What You Need to Know About Franchising
Big dreams are built in Indiana. This state is literally the bedrock of architecture and industry. It has the largest limestone deposit on the planet, which helped erect the Empire State Building, the Pentagon, 14 State Capitol buildings, and many buildings in Washington, D.C.
Indiana is a franchise registration state. In order to offer or sell a franchise in Indiana, a franchisor must register the franchise offering with the Indiana Secretary of State, Securities Division (“Division”). The initial FDD registration fee in Indiana is $500 and the FDD renewal fee is $250.
Indiana Franchise Fees
$500
Initial
$250
Renewal*
$0
Post-Effective Amendment**
*Renewal filings must be submitted at least one day prior to the registration expiration date or Indiana will require the filing be resubmitted as a new initial filing with payment of the initial fee.
**Post-Effective Amendment filings must be submitted if you are making a material change to your FDD after your initial or renewal filing is approved.
Notes
Indiana filings are completed online and payment of filing fees may be made via ACH or credit card. For ACH payments, you will be required to complete and submit an ACH authorization form to us before we will submit the filing for you, and the state will charge a $1.00 convenience fee for payments submitted via ACH. For credit card payments, you will be required to complete and submit a credit card authorization form to us before we will submit the filing for you. Indiana will charge convenience fees that range between $5 and $12 depending on whether the filing is an initial or a renewal.
We will provide the Indiana application to you via email or DocuSign for signatures. If we provide the forms via email, you must print them and sign them with notary public (where applicable) and scan all pages back to us via email so we may complete the filing on your behalf.
Indiana requires the submission of the current FDD, but the review of the document is limited and initial filings are usually approved within a few weeks. Renewals and amendments are effective upon receipt.
Indiana filings are completed online and payment of filing fees may be made via ACH or credit card. For ACH payments, you will be required to complete and submit an ACH authorization form to us before we will submit the filing for you, and the state will charge a $1.00 convenience fee for payments submitted via ACH. For credit card payments, you will be required to complete and submit a credit card authorization form to us before we will submit the filing for you. Indiana will charge convenience fees that range between $5 and $12 depending on whether the filing is an initial or a renewal.
We will provide the Indiana application to you via email or DocuSign for signatures. If we provide the forms via email, you must print them and sign them with notary public (where applicable) and scan all pages back to us via email so we may complete the filing on your behalf.
Indiana requires the submission of the current FDD, but the review of the document is limited and initial filings are usually approved within a few weeks. Renewals and amendments are effective upon receipt.
Indiana business law has a Flow through Entity, which means an LLC will not be subjected to corporate income tax.
(incparadise.net)
90% of the world’s popcorn comes from Indiana.
(movoto.com)
99.4% of the businesses in Indiana are small businesses.
(sba.gov)
Indiana Franchise Exemptions
Flat Fee Program for Franchisors
Spadea Lignana’s CORE program for franchisors is a cost-effective and practical solution for the ongoing legal needs of franchisors, including but not limited to, FDD updates, state registrations and franchise agreement executions. Through a proprietary cloud-based system we can effectively and efficiently manage FDD Disclosures and Franchise Agreement executions for fair flat fees billed monthly. We believe that hourly billing, although necessary in certain circumstances like complex M&A deals and litigation, can weigh on the relationship between client and attorney. By coming up with a fair flat monthly fee, the uncomfortable negotiating of whether or not a 6 minute increment in your bill for replying to an email was legitimate goes away.
Attorneys Who Understand IN Franchise Law
Franchise laws vary from state to state, and it can be difficult to understand the requirements. Spadea Lignana has streamlined the process to ensure you remain compliant as you grow nationally.
We also work with franchises in Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts.
