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Check the state arrangement before offering
RCW 19.100.010 includes oral/written and implied arrangements with the stated substantially prescribed/suggested marketing plan, substantial brand association and defined fee. Required goods/services and training charges can matter, with bona fide wholesale, property and other exclusions; insurance and specified motor-vehicle arrangements are separate.
Section .020 requires registration or exemption review before a covered offer. A licence heading, federal result or future outlet location does not decide all state connections. This is not complete business-opportunity-law coverage.
Keep the actual event and day unit
For example, a revised national-account reservation may change what a prospect was promised in both its agreement and an advertisement. Review each actual change and applicable branch.
| Event | Requirement stated here |
|---|---|
| Initial disclosure: RCW 19.100.080 | Fourteen calendar days. |
| Specified unilateral material agreement change | Seven calendar days; prospect-initiated negotiations have separate treatment. |
| Covered advertising | File a true copy at least seven days before publication unless a shorter period is allowed. |
| Registration/exemption period: .070 | Ordinarily one year from effectiveness/filing for the identified periods unless the director sets another period. Registration renewal is due no later than twenty calendar days before expiry. |
| Material adverse condition or material disclosure change | Amend as soon as reasonably possible and before another franchise sale; do not wait for renewal. |
Territory and exit conditions are separate
RCW 19.100.180 addresses good faith, purchasing restrictions, exclusive territory, termination and renewal. A mandatory supplier or reserved national account therefore also needs its actual relationship-rule review. The exit companion explains the separate cause, cure and compensation branches.
Scope
- Actual parties, offers, state connections, exclusions and exemptions require application. Registration does not establish enforceability of a territory term or a later exit.
Next step
Check coverage before the offer, then apply the distinct delivery, amendment and advertising requirements to the actual versions and dates.
Sources & review notes
Washington Legislature / Department of Financial Institutions
Passage, dates and research notes
official-guidance · Registration overview
Franchisors must register their franchise offerings prior to offering in Washington
Narrow cited passages reviewed. This is not a complete jurisdictional survey.
Washington Legislature / Department of Financial Institutions
Passage, dates and research notes
primary · RCW 19.100.020, .030, .080, .100, .180
The parties shall deal with each other in good faith.
Narrow cited passages reviewed. This is not a complete jurisdictional survey.
Detailed rule records (6)
RCW 19.100.020 prohibits covered offers or sales unless the offering is registered or exempt. Registration and exemption are distinct from federal disclosure.
Chapter 19.100 RCW: FranchisesRCW 19.100.080 provides a 14-calendar-day disclosure period and a separate seven-calendar-day period for unilaterally material agreement changes; prospect-initiated negotiations are treated separately.
Chapter 19.100 RCW:A true copy of advertising offering a franchise subject to registration must be filed at least seven days before publication, unless a shorter period is allowed by rule or order.
Chapter 19.100 RCW:RCW 19.100.180 includes good-faith duties and restrictions involving purchasing, territory, termination and renewal. Contract wording does not alone establish enforceability.
Chapter 19.100 RCW:Apply RCW 19.100.010 marketing-plan/brand/fee test, indirect and mandatory-payment provisions, precise fee exclusions and separate sector exclusions.
Chapter 19.100 RCW:RCW 19.100.070 gives the ordinary one-year registration/identified exemption-claim period. File registration renewal no later than 20 calendar days before expiry. Amend a material adverse franchisor/subfranchisor change or material disclosure change as soon as reasonably possible and before another franchise sale.
Chapter 19.100 RCW:Keep this reading in your learning library.
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