Start a Carl's Jr. Franchise in 2025

2025 Franchise 500 Rank: #187 Ranked #123 last year

Initial investment: $1.5M - $3.2M

Units as of 2025: 1,719 2.6% over 3 years

Since the inception of the first Carl's Jr. fast-food drive-in in 1941, the company has blessed us with a wide variety of tasty American and Mexican delicacies. After solely operating a drive-in for five years, Carl's Jr. and his wife eventually opened two Carl's Jr. restaurants. They registered them under the name CKE Restaurants, Inc.

Through steady hard work and superb customer service, Carl's Jr. had managed to open 300 restaurants by 1981. Three years later, he went public, allowing others the opportunity to join the Carl's Jr. franchise family. Now, there is a large pool of Carl's Jr. restaurants globally. CKE restaurants acquired Hardy restaurants in 1997, bringing restaurant locations into the high hundreds.

There are over 1,000 Carl’s Jr. franchises in the United States to go along with more than 500 international locations.

Why You May Want to Start a Carl's Jr. Franchise

It's hard to go wrong with a good burger. As you probably know, Carl's Jr. restaurants are known for their signature Charbroiled 100% Black Angus beef. Their diverse menu may attract a wide range of hungry customers.

As a Carl's Jr. franchise restaurant owner, you might serve a specialized breakfast, lunch, and dinner menu consisting of burgers, sandwiches, salads, sides, desserts, beverages, and American/Mexican breakfast items. The company has a product development team that works hard to keep your franchise fresh and exciting. They also have a digital customer loyalty program that may keep people coming back for their mouth-watering burgers.

What Might Make a Carl's Jr. Franchise a Good Choice?

You may also have access to Carl's Jr. field consultants, free updates on improving the way you run the business, and professionally crafted marketing services. Carl's Jr. might also be known for its investment in the marketing sector. They believe that effective marketing is how they attract a majority of their customers.

Most of the time, Carl's Jr. says that they prefer multi-unit contracts. However, they do consider single-unit contracts under certain circumstances. A franchise contract is usually a 20-year agreement.

To be part of the Carl's Jr. team, you should make sure you’re financially ready for an initial investment made up of a franchise fee and other startup costs. You should also prepare yourself for ongoing fees that will include advertising, royalty, and potential renewal fees. Franchisees will also need to meet the company's set net worth and liquid capital requirements.

How to Open a Carl's Jr. Franchise

Typically, Carl's Jr. will assign you a team to help develop a business plan as you decide on the location of your franchise. This may be a great opportunity to ask questions about territory restrictions and availability.

Carl’s Jr. often assists with restaurant décor, design, ordering equipment, training your workers, and overseeing the construction, as well. Potentially, this could remove some of the stress associated with starting your own business—especially a restaurant.

Afterward, the team may present your business plan to corporate, which will do a thorough check on your finances and the business plan. If your finances and site are approved, you can usually begin mandatory franchisee training right away. This training often consists of great learning experiences for your future franchise.

If you're interested in owning your own Carl's Jr. franchise, you just might be into something good!

Company Overview

About Carl's Jr.

Industry	Food
Related Categories	Hamburgers
Founded	1945
Parent Company	CKE Restaurants Holdings Inc.
Leadership	Joe Guith, CEO
Corporate Address	6700 Tower Cir., #1000 Franklin, TN 37067
Social	Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube

Business Overview

Franchising Since	1984 (41 years)
# of employees at HQ	426
Where seeking	This company is offering new franchises worldwide. This company is offering new franchises in the following US states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming
# of Units	1,719 (as of 2025)

Information for Franchisees

Here's what you need to know if you're interested in opening a Carl's Jr. franchise.

Financial Requirements & Ongoing Fees

Here's what you can expect to spend to start the business and what ongoing fees the franchisor charges throughout the life of the business.

Initial Franchise Fee Definition: The initial fee paid to a franchisor to join their system What you need to know: Found in Item 5 of the FDD, this may be a flat fee, or may vary based on territory size, experience, or other factors.The franchise fee is an up-front (one-time) cost that a new franchisee pays to the franchisor. This fee is usually due at the signing of the franchise agreement and covers the right to use the franchisor's trademarks, name, and related business systems.	$25,000
Initial Investment Definition: The total amount necessary to begin operation of the franchise What you need to know: The initial investment includes the franchise fee, along with other startup expenses such as real estate, equipment, supplies, business licenses, and working capital. This is outlined in a chart in Item 7 of the FDD, showing a range of possible costs from low to high.	$1,486,000 - $3,176,500
Net Worth Requirement Definition: The minimum net worth you must have in order to qualify to become a franchisee of this company What you need to know: Net worth is the value of a person's assets minus liabilities. Assets include cash, stocks, retirement accounts, and real estate. Liabilities include items like mortgages, car payments, and credit card debt.	$1,000,000
Cash Requirement Definition: The minimum liquid capital you must have available in order to qualify to become a franchisee of this company.	$300,000
Royalty Fee Definition: A ongoing fee paid to the franchisor on a regular basis. What you need to know: Most franchisors require franchisees to pay an ongoing royalty fee, which is detailed in Item 6 of the FDD. This fee is typically a percentage of weekly or monthly gross sales, but may also be a flat weekly, monthly, or annual fee.	4%
Ad Royalty Fee Definition: An going fee paid to the franchisor on a regular basis to support advertising or marketing efforts. What you need to know: This may also be called advertising fee, marketing fee, brand fund fee, and more, but the basic purpose is the same-- to support promotion of the brand systemwide. As with the royalty fee, it is detailed in Item 6 of the FDD, and can be a percentage of weekly or monthly gross sales or a weekly, monthly, or annual fee.	6%
Term of Agreement Definition: The length of time your franchise agreement will last. What you need to know: Franchise terms are typically anywhere from 5 to 20 years in length, but are sometimes instead dependent on factors such as the term of your lease. Once your term is up, you may have the option to renew your agreement, typically for a smaller fee than the original franchise fee.	20 years
Is franchise term renewable?	Yes

Financing Options

Some franchisors offer in-house financing, while others have relationships with third-party financing sources to which they refer qualified franchisees.

Third Party Financing	Carl's Jr. has relationships with third-party sources which offer financing to cover the following: franchise fee, startup costs, equipment, inventory, accounts receivable, payroll

Training & Support Offered

Franchisors offer initial training programs and a variety of ongoing support options to help franchisees run their businesses.

On-The-Job Training	400 hours
Classroom Training	51 hours
Ongoing Support	Newsletter Meetings & Conventions Toll-Free Line Grand Opening Online Support Security & Safety Procedures Field Operations Site Selection Proprietary Software Franchisee Intranet Platform
Marketing Support	Ad Templates National Media Regional Advertising Social Media Website Development

Operations

Additional details about running this franchise.

Is absentee ownership allowed?	No
Can this franchise be run from home/mobile unit? Definition: The business can be run from your home and/or a vehicle, and it is not necessary to have a retail facility, office space, or warehouse.	No
Can this franchise be run part time? Definition: This business can be run by the owner on a part-time basis (less than 40 hours per week) and/or as a side business; it is not necessary for the business to be open/run full-time.	No
Are exclusive territories available? Definition: An exclusive territory is a fixed area in which you are given the right to operate and in which no other units of the same franchise may be opened. What you need to know: Territory size may be based on factors such as radius, population size, zip codes, and more. Details can be found in Item 12 of the FDD.	Yes