From the filed FDD — automated extraction, check the source
2026 FDD
SBA-eligible · directory code S1658 since 2017
SYLVAN LEARNING
Tutoring, test prep & learning centers · parent company: not identified
Sylvan Learning operates tutoring and supplemental education centers for K-12 students, covering reading, math, test prep, and homework support. Instruction is delivered in person and online by teachers using Sylvan's assessment and curriculum methods. A franchisee runs a learning center, hiring tutors and enrolling families on a paid program basis.
SYLVAN LEARNING net unit count declined 9.8% over 2021–2025 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. Most numbers on this page come from that document; others come from federal SBA loan records and labor and census data, each labelled with its source:
- 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, transferred and left the system, the main basis for our verdict, which rates how strong the disclosed record is, or says when the system is too new, the filing too old, or the disclosure too thin to judge.
Our rating · opinion
Weaker disclosed record
Below our threshold on the operating record we compute from Item 20 — unit growth, the mix of exits, owner turnover and promise-keeping. What pulls it down: units fell 10% (2021–2025: 480 → 433); the system opened far fewer outlets than it projected (Item 20 Table 5); the fiscal 2025 exit rate was 11.6%, well above the 2.5% median across 25 comparable systems (education & children). SBA loans to its franchisees approved FY1995–2020 charged off about as often as franchise loans of the same years (61 vs about 54 expected, 1.1×). This is our opinion of the filing, not a finding about the franchisor's finances.
Exit rate · fiscal 2025
11.6%
vs 2.5% median across 25 comparable systems (education & children)
Cost to open
$118K–$288K
Item 7 total investment range
SBA loan losses · vs same-year loans
1.1×
61 of 260 charged off vs ~54 expected
Market density · Texas
Thin market
16% thinner than the national average
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Data as of 2026-10-29. Figures come from SYLVAN LEARNING's public FDD filings (latest: MN 2026, extracted 2026-07-23) and SBA FOIA loan records (through FY2026), extracted by us and possibly containing errors. The rating is our opinion, not investment, legal, or tax advice. Franchisor or owner and see something wrong? Report a correction — we review every request.
What each source says
FDD record · SBA loans · model · auditor
The sources broadly agree, and the verdict follows the FDD's operating record.
FDD record · Item 20
Weaker operating record
Units fell 10% (2021–2025: 480 → 433); exit rate 11.6% (fiscal 2025) vs 2.5% median.
SBA loans · vs same-year loans
About as expected (1.1×)
61 charge-offs among 260 resolved loans approved FY1995–2020; about 54 expected.
Modeled risk
Moderate
Safer than 68% of scored systems.
Auditor opinion · Item 21
Clean opinion
Unqualified audit, 2026 FDD. Says nothing about franchisee results.
Behind the verdict
the record, factor by factor · Item 20
latest consecutive years · 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 · shown, not counted in the verdict
Systemwide units
2021–2025
Survival record
FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year
In fiscal 2025, 55 of 476 franchised outlets left the system — an exit rate of 11.6% (fiscal 2025), vs a 2.5% median across 25 comparable systems (education & children). An exit is not a failure: this counts terminations, non-renewals and "ceased — other reasons" as reported, and excludes transfers to new owners.
Show the outlet tables ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Status (FTC) | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outlets at start | 472 | 480 | 474 | 478 | 476 |
| Opened | 23 | 18 | 18 | 24 | 12 |
| Transfers | 26 | 35 | 42 | 48 | 26 |
| Terminations | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Non-renewals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reacquired by franchisor | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ceased — other reasons | 15 | 24 | 14 | 21 | 45 |
| Outlets at end | 480 | 473 | 478 | 476 | 433 |
| Net change | +8 | -7 | +4 | -2 | -43 |
The franchisor's own finances
FDD ITEM 21 · AUDITED STATEMENTS · 2026 FDD
Deloitte & Touche LLP gave an unmodified (clean) opinion on the statements in the 2026 FDD; revenue rose 5% from FY2024 to FY2025 and it reported a net loss in every year shown (FY2024–FY2025).
This is the company selling the franchise, not any franchisee. A clean opinion means the statements are fairly presented — not that the business is healthy.
