | Yes |
| Michigan | Michigan Department of Attorney General | Yes |
| Minnesota | Minnesota Department of Commerce | Yes |
| New York | New York Department of Law (Attorney General) | Yes |
| North Dakota | North Dakota Securities Department | Yes |
| Rhode Island | Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation | Yes |
| South Dakota | South Dakota Division of Securities | Yes |
| Virginia | Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) | Yes |
| Washington | Washington Department of Financial Institutions | Yes |
| Wisconsin | Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions | Yes |
What this analysis cannot tell us
This page covers franchise law by state and the headquarters location of each franchisor. It does not measure where franchises actually operate, per-state unit counts, or state-level revenue, our dataset records each brand's headquarters state and national FDD figures, not operational performance broken down by state. Registration requirements and exemptions also change; the regulating agency listed is the current statutory authority, not legal advice.
Source: Federal Trade Commission, Franchise Rule & state franchise statutes State franchise registration laws; franchisor headquarters from FDD filings · 2024