OFFICIAL FILING · MN · 2026
CARL'S JR FDD (Franchise Disclosure Document) — 2026
The FDD is the 23-item legal disclosure every U.S. franchisor must hand you at least 14 days before you sign or pay anything (FTC Franchise Rule, 16 CFR 436). CARL'S JR's most recent FDD tracked here was filed in 2026 with the Minnesota Department of Commerce (public CARDS portal) — and because registration-state filings are public records, you can read it free, without giving a broker your phone number.
THE SAME DOCUMENT SITES SELL OR GATE BEHIND LEAD FORMS. FILED 2026 · SOURCE STATE MN
| ITEM 5 | Initial franchise fee | $25K |
| ITEM 6 | Ongoing royalty | 4.0% of gross sales |
| ITEM 7 | Total initial investment | $1.5M–$3.3M |
| ITEM 3 | Disclosed litigation matters | 12 |
| ITEM 19 | Earnings disclosure (FPR) | Yes — median unit volume $1.3M (Section I: "This Section I shows the average revenue for 778 freestanding Carl's Jr. Restaurants that were operated by our franchisees and us (as company-operated restaurants) during the FY26 Period. Of the 778 freestanding Carl's Jr. Restaurants included in this financial performance representation, 50 restaurants are company-operated restaurants, and 728 restaurants are franchised restaurants." The FY26 Period is "the entire 53 week time period of January 28, 2025 to January 26, 2026". "At the end of FY26 we had 992 franchised and company-operated restaurants open and operating in the United States. Of the 164 restaurants excluded from this financial performance representation: (i) 78 restaurants operate from a travel plaza, gas and convenience store, college, university, toll plaza, or airport – meaning, they do not operate from a freestanding location, (ii) 15 restaurants did not provide us with complete revenue data for the entire FY26 time period, and (iii) 71 are Dual Concept Restaurants." Table note 1: "A Carl's Jr. restaurant is considered 'freestanding' if it is located in a single tenant building, not attached to any other structures. This financial performance representation does not include information for Dual Concept Restaurants or Carl's Jr. restaurants operated from travel plazas, gas and convenience stores, colleges and universities, and airports. Further, Carl's Jr. restaurants located outside the United States are not included." The reported mean/median above are from the "Average Revenue FY26 – Franchised Carl's Jr. Freestanding Restaurants" table (n=728 franchised): # Met/Exceeded Average 334 (42.9%), Lowest $468,470, Highest $3,233,404.) |
| ITEM 20 | Outlets (fiscal 2026) | 942 franchised at year end · 45 exits (4.6% annualized) |
| ITEM 21 | Franchisor financial statements | clean (unqualified) audit opinion — KPMG LLP |
Citation discipline: every figure above is extracted from the 2026 CARL'S JR FDD as filed and links back to that document. Fields the filing did not state are omitted — nothing here is estimated, surveyed, or filled in from marketing material. FDDs are reissued annually; verify against the current issuance before relying on any number.
CARL'S JR FDD questions, answered
Where can I download the CARL'S JR FDD for free?
CARL'S JR's 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document is a public record, filed with the Minnesota Department of Commerce (public CARDS portal). It can be downloaded free from the source link on this page — no broker form, no email signup required.
What year is CARL'S JR's most recent FDD on file?
The most recent CARL'S JR FDD tracked here was filed in 2026 with the Minnesota Department of Commerce (public CARDS portal). Franchisors must update their FDD annually, so confirm you are reading the current issuance before signing.
Does CARL'S JR's FDD disclose earnings (Item 19)?
Yes — CARL'S JR makes a financial performance representation in Item 19 of its 2026 FDD, reporting a median unit volume of $1.3M. Read the basis fine print: franchisors choose which units and metrics to include.
What does CARL'S JR's FDD Item 20 show?
In fiscal 2026, CARL'S JR ended with 942 franchised outlets; 45 of 982 open at the start of the year left the system — an annualized exit rate of 4.6% (terminations, non-renewals, and "ceased operations — other reasons").
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