Revenue · FY2025
$204.6M
extracted · not cross-checked
Net income · FY2025
−$65.6M
extracted · not cross-checked
Where FY2025 revenue came from
39% royalties
initial-fee share not extracted
Show the statement figures ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Fiscal year | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Total revenue | $194.7Mp. 138 · matched to statement | $204.6Mextracted · not cross-checked |
| Royalty revenue | $85.3Mp. 138 · matched to statement | $79.1Mextracted · not cross-checked |
| Initial / development feesline: Franchise fee revenues | $15.8Mp. 138 | not extracted |
| Net income (loss) | −$68.7Mp. 138 · matched to statement | −$65.6Mextracted · not cross-checked |
| Equity (deficit) at year end | $351.0Mp. 137 | not extracted |
The lender's view
SBA 7(a)/504 loan outcomes · compared with franchise loans of the same years
Banks have made 363 SBA-backed loans to SYLVAN LEARNING franchisees since 1994. Of the 260 approved FY1995–2020 that have resolved, 61 charged off — where about 54 would be expected for franchise loans made in the same years. That is 1.1× the expected rate: these loans defaulted about as often as comparable franchise loans.
All-time, 63 of 264 resolved loans charged off (23.9%). That raw figure mixes every approval year since 1994 — loans made in 2006–08 failed at several times the rate of loans made in 2010–13 across all franchises — so it is shown as evidence, not as the score.
1.1×
61 of 260 resolved (FY1995–2020) vs ~54 expected
23.9%
63 of 264 resolved, every approval year
69.3%
charged-off $ ÷ approved $, defaulted loans
$417,297
what recent franchisees borrowed
73 mo
approval → charge-off, defaulted loans
34 vs 20
distinct banks still lending
Charge-off rate by loan approval year (%) · dashed line = all franchise loans that year
SOURCE: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA LOAN DATA (DATA.SBA.GOV), FY1991–PRESENT · MATCHED TO SYLVAN LEARNING BY SBA FRANCHISE NAME/CODE · RESOLVED = CHARGED-OFF + PAID-IN-FULL · EXPECTED = SAME-YEAR RATE ACROSS ALL SBA FRANCHISE LOANS, LOANS ≥ ~6 YEARS OLD
The owner's side of the deal
FDD × federal loan record
Who finances it
Wells Fargo Bank National Association
8.5% of this brand's loans
That lender charges off 15.5% of its resolved SBA loans to other franchise brands in the FOIA file, vs 14.8% nationally — a read on that lender's portfolio mix, not a finding about the bank.
Who buys it
63.1%
borrowers with no other franchise SBA loan on record
The rest already owned at least one other franchise. Across the corpus, brands bought mostly by repeat operators have charged off less often than brands sold mostly to newcomers (see methodology).
Does experience help here?
−13.6pp
multi-unit vs single-unit owners
Owners of multiple units default at 16.7%; single-unit owners at 30.3% (each on 15+ resolved loans, owners identified by borrower-name matching).
Computed from 363 SBA 7(a)/504 loans matched to SYLVAN LEARNING by SBA franchise code in the SBA FOIA file. Debt service assumes level amortization at the average disclosed term and rate. Owner-level splits rely on borrower-name matching and may misclassify. 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 $46,900 franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $118K–$288K (Item 7). The franchisor publishes an earnings claim (Item 19) — read its methodology closely.
To open (Item 7)
$118K–$288K
all-in investment range
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$46,900
upfront, one-time
Royalty (Item 6)
11%
of sales, ongoing
Starts at a placeholder of $300K — a round figure for the sector, not from SYLVAN LEARNING’s filings. Set your own figure and check it against this brand's Item 19 and what owners tell you.
Royalty you'd pay / yr
$33K
11% of sales, before profit
Over a 10-yr term
$330K
royalties alone, excl. ad fund
This estimate is computed by software from the brand's public filings and any inputs you enter. No CPA prepared it for you and no assurance is provided on it. Actual results will differ, and the differences may be material.
This is not profit. It covers what the FDD fixes: what you put in, and the royalty you owe on sales. Your take-home depends on instructor pay, rent, materials, and the months to breakeven, none of which the FDD fixes for your unit (some Item 19s include cost data — read it).
