Verified — real FDD extraction
SBA-eligible · directory code S1658 since 2017
SYLVAN LEARNING, SYLVAN LEARNING CENTER, SYLVAN
Education & Children · independent · est. —
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, SYLVAN LEARNING CENTER, SYLVAN net unit count declined -9.8% from 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. 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
Showing strain
Distress
The disclosed record shows weakness — shrinking units, elevated exits, or churn — worth reading closely before going further.
Exit rate · latest year
11.6%
vs 6.9% across 20 education & children systems
Cost to open
$118K–$288K
Item 7 total investment range
SBA loan defaults
23.9%
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
2021–2025
Survival record
FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year
In fiscal 2025, 55 of 476 franchised outlets left the system — a 11.6% annualized exit rate, vs 6.9% across 20 education & children systems. Not every exit is a failure — but this is the measurable floor.
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 lender's view
SBA 7(a)/504 loan performance · FY1991–present
Banks have made 363 SBA-backed loans to SYLVAN LEARNING, SYLVAN LEARNING CENTER, SYLVAN franchisees since 1994. Of the 264 that have resolved, 23.9% were charged off (defaulted) rather than paid in full, versus 14.8% across 576 rated brands.
23.9%
63 of 264 resolved defaulted
69.3%
avg. charged-off $ ÷ approved $
16.5%
default rate × loss severity
$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 (%)
SOURCE: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA LOAN DATA (DATA.SBA.GOV), FY1991–PRESENT · MATCHED TO SYLVAN LEARNING, SYLVAN LEARNING CENTER, SYLVAN BY FRANCHISE NAME · RESOLVED = CHARGED-OFF + PAID-IN-FULL
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 15.6% of its loans to other franchise brands, vs 14.8% nationally.
Who buys it
63.1%
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?
−13.6pp
multi-unit vs single-unit owners
Owners of multiple units default at 16.7%; single-unit owners at 30.3%.
Computed from 363 SBA 7(a)/504 loans to SYLVAN LEARNING, SYLVAN LEARNING CENTER, SYLVAN 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 $47K 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)
$47K
upfront, one-time
Royalty (Item 6)
11%
of sales, ongoing
Your figure — cross-check against this brand's Item 19 and current-owner validation.
Royalty you'd pay / yr
$110K
11% of sales, before profit
Over a 10-yr term
$1.1M
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 SYLVAN LEARNING, SYLVAN LEARNING CENTER, SYLVAN with an independent CPAModeled risk
FDD Risk Score · modeled from the public record
Modeled from the public record, this brand sits mid-pack: riskier than 58% of systems we score.
Risk percentile
58 / 100
Measured
Modeled SBA charge-off
13.8%
Observed SBA charge-off
23.9%
Top drivers: System size (log units) (lowers) · Single-lender dependence (raises) · Item 3 litigation (log) (lowers) · Net unit growth (raises). 50+ resolved loans and complete disclosure data — the score is checkable against the brand's observed rate. A linear scorecard built from this brand's own disclosure figures plus the federal loan record behind its franchisees; full spec and cross-validated accuracy on the methodology page. A score is context, not a verdict.
Distress signals
news-sourced · bankruptcies, closures, lawsuits
No recent closures, bankruptcies, or major lawsuits found in the news for SYLVAN LEARNING, SYLVAN LEARNING CENTER, SYLVAN. 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 SYLVAN LEARNING, SYLVAN LEARNING CENTER, SYLVAN's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
Talk to an independent CPA before you buy →SYLVAN LEARNING, SYLVAN LEARNING CENTER, SYLVAN franchise questions, answered from the filings
What percentage of SYLVAN LEARNING, SYLVAN LEARNING CENTER, SYLVAN franchises closed last year?
In SYLVAN LEARNING, SYLVAN LEARNING CENTER, SYLVAN's latest FDD Item 20 (fiscal 2025), 55 of 476 franchised outlets left the system — an annualized exit rate of 11.6% — compared with 6.9% across 20 education & children systems tracked here. 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 SYLVAN LEARNING, SYLVAN LEARNING CENTER, SYLVAN franchise cost?
Per SYLVAN LEARNING, SYLVAN LEARNING CENTER, SYLVAN's 2026 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $47K (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $118K–$288K (Item 7).
What royalty does SYLVAN LEARNING, SYLVAN LEARNING CENTER, SYLVAN charge?
SYLVAN LEARNING, SYLVAN LEARNING CENTER, SYLVAN charges an ongoing royalty of 11.0% of gross sales, per Item 6 of its 2026 FDD.
Does SYLVAN LEARNING, SYLVAN LEARNING CENTER, SYLVAN disclose earnings (Item 19)?
Yes — SYLVAN LEARNING, SYLVAN LEARNING CENTER, SYLVAN 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, SYLVAN LEARNING CENTER, SYLVAN franchises default?
Across 363 SBA-backed loans to SYLVAN LEARNING, SYLVAN LEARNING CENTER, SYLVAN franchisees since 1994, 63 of the 264 that have resolved were charged off — a 23.9% 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.