State franchise relationship laws compared
A table of 15 states with franchise termination or non-renewal statutes: citation, good cause, notice days, cure days and non-renewal notice, with each figure taken from statute text we read.
Some states have statutes that regulate how a franchisor may end or decline to renew a franchise. These are separate from the federal FTC Franchise Rule, which is a pre-sale disclosure rule. The FTC's consumer guide says only that "Some states have laws meant to protect franchisees after they buy." The International Franchise Association, an industry body, lists 20 jurisdictions with relationship laws. It is not a government list.
The table below covers the states where we read the statute text and found confirmed figures. A cell says "not confirmed" where the text we read did not say. Many cells also say "none in text," meaning the section we read states no such period; a contract may still provide one. Several statutes carry exceptions that allow shorter notice or none, listed in the state guides. Scope matters too: most of these laws apply only if the franchise is located or operated in that state, and some have size or sales thresholds. This is general information on what each statute says, not advice on your situation.
The table
| State | Citation | Good cause | Termination notice | Cure days | Non-renewal notice |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | Bus. & Prof. Code 20000 to 20044 | Yes, limited to substantial non-compliance | 60 days | At least 60 from notice; cap 75 unless agreed | 180 days written, plus alternatives |
| Connecticut | Conn. Gen. Stat. 42-133e to 42-133h | Yes (non-exhaustive) | 60 days written, cause stated (30 for abandonment) | Not confirmed (none in text) | 60 days (6 months if lease-related) |
| Delaware | 6 Del. C. 2551 to 2557 (franchised distributors only) | Yes, no termination without good cause or in bad faith | 90 days | Not confirmed (none in text) | 90 days |
| Hawaii | HRS 482E-6 (mirror) | Yes | Written notice; days not confirmed | A reasonable period; days not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Illinois | 815 ILCS 705/19, 20 (mirror) | Yes | Notice with a reasonable opportunity to cure; no minimum days stated | Reasonable; need not be more than 30 | 6 months (compensation duty if not given) |
| Indiana | IC 23-2-2.7 (mirror) | Yes, no termination without good cause or in bad faith | 90 days unless the agreement says otherwise | Not confirmed (none in text) | 90 days unless the agreement says otherwise |
| Iowa | Iowa Code 537A.10 (agreements from 1 July 2000) | Yes | Written notice; no minimum days stated | 30 to 90 days (30 for non-payment) | 6 months |
| Michigan | MCL 445.1527 (mirror) | Yes, a clause allowing termination without good cause is void | Not confirmed | Reasonable; need not be more than 30 | Not confirmed (6 months matters only to a compensation rule) |
| Minnesota | Minn. Stat. 80C.14 | Yes | 90 days written | 60 days from receipt (24 hours in one exception) | 180 days written |
| Missouri | RSMo 407.405, 407.410 | No good-cause rule in the text read | 90 days written (none for listed grounds) | None in text | 90 days |
| Nebraska | Neb. Rev. Stat. 87-401 to 87-410 (archive copy) | Yes, limited to substantial non-compliance | 60 days written, all reasons (15 for abandonment) | None in text | 60 days; an agreement may be non-renewable or conditionally renewable |
| New Jersey | N.J.S.A. 56:10-1 et seq. (mirror) | Yes, limited to substantial non-compliance | 60 days written (15 for abandonment) | None in text | 60 days written |
| Rhode Island | R.I. Gen. Laws 6-50-1 to 6-50-9 (archive copy, 2023) | Good-cause concept defined; operative rule not expressly worded | 60 days written, all reasons | 30 (three cures per 12 months); 10 for non-payment; 24 hours for public health or safety | 60 days |
| Washington | RCW 19.100.180 | Yes | Written notice and a reasonable opportunity; no minimum days stated | Reasonable; need not be more than 30 | Not confirmed (a one-year notice matters only to goodwill compensation) |
| Wisconsin | Wis. Stat. ch. 135 (mirror) | Yes, burden on the grantor | 90 days written | 60 days (10 for non-payment) | 90 days written |
Rows marked mirror were read from a Justia copy of the statute because the official site could not be reached, and Nebraska and Rhode Island from Internet Archive copies of the official pages. Check the official text before relying on any figure. Where a statute allows shorter notice or none for abandonment, bankruptcy, criminal conduct or non-payment, the exceptions are in the state's guide. Virginia, Arkansas, Mississippi and South Dakota are left out because we could not confirm figures from statute text.
Guide to each state
Each state has its own guide with the exceptions, remedies and venue rules we read: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Washington and Wisconsin. For states with no such statute in our sources, see states without franchise relationship laws.
How to read the table
The columns come from different parts of each statute, so they do not always line up. Washington's statute, for example, says good cause includes a failure to cure after written notice and a reasonable opportunity "which in no event need be more than thirty days." That is a ceiling on what may be required, not a promise of 30 days. California's is the opposite: the cure opportunity can be no less than 60 days from the notice, and the period "shall not exceed 75 days unless there is a separate agreement" to extend it.
Dates in your own notice can differ from a statute's figures for several reasons. Your franchise may fall outside the statute's scope. The statute may allow a contract to provide more. A listed exception, such as abandonment or non-payment, may apply. The franchise agreement may give more time than the statute requires. The notice and the agreement control your own dates, and a lawyer licensed in the state can advise on them.
Statutes also differ on other things the table leaves out: remedies, attorney's fees, limitation periods and whether an out-of-state venue clause is void. Several, including California, Illinois, Iowa and Michigan, treat out-of-state venue clauses as void for claims inside the state, and Washington and Minnesota void waivers of their statutes, including choice-of-law clauses. Delaware's law covers only "franchised distributors" in four listed categories, and Missouri's definition of franchise is broad but its coverage of ordinary business-format franchises is uncertain. Statutes are amended, so the date matters; ours is 28 October 2026.
Next steps on a notice are covered in what to do after a franchise notice of default, and the general picture in can a franchisor terminate my franchise. The cure period article explains the cure column.
Where this came from
- Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 20020, 20021, 20025 (checked 28 October 2026).
- Wash. Rev. Code 19.100.180 (checked 28 October 2026).
- Minn. Stat. 80C.14 (checked 28 October 2026).
- Iowa Code 537A.10 (checked 28 October 2026).
- Wis. Stat. ch. 135, Justia mirror (checked 28 October 2026).
- N.J.S.A. 56:10-5, Justia mirror (checked 28 October 2026).
- 815 ILCS 705/19 and 20, Justia mirror (checked 28 October 2026).
- IC 23-2-2.7, Justia mirror (checked 28 October 2026).
- MCL 445.1527, Justia mirror (checked 28 October 2026).
- HRS 482E-6, Justia mirror (checked 28 October 2026).
- Conn. Gen. Stat. 42-133e to 42-133h (checked 28 October 2026).
- 6 Del. C. 2551 to 2557 (checked 28 October 2026).
- RSMo 407.405 (checked 28 October 2026).
- Neb. Rev. Stat. 87-404, archive copy (checked 28 October 2026).
- R.I. Gen. Laws 6-50-4, archive copy (checked 28 October 2026).
- IFA, Franchise Relationship Laws, 58th Annual Legal Symposium (checked 28 October 2026).
- FTC, A Consumer's Guide to Buying a Franchise (checked 28 October 2026).