Disclosures & FTC Compliance

Under the FTC Franchise Rule (16 C.F.R. Part 436), prospective franchisees have significant federal consumer protections: • **Mandatory 14-Day Hold Period**: A franchisor must provide its 23-Item Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) at least 14 calendar days prior to executing any binding legal agreement or receiving any non-refundable payment or deposit. • **No Sales Pressure**: A sales representative or franchisor may not shorten, waive, or pressure you into bypassing this 14-day review window under any circumstances. • **Receipt Clock**: The 14-day clock begins on the calendar day after you sign and date the Item 23 Receipt page.

Federal law strictly regulates how franchisors discuss revenue, gross margins, and profits: • **Item 19 Is the Sole Permitted Location**: A franchisor may only make financial performance representations (such as average unit volume, sales, or net earnings) inside Item 19 of its FDD. • **No Off-the-Record Claims**: If Item 19 is blank, neither the franchisor, its sales reps, nor any affiliated broker is legally permitted to provide you with sales or revenue numbers in phone calls, pitch decks, spreadsheets, or private emails. • **BrightPath's Absolute Neutrality**: BrightPath makes zero financial performance representations of any kind. No statements, ranges, or case studies on this page should be interpreted as financial projections.

Every Franchise Disclosure Document includes **Item 7**, a comprehensive table outlining the estimated initial investment required to open a franchise: • **Wide Range Variance**: For education concepts, published Item 7 ranges span from $40,000 for low-overhead mobile STEM/enrichment programs to over $3,500,000 for purpose-built early learning preschools. • **Exclusions & Footnotes**: Item 7 tables often exclude variable real estate acquisition costs, local security deposits, utility tap fees, or working capital beyond the first three months. Always read the Item 7 footnotes carefully.

Item 20 of the FDD is arguably the most valuable investigative tool available to a prospective buyer: • It lists the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of every current franchisee in the system, as well as franchisees who have departed, terminated, transferred, or ceased operations over the previous three fiscal years. • You have the right to contact these franchisees directly to ask candid questions about actual unit economics, day-to-day staffing realities, curriculum updates, and head-office support.

BrightPath operates on an independent, consumer-first model: • We do not collect placement bounties or backend sales commissions for steering prospects into specific franchise networks. • We do not sell your personal lead information to franchise brokers. • Our free guides and checklists are provided without sales pressure or commercial obligation.

Certain states (such as California, New York, Illinois, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington) require franchisors to register their FDD with state franchise regulators before offering or selling franchises within their borders. State filings can be reviewed independently through state regulatory portals.