What You Need to Know About Franchising
You may come for the sand and sunshine in Florida, but make sure you stay for the small business opportunities! The ‘Sunshine State’ is home to more than 2.5 million small businesses, with the majority of franchises being in the commercial/residential cleaning sector.
Florida is a franchise registration state, though not in a traditional sense. It is considered a notice filing state, which means that it does not have a state examiner review the FDD, but you must submit annual paperwork and pay a $100 fee each year. Florida has enacted the Sale of Business Opportunities Act, which is a business opportunity law that applies to the sale of franchises and requires franchisors to file an annual Franchise Exemption Notice with the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services.
Florida Franchise Filing Fees
$100
Intial
$100
Renewal*
$0
Amendments**
*Renewal filings must be submitted before the expiration date each year.
**Florida does not require the submission of amendment filings.
Notes
The filing fee for initial filings must be made via check made payable to “FDACS”. Renewal filings are completed online and Florida accepts payment of the filing fee via ACH or credit card. For ACH payments, you will be required to complete and submit an ACH authorization form to us before we will submit the filing for you, and the state will charge a $1.00 convenience fee for payments submitted via ACH. For credit card payments, you will be required to complete and submit a credit card authorization form to us before we will submit the filing for you.
We will provide the Florida initial or renewal form to you via email or DocuSign for your signature. If we provide the form via email, you must print it, sign it, and scan it back to us via email so we may complete the filing on your behalf.
Florida is a filing state and approval of the FDD is not required. The filing is typically approved within two weeks.
The filing fee for initial filings must be made via check made payable to “FDACS”. Renewal filings are completed online and Florida accepts payment of the filing fee via ACH or credit card. For ACH payments, you will be required to complete and submit an ACH authorization form to us before we will submit the filing for you, and the state will charge a $1.00 convenience fee for payments submitted via ACH. For credit card payments, you will be required to complete and submit a credit card authorization form to us before we will submit the filing for you.
We will provide the Florida initial or renewal form to you via email or DocuSign for your signature. If we provide the form via email, you must print it, sign it, and scan it back to us via email so we may complete the filing on your behalf.
Florida is a filing state and approval of the FDD is not required. The filing is typically approved within two weeks.
Florida has the most golf courses of any state in America.
My Improv
With 87.3 million visitors in 2011 (a record number), Florida is the top travel destination in the world.
State of Florida
Everglades National Park– a UNESCO World Heritage Site – is the only place on the planet where crocodiles and alligators co-exist.
Visit Florida
Flat Fee Program for Franchisors
Spadea Lignana’s CORE program for franchisors is a cost-effective and practical solution for the ongoing legal needs of franchisors, including but not limited to, FDD updates, state registrations and franchise agreement executions. Through a proprietary cloud-based system we can effectively and efficiently manage FDD Disclosures and Franchise Agreement executions for fair flat fees billed monthly. We believe that hourly billing, although necessary in certain circumstances like complex M&A deals and litigation, can weigh on the relationship between client and attorney. By coming up with a fair flat monthly fee, the uncomfortable negotiating of whether or not a 6 minute increment in your bill for replying to an email was legitimate goes away.
Attorneys Who Understand FL Franchise Law
Franchise laws vary from state to state, and it can be difficult to understand the requirements. Spadea Lignana has streamlined the process to ensure you remain compliant as you grow nationally.
We also work with franchisors all over the southeast including Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and South Carolina.