Build a real pro-forma for SYLVAN LEARNING with a buyer-paid CPAHow the earnings claim is built
FDD ITEM 19 · BASIS · 2026 FDD
The headline figure is Franchisee Gross Sales by Quartile for Calendar year 2025, for 409 of 433 units, leaving out did not operate the entire fiscal year 2025, incomplete data, closed or opened during 2025 and others. It shows no costs, so it says nothing about what an owner keeps.
Graded on three things the filing states: coverage (2 points if the figure covers at least 75% of the units it is compared with, 1 point for 50–75%), centre (2 points if it prints both a median and a mean, 1 for one of them), and costs (2 points for costs through a profit line or full cost detail, 1 for some cost items). 5–6 points = More complete, 3–4 = Partial, 0–2 = Limited. The grade describes the disclosure, not the business.
Show the basis ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| What is measured | Franchisee Gross Sales by Quartile (gross sales) |
| Period | Calendar year 2025 |
| Whose results | Franchised outlets |
| Units included | 409 of 433 open and operating Sylvan Learning Centers in the U.S. at Dec 31, 2025 |
| Left out |
|
| Average (mean) | not printed |
| Median | not printed |
| Costs shown | None — sales only |
| Where | p. 68 (Item 19 runs pp. 68–71) |
| The filing's words | “A total of 409 Centers operated continuously during the 12 calendar months of 2025 and provided revenue reports to us that are reflected in Table 1.” |
Modeled risk
FDD Risk Score · a prediction from disclosure and loan-file features
Modeled from the public record, this brand looks safer than 68% of the systems we score (moderate band).
Observed · vs same-year loans
1.1×
61 of 260 seasoned loans charged off
Risk percentile
32nd
Checkable · higher = riskier
Modeled · vs same-year loans
0.9×
≈ 15.2% at the all-loan vintage mix
Top drivers: Royalty rate (lowers) · Item 20 exit rate (raises) · System size (log units) (lowers) · Item 3 litigation (log) (lowers). The brand has 30+ seasoned resolved SBA loans, so the score can be checked against its own record. A linear scorecard trained on brands' vintage-adjusted SBA loss records; full spec and cross-validated accuracy on the methodology page. A score is context, not a verdict.
Public records
Bankruptcy, closure & federal court records · coverage is selective · dockets are not scored
We have no verified public-record signals published for SYLVAN LEARNING. This is not evidence that no events exist. Check PACER, the FDD's Item 3 (litigation) and Item 4 (bankruptcy), and recent news yourself.
12 questions to ask a SYLVAN LEARNING franchisee
Built from this brand's own disclosures · take it to your validation calls
The franchisor will give you a list of owners to call. Most buyers ask whether they like it. These questions come from what SYLVAN LEARNING has disclosed. Each one carries the number it came from, so you can check the answer against the record.
- 01
SYLVAN LEARNING’s own Item 20 shows 55 of 476 franchised outlets left the system in fiscal 2025 — about 11.6%. Do you know any of those owners, and do you know why they left?
A franchisor will call these “transitions.” An owner three doors down usually knows whether they sold at a profit or handed the keys back.
FDD Item 20 · FY2025
- 02
26 units transferred to new owners in fiscal 2025. When you look at those, were they people cashing out a good business — or getting out of a bad one?
Item 20 counts transfers as neutral, but a transfer can be a good sale or a reluctant exit — the filing does not say which.
FDD Item 20 · FY2025
- 03
The system went from 480 units to 433 over 5 disclosed years. What's the explanation you've been given, and do you believe it?
A shrinking system means fewer owners funding the ad fund and support staff you're paying for.
FDD Item 20 · FY2021–FY2025
- 04
SBA loans to SYLVAN LEARNING franchisees approved 1995–2020 defaulted about as often as franchise loans made in the same years: 61 charge-offs among 260 resolved loans, where about 54 would be expected (1.1×). Did you finance with an SBA loan, and how close did your first two years come to trouble?
This is the lender's view of how these loans ended, from public federal records matched by SBA franchise code — independent of anything the franchisor discloses — compared with franchise loans made in the same years. A charge-off is a loan outcome, not proof the business closed.
