A plain-English report on any franchise you're thinking about buying. We check public records, lawsuits, the franchise's disclosure document, what owners say, and the competition near you, so you can ask better questions before you sign.
Order a report See a sample Paid only by buyers. No franchisor or broker money, ever. Research, not legal advice.FranchiseXray is a plain-English background check on a franchise company. We do the digging so you know what to ask before you sign anything.
A short report on the company selling you a franchise. Every fact links to its source, so you can check it yourself.
Franchise paperwork is long and hard to read. Many of the people guiding you get paid when you sign. Warning signs are easy to miss.
Anyone thinking about buying a franchise, especially for the first time. You don't need a business or legal background.
Choose a report and fill out a short form: the brand, where you'd open, and your timeline.
We check public records, lawsuits, what owners say, and the competition near you. A Full Report also reads the franchise's disclosure document.
By email within 4 hours for orders placed before 6 PM ET. Later orders arrive by noon ET the next day. For a Full Report, the 4 hours start once we have the current disclosure document. Then take it to your franchise attorney.
The franchise's disclosure document (the FDD) can run well over 100 pages. And the people walking you through it are often paid when you sign.
Some fees hide in footnotes or in the operations manual. Important terms, like your territory and what you can't do after you leave, sit in the contract at the back.
Franchise sales staff, and many "consultants" or "coaches," are paid by the franchisor (the company selling the franchise). Their job is to close the deal.
Federal rules give you at least 14 calendar days with the FDD before you sign or pay. That's not much time to search a dozen state websites and court records on your own.
Every Full Report has the same 8 sections, and every fact links to its source. If we couldn't reach a source, we say so instead of guessing.
Who the company really is, how big it is, its history, and the biggest risks, in plain English.
What the company says owners earn (Item 19 of the FDD), what that leaves out, and the real startup costs and fees, double-checked.
A 1–10 score from our published checklist (10 = highest risk), with a one-line reason and what would change it.
Eight warning signs we check every time. Each is marked Confirmed, Cleared, Untestable, or Unverified, with the evidence.
What owners, customers, and employees say on Reddit, Indeed, Glassdoor, and elsewhere.
How many locations and direct competitors are already near where you'd open.
Whether the franchise is registered in the states that require it, plus any action by the FTC (the federal consumer-protection agency) or state regulators.
Specific questions to get answered in writing, and to bring to your attorney.
We run the same eight checks on every franchise. Here are four of them:
More than 15% of locations closing, changing hands, or leaving in a year, based on the owner counts in the FDD (Item 20). We show the math.
Earnings numbers (Item 19) based on fewer than 30 locations, or that leave out locations that failed.
Personal guarantees, non-competes, and limits on selling your location that still bind you after you exit.
Costs the company can add through its operations manual or "then-current" price lists.
The other four: clusters of lawsuits, FDD wording that changed without notice, clauses that limit what owners can say publicly, and undisclosed ties to franchise sales firms.
Flat fees, paid by you and nobody else. For comparison, published flat fees for franchise attorney FDD reviews commonly run about $1,900–$2,500. This report is meant to make that review more focused, not to replace it.
We check the public record on one franchise brand. Is it registered where it needs to be? Any lawsuits or government actions? What do owners and employees say online? How many competitors are near you? You don't need to send any paperwork.
Pick this if you're early in your search, comparing a few brands, or haven't received the disclosure document yet.
Everything in the Quick Scan, plus a careful read of the franchise's disclosure document (FDD). That covers the fees, the earnings claims, how many owners have left, the company's finances, and the contract terms you'd be bound by.
Pick this if you have the FDD (or will soon), you're serious about this brand, and you want to walk into your attorney's office organized. Already bought a Quick Scan? Upgrade within 14 days for $309.
Both reports are emailed within 4 hours for orders placed before 6 PM ET. Later orders arrive by noon ET the next day. For a Full Report, the 4 hours start once we have the current FDD (from a state database or your upload).
Comparing brands? Run a $39.99 Quick Scan on each one. The $39.99 Quick Scan price is credited if you upgrade to a Full Report within 14 days ($309 to upgrade). For the legal read, have a franchise attorney review the FDD and franchise agreement before you sign; we don't give legal advice.
Here's part of a sample Full Report on Bramblecrumb Pie Co., a fictional hand-pie and coffee bakery-café franchise, prepared for a buyer in a fictional North Carolina market. Sample report about a fictional franchise. All names, figures and events are made up for illustration.
