Does the Card My Yard Franchise Agreement grant the franchisee the right to operate from any location?
Card_My_Yard Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
hise Agreement, Section VIII.A.).
ITEM 12: TERRITORY
The Franchise Agreement gives you the right to operate a Card My Yard business at a site we accept as meeting our site selection guidelines (the "Location"). We anticipate that most, if not all, of our franchisees will operate their Card My Yard businesses from their homes. However, if you elect to operate from a site other than your home, then you must select the site for your Card My Yard business from within a non-exclusive "Designated Search Area" that will be agreed upon and identified in Exhibit C to your Franchise Agreement. If applicable, the Designated Search Area will be agreed upon by you and us before your execution of the Franchise Agreement. If you choose to operate your Card My Yard business from your home then there will be no need to identify a Designated Search Area. You will have no exclusivity or other rights within the Designated Search Area other than the right to identify a proposed site for your Card My Yard business. After you locate a site acceptable to us or notify us that you will operate your Card My Yard business from your home we will grant you a "Protected Area" around your site as described below.
Franchise Agreement
You must operate the Franchised Business only from your home or another location approved by us in writing within the agreed upon "Protected Area" set forth in Exhibit C of the Franchise Agreement (the "Protected Area"). We anticipate that most franchisees will operate their Franchised Business from their personal residence (provided that such residence must be located within the franchisee's Protected Area), but you may also propose other locations for your Franchised Business, provided that any proposed location will be subject to our review and approval or rejection as described in the Franchise Agreement. In any event, the location to be used for your Franchised Business must not violate applicable zoning laws or restrictions.
If you remain in compliance with the Franchise Agreement and any other agreements you have with us or our affiliates, we and our affiliates will not establish, or authorize anyone except you to establish, a Card My Yard business in your Protected Area during the term of the Franchise Agreement. The Protected Area boundaries will be agreed upon by you and us and will be defined by zip codes. We anticipate that the Protected Area for most franchise locations will consist of one or more contiguous zip codes and include a population of no lessthan 30,000.
Source: Item 12 — TERRITORY (FDD pages 43–46)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Card My Yard's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees do not have the right to operate from any location. The Franchise Agreement specifies that franchisees must operate from their home or another location approved in writing by Card My Yard within a designated "Protected Area." This Protected Area is defined in Exhibit C of the Franchise Agreement.
The FDD indicates that Card My Yard anticipates most franchisees will operate from their personal residence, provided it is within the Protected Area. If a franchisee wishes to operate from a different site, they must select a site within a non-exclusive "Designated Search Area," which is agreed upon before the Franchise Agreement is executed. The chosen location must also comply with all applicable zoning laws and restrictions.
Card My Yard's control over the operating location is further reinforced by the fact that franchisees cannot relocate the business without Card My Yard's consent. Consent is only granted if the business is home-based and the franchisee moves to a new residence within the existing Protected Area. This request must be submitted within 10 days of discovering the need to relocate.
The franchisee's operational territory is limited to the Protected Area, and they cannot solicit or accept orders from consumers outside this area through any distribution channels. This territorial restriction, combined with the location approval process, means that franchisees do not have the freedom to operate from any location they choose.