A. A franchise may be registered after filing with the Commission an application containing such relevant information as the Commission may require. The franchise shall be registered if the Commission finds that the franchisor, including any controlling person of the franchisor, is a person of good character and reputation and that all information required of the applicant by the Commission has been supplied, that none of the grounds for revocation enumerated in § 13.1-562 are applicable to the franchise, and that the required fee has been paid.

Terms Used In Virginia Code 13.1-561

  • Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
  • Commission: means the State Corporation Commission. See Virginia Code 13.1-559
  • Controlling person: means a natural person who is an officer, director, or partner, or who occupies a similar status or performs a similar function, of a franchisor organized as a corporation, partnership, or other entity, or any person who possesses, directly or indirectly, the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of a franchisor, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract, or otherwise. See Virginia Code 13.1-559
  • Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
  • Franchise: means a written contract or agreement between two or more persons, by which:

    1. See Virginia Code 13.1-559

  • Franchisee: means a person to whom a franchise is granted or sold. See Virginia Code 13.1-559
  • Franchisor: means a person, including a subfranchisor, who grants or sells, or offers to grant or sell, a franchise. See Virginia Code 13.1-559
  • Month: means a calendar month and "year" means a calendar year. See Virginia Code 1-223
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230
  • Place of business: means a building or portion thereof from which the goods or services authorized by the franchise are sold or offered for sale in person by the franchisee or employees or agents of the franchisee, or a truck or van used in the sale of such goods which is of a type designated by the franchisor and is equipped and marked in conformance with requirements of the franchisor. See Virginia Code 13.1-559
  • Preopening obligations: means the franchisor's obligations to provide to the franchisee, prior to the opening of the franchisee's business, real estate, improvements, equipment, inventory, training, or other items to be included in the offering. See Virginia Code 13.1-559

B. The Commission may require, as a condition of registration or renewal of registration: (i) the escrow or deferral of franchise fees and other funds paid by the franchisee to the franchisor until the franchisor’s preopening obligations are fulfilled, if the grounds enumerated in clause (i) of subdivision A 2 of § 13.1-562 exist, or (ii) the filing by a franchisor of a surety bond conditioned upon the payment of all criminal and civil penalties provided in this chapter in an amount determined by the Commission to be adequate to protect the public and all franchisees of the franchisor, taking into proper account the marketing plan or system to be franchised, the goods or services to be offered, whether or not the franchisor has a regular place of business in this Commonwealth, and any other facts indicating the necessary amount of the bond.

C. The Commission shall by rule or order prescribe the procedures for filing an application for exemption, amendments to the exemption, and when an exemption or renewal becomes effective.

D. All registrations, exemptions and renewals thereof shall expire at midnight on the annual date of their effectiveness. However, the Commission may extend such expiration of an exemption as much as 45 days.

E. Each application for the registration or exemption of a franchise shall be accompanied by a fee of $500, payable to the Treasurer of Virginia. Each application for the renewal of a franchise registration or exemption, including any amendments to the registration or exemption application which accompany or are part of the application for renewal, shall be accompanied by a fee of $250 payable to the Treasurer of Virginia. Unless submitted in connection with an application for renewal, each amendment or group of amendments to a registration or exemption application submitted after the application has been granted shall be accompanied by a fee of $100, payable to the Treasurer of Virginia. If the application for registration, exemption or renewal is withdrawn or is not granted, or if the registration or exemption application is not amended, the fee shall not be returnable.

F. For the purposes of registration, exemption or renewal of registration of a franchise, a partnership shall be treated as the same partnership so long as two or more members of the partnership named in the application continue the business without change of location, and if the partnership, within one month after a change in the partnership, files with the Commission a copy of a certificate filed in compliance with § 50-74.

1972, c. 561; 1978, c. 670; 1991, c. 475; 1992, c. 158; 2007, c. 668.