The score starts from a neutral 5. Two checklist lines applied: the earnings figures leave out units that closed (+1.5), and there is no exclusive territory (+1). That gives 7.5, and halves round up. No state stop order or cease-and-desist was found. How the risk score works.
| Rubric item | Status | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Item 20 three-year closure rate above 10% | Cleared | (3 + 5 + 4) ÷ 254 starting units = 4.7% over three years (Item 20, Table 3). |
| Item 19 excludes failed units | Confirmed | Item 19 leaves out "4 that closed during 2025" and 88 outlets that did not report on time, and it no longer shows profit (Item 19, p. 64). |
An unnamed franchisee quoted by a trade publication in October 2026: "September was the slowest month we've had." Quotes reflect their sources and are not findings by FranchiseXray.
| Market | Same-brand stores found |
|---|---|
| Riverbend County, NC (fictional) | Store locator lists four stores; a local news report says one closed. The two sources disagree. |
The full sample has all 14 sections, the FDD-based findings, and the question list for the franchisor. Get the full sample PDF.
It's the Franchise Disclosure Document. Federal rules say the franchise seller has to give it to you at least 14 calendar days before you sign or pay. It covers the fees, lawsuits, any earnings claims, how many owners have left, the company's finances, and the contract. It's often well over 100 pages, so it helps to have someone walk through it.
From the franchise company. Just ask your sales contact for the current one. Under the FTC Franchise Rule, they have to give it to you when you reasonably ask. Some states also post FDDs in free public databases, and we check those for you. If there's no current copy there, we'll send you a short letter you can use to ask for it.
No. This is a research report built from public records and documents you provide. We don't tell you whether to sign, whether a clause is enforceable, or what to negotiate. Have a licensed franchise attorney review the FDD and agreements before you sign or pay anything.
You should. The report gets you there with the facts organized: red flags cited by FDD item and section, registration and litigation checks done, and a question list ready. That makes your attorney's time count for more.
No. We're paid only by buyers. We take no commissions, referral fees, rebates, or sponsorships from franchisors, franchise brokers, or franchise sales organizations, and we don't refer buyers to them.
Not for a Quick Scan. For a Full Report, yes. Upload the one you received, or see "Where do I get the FDD?" above. Your 4-hour delivery clock starts once we have the current FDD.
That's common, especially for newer brands or ones that don't sell in the states that require registration. It doesn't mean something is wrong. A Quick Scan doesn't need it, because we work from other public records. For a Full Report, ask the franchise for its current FDD (we'll give you a letter to send) and upload it. If you can't get one, you can switch to a Quick Scan instead. See our Refund Policy.
It's a 1–10 score based on our published checklist. Higher means more to look into (10 = highest risk), and we always say why. A Quick Scan score is preliminary: it comes with a confidence band (Low, Medium, or High) and the range it could move to once the FDD is read. It isn't a recommendation to buy or not buy. How the risk score works.
Your uploads are used only to prepare your report. We never share them with franchisors or brokers. We keep your information only as long as needed to deliver your report. Once your report is delivered, we delete your questionnaire answers, any files you uploaded, and the report itself. The only thing we keep is a minimal record that you bought a Quick Scan (your name, email, the franchise, and the order date), so we can credit it if you later order the Full Report. Card payments are handled by Stripe; we never see or store your card number, and Stripe keeps its own payment records as the law requires. You can ask us to delete your information at any time by emailing [email protected]. See our Privacy Policy.
All sales are final once your report is downloaded. Refunds are available only before download, or if the download fails due to a technical problem on our side. See a full sample report before you buy. See our Refund Policy.
FranchiseXray does not sell customer data, and we don't share it with franchisors, brokers, or lenders. We keep your information only as long as needed to deliver your report. Once your report is delivered, we delete your questionnaire answers, any files you uploaded, and the report itself. The only thing we keep is a minimal record that you bought a Quick Scan (your name, email, the franchise, and the order date), so we can credit it if you later order the Full Report. Card payments are handled by Stripe; we never see or store your card number, and Stripe keeps its own payment records as the law requires. You can ask us to delete your information at any time by emailing [email protected]. Read the full Privacy Policy.
Ordering opens soon. Join the waitlist and we'll email you when it does. After you order, you'll fill out a short intake form (franchise, market, budget, timeline, and your FDD).
Join the waitlist · Quick Scan $39.99 Join the waitlist · Full Report $349All sales are final once your report is downloaded. Refunds are available only before download, or if the download fails due to a technical problem on our side. See a full sample report before you buy. Refund Policy.