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Carl's Jr. (Nt) franchise — is it worth it?

High risk Shrinking network

What Carl's Jr. (Nt)'s most recent Franchise Disclosure Document says about the money, the litigation, and the franchisee churn — before you wire a five- or six-figure franchise fee.

Everything below is free, read straight off Carl's Jr. (Nt)'s registered filing, with where the numbers land against category peers. Weighing Carl's Jr. (Nt) against other options? Get a free shortlist of franchises that fit your budget.

Figures above are as disclosed in Carl's Jr. (Nt)'s most recent FDD (registered 2025). Source: Minnesota Dept. of Commerce — CARDS franchise registrations · filing 35314-202601-02 — check it yourself. See every other Minnesota-registered franchise.

Carl's Jr. (Nt) franchise profit — what the FDD discloses

Plainly: Carl's Jr. (Nt) does not disclose franchise profit or revenue. Its most recent FDD makes no Item 19 financial performance representation, so there is no franchisor-backed earnings figure for Carl's Jr. (Nt) — any number quoted elsewhere is an estimate, not a disclosure. The absence is itself worth weighing; the fees, litigation and outlet churn Carl's Jr. (Nt)'s FDD does contain are on this page. For brands that put earnings on paper, see Other franchises with disclosed Item 19 earnings.

Carl's Jr. (Nt) lawsuits & legal history (FDD Item 3)

Carl's Jr. (Nt)'s most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2025) does disclose legal proceedings in Item 3 . Item 3 is the item where a franchisor must put its material legal history on the record. Two things it is not: it covers the franchisor and its predecessors, parents and affiliates, so a disclosed case is not necessarily a suit against Carl's Jr. (Nt) itself; and a disclosure is a fact, not a finding of wrongdoing — most entries are contract disputes with former franchisees, which every large system accumulates. Item 3 of the source FDD describes each case.

Carl's Jr. (Nt) closures & failure rate

Before you sign, Carl's Jr. (Nt) will hand you a list of current owners to call as references — and they choose who's on that list. It won't include the owners who quit, got bought out, or were forced out last year. The FDD does report that number, even though the reference list leaves those people off. Below is what Carl's Jr. (Nt)'s most recent filing shows, and whether it's normal for a franchise of this kind.

The closest thing an FDD has to a failure rate is Item 20 — outlet openings, closures, terminations and non-renewals, reported by the franchisor. Carl's Jr. (Nt)'s latest tables show a shrinking franchised network — more units left than opened. Net franchised outlets moved -32 to 982 in the latest reported year.

Who owns Carl's Jr. (Nt)?

Carl's Jr. (Nt)'s franchise is offered by Carl's Jr. Restaurants LLC — the franchisor named on the cover of its most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2025), and the entity a franchisee actually signs with. That name comes straight off the filing at MN CARDS; it identifies the franchisor, not necessarily the ultimate parent company behind it. The same franchisor files separate FDDs for other brands, which is worth knowing — sibling brands share a franchise-support organization but disclose their own numbers:

Franchises at a similar investment level at a similar investment level

Anyone weighing Carl's Jr. (Nt) is really weighing it against the other brands their money could go into. These are the closest by total initial investment (FDD Item 7), each with its own FDD-based page.

Carl's Jr. (Nt) franchise — frequently asked