MD franchise registration bonds.
From $100. Enter your amount.

A Maryland franchise registration can arrive with an escrow condition attached — franchise fees locked up until the franchisor finishes what it promised. COMAR 02.02.08.08F lets the franchisor post a surety bond instead, sized to its own initial fee and Maryland sales estimate. Premiums cost 2% of the bond amount, $100 minimum, and the credit consent in the application authorizes a soft pull that never affects your score.

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Posted under COMAR 02.02.08.08F to lift an escrow condition imposed under Bus. Reg. § 14-217

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Sized to your initial franchise fee × next-year Maryland sales — no single statewide figure

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From $100, soft pull only — your exact price appears at the application

From $1002% of the bond amount, $100 minimumSoft pullnever affects your scoreInstantissued the moment you pay

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How it works

Apply to filed in one sitting.

Franchise-registration bonds are simple to issue once you know the sum. Enter the amount, consent to a soft pull, and file with the Securities Division:

TODAY · ONLINE

Apply online

Your entity type, state of organization, address, the bond amount your condition calls for, and an effective date — plus a one-time consent to a soft credit pull.

INSTANTLY

Approved & priced

Your exact premium is calculated from the amount you enter — 2% of the bond amount, with a $100 minimum. Larger sums may draw a brief review before issuance.

SAME DAY

File with the Securities Division

Your executed bond and power of attorney arrive by email, ready to send to the Securities Division so the Commissioner can remove the escrow condition. Wet-ink original mailed on request.

About this bond

What it is and who needs it.

What the franchisor bond actually guarantees

Maryland regulates franchise offerings under the Franchise Registration and Disclosure Law, Business Regulation Article Title 14, Subtitle 2, administered by the Securities Commissioner in the Office of the Attorney General. Registration is not automatic: where the Commissioner concludes a franchisor has not made adequate financial arrangements to meet its obligations, § 14-217 permits an escrow of franchise fees until those obligations are satisfied.

The bond is the franchisor’s alternative. Under COMAR 02.02.08.08F a surety bond from a corporate surety authorized in Maryland can stand in place of the escrow, conditioned on the franchisor completing its obligations under the franchise agreement — real estate, improvements, equipment, inventory, training, or other promised items. A third option, deferring fees until initial obligations are complete, is spelled out in the same regulation at § G.

There is no single statutory sum. The regulation sets a floor of the initial franchise fee multiplied by the franchises you estimate you will sell in Maryland in the next year, so a system with a $35,000 fee and three expected Maryland openings is looking at a very different number than one selling twenty. Enter the figure your condition names; your premium is 2% of that amount with a $100 minimum, after a soft credit check that never affects your score.

COMAR 02.02.08.08F (under Md. Code, Bus. Reg. § 14-217)Section 14-217 of the Business Regulation Article lets the Securities Commissioner require a franchisor to escrow franchise fees or other money paid by a franchisee or subfranchisor when the Commissioner finds it necessary and appropriate for the protection of prospective franchisees, and permits the franchisor at its option to post an adequate surety bond instead as provided by the Commissioner’s regulations. COMAR 02.02.08.08F fixes the minimum: not less than the initial franchise fee multiplied by the number of franchises the franchisor estimates it will sell in the State in the next year, from a corporate surety authorized to transact business in Maryland, conditioned on completion of the franchisor’s obligations to provide real estate, improvements, equipment, inventory, training, or other items. Under § H the Commissioner may remove the escrow condition once the bond is posted, once fees are deferred under § G, or on new information. Registration itself is renewed with the Securities Division under COMAR 02.02.08.07 — keep the bond in force for as long as the condition stands.

You need this bond if you are

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A franchisor registering an offering in Maryland whose registration carries an escrow condition

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A subfranchisor selling franchises in the State under a registered offering

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Growing your Maryland unit count and need a larger bond than the one already on file

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Renewing a registration where the escrow condition has not yet been lifted

One application, issued instantly.

These are the actual underwriting fields, including your bond amount, entity type, state of organization, and a one-time consent to a soft credit pull.

Start the application →

FAQ

Common questions.

How much is the Maryland franchisor bond?Premiums cost 2% of the bond amount, with a $100 minimum. The amount itself is not fixed by statute — COMAR 02.02.08.08F sizes it from your initial franchise fee times the franchises you expect to sell in Maryland next year. Enter that figure and your exact price appears at the application.

What amount should I enter?Start with the regulation: initial franchise fee × the number of Maryland franchises you estimate selling in the next year. If the Commissioner named a specific sum in your escrow or bond condition, enter that instead — and if the two differ, file the larger one.

Do I pay the full bond amount?No. You pay the premium — 2% of the bond amount, with a $100 minimum. The bond amount is the surety’s maximum liability if a valid claim is made, not a deposit, and nobody holds your money.

What does the bond guarantee?That you complete the obligations you took on under the franchise agreement — providing real estate, improvements, equipment, inventory, training, or the other items you promised. A Maryland franchisee or subfranchisor harmed by a failure to deliver can claim against it, and if the surety pays, you repay the surety.

Where do I file it?With the Securities Division of the Maryland Office of the Attorney General, alongside your franchise registration or amendment. Once the Commissioner has the bond, COMAR 02.02.08.08H lets the escrow condition be removed.

Related bonds

Other Maryland bonds.

Take your franchise fees at signing.

Premiums from $100, soft pull only. Enter your amount and file with the Securities Division the same day. Free until issued.

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MD franchise registration bonds.From $100. Enter your amount.