SBA 7(a)/504 loan record, seasoned loans FY1995–FY2020 · 1.1× of same-vintage franchise loans
- 05
Item 7 puts the cost to open at $118K–$288K, yet the average recent SBA loan to SYLVAN LEARNING franchisees was $417K — above the whole range. What did those loans pay for: new units, resales, real estate, several units at once? And what did you actually spend to open, all in?
A loan above the disclosed range can mean buyers routinely overspend Item 7, or that SBA money in this system funds resales, property or multi-unit deals. The filing doesn't say which; an owner can.
FDD Item 7 vs SBA approvals FY2020+
- 06
You pay 11.0% royalty on gross sales, plus the ad fund, before any of your own costs. On your actual revenue last year, what did you take home as the owner — not revenue, take-home?
Royalty is charged on sales, not profit. This is the number the brochure never shows and the one your life actually runs on.
FDD Item 6
- 07
SYLVAN LEARNING makes an earnings claim in Item 19. Does your unit look like that number — and do you know which units they included to build it?
Item 19 is legal to build from a flattering subset. Ask whether they excluded new units, closed units, or company stores.
FDD Item 19 · 2026
- 08
How many months did it take to cover your own costs, and how much cash did you burn getting there?
Ramp-to-breakeven working capital is the most underestimated line in any franchise purchase, and the most common reason otherwise-good units fail.
Not disclosed in any FDD — ask an owner
- 09
Item 3 discloses 8 legal matters. Do you know what those were about, and were any brought by franchisees?
Franchisee-brought suits over territory, fees or support tell you how the franchisor behaves when there's a disagreement.
FDD Item 3 · 2026
- 10
What does the franchisor charge for that you didn't expect — required tech fees, mandatory remodels, approved-supplier pricing?
Required spending appears across Items 6, 8 and 11 rather than in one place, so buyers routinely miss the total.
FDD Items 6, 8, 11
- 11
If your agreement came up for renewal tomorrow at current terms, would you sign again?
The single most predictive question you can ask. A hesitation is the answer.
Ask every owner you speak to
- 12
Who else should I call — including someone who left?
The franchisor's list is curated by definition. Former franchisees are where the unflattering truth lives, and current owners usually know how to reach them.
Ask every owner you speak to
Want this as a checklist you can take to the calls?
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A broker is usually paid by the franchisor to place you. I'm paid only by you, never by a franchisor you're considering — and the job is pressure-testing SYLVAN LEARNING’s numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
This page is what buyers see before they call you for validation. If the record above is wrong — or right in a way the numbers can't show — say so. Franchisors: send corrections with the page reference and we will review them against the filing and update or annotate the page. Corrections are checked against the filings; nothing you write is published with your name unless you agree to it.
SYLVAN LEARNING franchise questions, answered from the filings
How many SYLVAN LEARNING franchised outlets left the system last year?
In SYLVAN LEARNING's latest FDD Item 20 (fiscal 2025), 55 of 476 franchised outlets left the system — an exit rate of 11.6% — compared with a 2.5% median across 25 comparable systems (education & children) tracked here. That counts terminations, non-renewals, and "ceased operations — other reasons" as the franchisor reported them; it excludes transfers to new owners. The FDD does not say why each outlet left, and an exit is not the same as a failure.
How much does a SYLVAN LEARNING franchise cost?
Per SYLVAN LEARNING's 2026 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $46,900 (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $118K–$288K (Item 7).
What royalty does SYLVAN LEARNING charge?
SYLVAN LEARNING charges an ongoing royalty of 11.0% of gross sales, per Item 6 of its 2026 FDD.
Does SYLVAN LEARNING disclose earnings (Item 19)?
Yes — SYLVAN LEARNING makes a financial performance representation in Item 19 of its 2026 FDD. Read it closely: franchisors choose which units and which metrics to include.
How often do SBA loans for SYLVAN LEARNING franchises default?
SBA loans to SYLVAN LEARNING franchisees approved 1995–2020 defaulted about as often as franchise loans made in the same years: 61 charge-offs among 260 resolved loans, where about 54 would be expected (1.1×). All-time, 63 of 264 resolved loans since 1994 charged off (23.9%); that raw figure mixes every approval year, so we compare with same-year loans instead. A charge-off is a loan loss, not proof the business closed. Source: public SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA data.