Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Extension

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Extension

AGENCY:

Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION:

Notice and request for comment.

SUMMARY:

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) requests that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) extend for three years the current Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) clearance for its Trade Regulation Rule on Disclosure Requirements and Prohibitions Concerning Franchising (Franchise Rule or Rule). The current clearance expires on August 31, 2026.

DATES:

Comments must be received by September 17, 2026.

ADDRESSES:

Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to

www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.

Find this particular information collection and its accompanying supporting statement by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the search function. The

reginfo.gov

web link is a United States Government website produced by OMB and the General Services Administration (GSA). Under PRA requirements, OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) reviews Federal information collections.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Christine M. Todaro, Attorney, Division of Marketing Practices, Bureau of Consumer Protection, 600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20580, (202) 326-3711,

ctodaro@ftc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title:

Franchise Rule, 16 CFR part 436.

OMB Control Number:

3084-0107.

Type of Review:

Extension of a currently approved collection.

Abstract:

The Franchise Rule ensures that consumers who are considering a franchise investment have access to the material information they need to make an informed investment decision and compare different franchise offerings. The Rule requires franchisors to furnish prospective purchasers with a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) that provides information relating to the franchisor, its business, the nature of the proposed franchise, and any representations by the franchisor about financial performance regarding actual or potential sales, income, or profits. The Rule also requires that franchisors maintain records to facilitate enforcement of the Rule.

1

The franchisor must preserve materially different copies of its FDD for 3 years. Franchisors must also have written information that provides a reasonable basis for any financial performance representation they elect to make.

1

The Rule was amended in 2007 to conform its disclosure requirements with the disclosure format accepted by states that have franchise registration or disclosure laws.

See

72 FR 15444 (Mar. 30, 2007). The amended Rule has significantly minimized any compliance burden beyond what is required by state law.

Affected Public:

Private Sector: Businesses and other for-profit entities.

Estimated Annual Burden Hours:

22,480.

Estimated Annual Labor Costs:

$8,403,680.

2

2

This estimate is updated from the prior estimate of $8,400,040 that was included in the 60-day

Federal Register

notice. The updated estimate is based on more current information released on May 15, 2026, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wages—May 2025, Table 1: National Employment and Wage Data from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics Survey by Occupation, May 2025, available at

https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.htm.

Estimated Annual Non-Labor Costs:

$4,800,000.

Request for Comment:

On May 5, 2026, the FTC sought comment on the information collection requirements associated with the Rule. 91 FR 24235. The FTC received no germane comments during the public comment period. Pursuant to OMB regulations, 5 CFR part 1320, that implement the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501

et seq.,

the FTC is providing this second opportunity for public comment while seeking OMB approval to renew the pre-existing clearance for the Rule. For more details about the Rule requirements and the basis for the calculations summarized above, see 91 FR 24235.

Your comment—including your name and your state—will be placed on the public record of this proceeding. Because your comment will be made public, you are solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any sensitive personal information, such as anyone's Social Security number; date of birth; driver's license number or other state identification number, or foreign country equivalent; passport number; financial account number; or credit or debit card number. You are also solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any sensitive health information, such as medical records or other individually identifiable health information. In addition, your comment should not include any “trade secret or any

commercial or financial information which . . . is privileged or confidential”—as provided by Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)—including in particular competitively sensitive information such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas, patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names.

Josephine Liu,

Assistant General Counsel for Legal Counsel.

[FR Doc. 2026-16827 Filed 8-17-26; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6750-01-P