When Will My FDD Expire?

Evidently, there will come a time when your franchise disclosure document (FDD) will reach its expiration date and require renewal. This exact date can get convoluted, as federal and state franchise laws state different things. Continue reading to learn when your FDD will expire and how one of the experienced franchise law attorneys at FortmanSpann, LLC can assist you when this occurs.

When does my FDD expire?

At the national level, your FDD to set to automatically expire within 120 days of your fiscal year-end. So, if your fiscal year is the same as a calendar year, then your FDD will expire on April 30 of each year.

On the other hand, the state level has its own set of requirements. As an example, the following are the FDD expiration dates for the franchise registration states:

• California (CA): this expires 110 days after your fiscal year-end.
• Hawaii (HI): this expires 90 days after your fiscal year-end.
• Illinois (IL): this expires 120 days after your fiscal year-end.
• Indiana (IN): this expires one year from the registration effective date.
• Maryland (MD): this expires one year from the registration effective date.
• Michigan (MI): this expires one year from the notice filing date.
• Minnesota (MN): this expires 120 days after your fiscal year-end.
• New York (NY): this expires 120 days after your fiscal year-end.
• North Dakota (ND): this expires 120 days after your fiscal year-end.
• Rhode Island (RI): this expires one year from the registration date.
• Virginia (VA): this expires one year from the registration effective date.
• Washington (WA): this expires one year from the registration effective date.
• Wisconsin (WI): this expires one year from the registration effective date.

What if the federal expiration date is different than the state expiration date?

Most notably, federal law pre-empts state law. Meaning, your FDD will expire within the 120-day fiscal year-end period even if you are in a franchise registration state where your state-specific expiration extends beyond this period.

For example, say that your franchise operates in the state of Wisconsin on a fiscal calendar year basis. With this, say that your most recent Wisconsin state registration was made effective on November 30. Even though state law has your FDD last until Nover 30 of the following year, federal law will overrule and will have your FDD last until April 30. This means that you must stop selling your franchise in the state of Wisconsin on April 30 until your FDD is renewed.

Now, the renewal process of an FDD has its own set of requirements. So if your expiration date is quickly approaching and you want to start the renewal process as soon as possible, you must seek the assistance of one of the skilled franchise law attorneys. We will work on your behalf in making this a seamless process. Call us today.