Verified — real FDD extraction
SBA-eligible · directory code S1144 since 2017
MR. ROOTER
Other · independent · est. —
Mr. Rooter is a plumbing services franchise handling drain cleaning, plumbing repairs, and sewer line work for homes and businesses. A franchisee runs a dispatch-based service business, sending licensed plumbers in branded vans to scheduled and emergency calls.
MR. ROOTER net unit count grew +10.1% from 2023–2025 per its FDD Item 20.
New to franchising? Start here
A franchise is a business where you (the franchisee) pay a company (the franchisor) for the right to open and run a location using their brand and system — think a local Anytime Fitness or Taco John's owned by a small-business owner, not the corporation.
Before you can buy in, U.S. law requires the franchisor to give you a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) — a long legal filing covering its fees, finances, and history. The numbers on this page come straight from that document:
- Franchise fee — the one-time cost to buy in.
- Royalty — the ongoing cut of your sales you pay the franchisor.
- Item 20 — how many locations opened and closed, the basis for our verdict (from Proven & strong down to Distressed — or Too new to judge).
The verdict
Proven & steady
Distress
The operating record is solid, but the FDD discloses a bankruptcy history (Item 4) — capped below a full endorsement. The standout in the record: the system is growing.
Exit rate · latest year
5.7%
fiscal 2025, per Item 20
Cost to open
$153K–$299K
Item 7 total investment range
SBA loan defaults
14.1%
vs 14.8% avg across rated brands
Behind the verdict
the record, factor by factor · Item 20
3-yr trend · Item 20 Table 1
terminations + ceased-ops vs. all exits · Table 3
transfers vs. base · Table 3
actual vs. projected openings · Table 5
Item 19 disclosure + completeness
Systemwide units
2023–2025
Survival record
FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year
In fiscal 2025, 13 of 228 franchised outlets left the system — a 5.7% annualized exit rate. Not every exit is a failure — but this is the measurable floor.
Show the outlet tables ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Status (FTC) | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outlets at start | 212 | 218 | 231 |
| Opened | 11 | 22 | 23 |
| Transfers | 10 | 16 | 15 |
| Terminations | 0 | 4 | 11 |
| Non-renewals | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Reacquired by franchisor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ceased — other reasons | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| Outlets at end | 218 | 231 | 240 |
| Net change | +6 | +13 | +9 |
The lender's view
SBA 7(a)/504 loan performance · FY1991–present
Banks have made 120 SBA-backed loans to MR. ROOTER franchisees since 1994. Of the 71 that have resolved, 14.1% were charged off (defaulted) rather than paid in full, versus 14.8% across 576 rated brands.
14.1%
10 of 71 resolved defaulted
60.3%
avg. charged-off $ ÷ approved $
8.5%
default rate × loss severity
$450,467
what recent franchisees borrowed
78 mo
approval → charge-off, defaulted loans
10 vs 8
distinct banks still lending
Charge-off rate by loan approval year (%)
Loan performance by state
SOURCE: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA LOAN DATA (DATA.SBA.GOV), FY1991–PRESENT · MATCHED TO MR. ROOTER BY FRANCHISE NAME · RESOLVED = CHARGED-OFF + PAID-IN-FULL
The owner's side of the deal
FDD × federal loan record
A typical MR. ROOTER buyer since 2020 borrowed $450K through SBA — about $66K a year in debt service. Against the brand's own disclosed median unit revenue of $1.3M, that is 5.2% of every dollar the store takes in — before rent, payroll, food, or royalty.
Who finances it
United Midwest Savings Bank National Association
25.0% of this brand's loans
That lender charges off 35.2% of its loans to other franchise brands, vs 14.8% nationally.
Who buys it
56.8%
first-time franchise owners
The rest already owned at least one other franchise. Across the corpus, brands bought mostly by repeat operators charge off at roughly 10% versus 17% for brands sold mostly to newcomers.
Does experience help here?
+23.5pp
multi-unit vs single-unit owners
Owners of multiple units default at 31.8%; single-unit owners at 8.3%.
Computed from 120 SBA 7(a)/504 loans to MR. ROOTER franchisees joined to the brand's own FDD. Debt service assumes level amortization at the average disclosed term and rate. A lender's rate excludes its loans to this brand, so it reads the lender, not the brand.
What it costs — and what it drags
FDD Items 5–7 · fees, investment, royalty
Buying in means a $43K franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $153K–$299K (Item 7). The franchisor publishes an earnings claim (Item 19) — read its methodology closely.
To open (Item 7)
$153K–$299K
all-in investment range
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$43K
upfront, one-time
Royalty (Item 6)
6%
of sales, ongoing
Your figure — cross-check against this brand's Item 19 and current-owner validation.
Royalty you'd pay / yr
$60K
6% of sales, before profit
Over a 10-yr term
$600K
royalties alone, excl. ad fund
This is not profit. It's the only money the FDD actually pins down — what you put in, and the royalty you owe on every dollar of sales. Your real take-home depends on labor, rent, food cost, and ramp-to-breakeven, none of which any FDD discloses.
Build a real pro-forma for MR. ROOTER with an independent CPALabor record
US Dept. of Labor enforcement · franchisee-level · FY2005–present
Federal investigators have concluded 22 wage cases against operators of this system, recovering $389K in back wages for 283 workers. Some of these cases are recent, not ancient history. These cases name franchisee-owned locations, not the franchisor itself.
Concluded cases
22
Back wages owed
$389K
Employees affected
283
Since 2020
1
Read this carefully. The employers in these cases are individual MR. ROOTER franchisees — separately owned businesses operating under the brand name — not MR. ROOTER itself. The franchisor is not the respondent and in most cases is not a party. What the record shows is how this system's operators run their payrolls, which is worth knowing before you become one of them. Counts rise with system size and with age: a 20-year-old, 10,000-unit system will out-count a young one regardless of conduct. Source: DOL Wage and Hour Division concluded compliance actions, FY2005–present, most recent finding 2022.
Distress signals
news-sourced · bankruptcies, closures, lawsuits
No recent closures, bankruptcies, or major lawsuits found in the news for MR. ROOTER. That's a good sign — but it reflects news coverage, not a guarantee.
A broker is paid by the franchisor to place you. An independent CPA is paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing MR. ROOTER's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
Talk to an independent CPA before you buy →MR. ROOTER franchise questions, answered from the filings
What percentage of MR. ROOTER franchises closed last year?
In MR. ROOTER's latest FDD Item 20 (fiscal 2025), 13 of 228 franchised outlets left the system — an annualized exit rate of 5.7%. That counts terminations, non-renewals, and "ceased operations — other reasons." There is no official failure rate, and not every exit is a failure, but this is the measurable floor.
How much does a MR. ROOTER franchise cost?
Per MR. ROOTER's 2026 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $43K (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $153K–$299K (Item 7).
What royalty does MR. ROOTER charge?
MR. ROOTER charges an ongoing royalty of 6.0% of gross sales, per Item 6 of its 2026 FDD.
Does MR. ROOTER disclose earnings (Item 19)?
Yes — MR. ROOTER makes a financial performance representation in Item 19 of its 2026 FDD, reporting a median unit volume of $1.3M. Read it closely: franchisors choose which units and which metrics to include.
How often do SBA loans for MR. ROOTER franchises default?
Across 120 SBA-backed loans to MR. ROOTER franchisees since 1994, 10 of the 71 that have resolved were charged off — a 14.1% default rate, versus about 14.8% across all rated franchise brands. This is the lender's-eye view of franchisee failure, drawn from public SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA data and independent of the franchisor's own disclosures.