Mr. Rooter Franchise Costs, Fees & FDD

Year Business Began: 1968

Franchising Since: 1972

Headquarters: Waco, Texas

Estimated Number of Units: 260

Franchise Description: The franchisor is Mr. Rooter SPV LLC. The franchisor is a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of Neighborly Assetco LLC. Franchisees perform residential and commercial plumbing and plumbing repair services; sewer, drain and pipe cleaning services; septic tank pumping; water heater replacement; video pipe inspection; line and leak detection; excavation, replacement and repair/relining of sewer lines; replacement and repair of water service and supply lines; replacement and repair of gas service and supply lines; grease trap pumping; the rental and maintenance of portable toilet facilities; the sale and service of private sewage systems; the sale and service of water-based heating systems; the sale and service of water treatment systems; installation and service of lawn sprinkler systems; and other related services and products pursuant to certain standards and specifications.
Training Overview: At least one owner or designated manager must attend and complete Phase I and Phase II Training to the franchisor’s satisfaction and in the case of Phase II training an owner as well as any manager of a location must attend and complete training to the franchisor’s satisfaction. The franchisor (or an affiliate) may, but is not obligated to, provide Phase I Training which may be conducted at a location of the franchisor’s choosing or via webinar/videoconferencing. If the franchisor requires, franchisees must attend the Phase I Training with their assigned franchise consultant or other designated person prior to participating in other training. Phase I Training will generally take a minimum of 15 hours over a one to three week period, but training time may vary depending upon the knowledge, qualifications, and experience of the franchisee. After Phase I Training has been completed franchisees will attend Phase II training, which generally will last 10 days and is split into two separate sessions, Business and Systems. Phase II Training occurs at the franchisor’s offices in Waco, Texas or at such other locations as it may designate, or via webinar/videoconferencing. In addition, at a time the franchisor specifies, which is currently within 14 days of attending Phase II training, franchisees must complete approximately one to five days of field training at a franchised business selected by the franchisor (may be conducted virtually). Franchisees must also attend, every year, at their expense, the annual training or conference event specified by the franchisor, currently referred to as “Reunion,” and any other training it designates as mandatory.

Territory Granted: Franchisees will receive the right to operate a Mr. Rooter business at a location within their territory that meets the franchisor’s site selection guidelines. The Franchise Agreement will specify a designated territory that will provide franchisees limited territory protection (the territory). The Franchise Agreement does not grant franchisees any territorial rights beyond the territory. The territory will have a minimum population that is generally at least 100,000 and a maximum population that is generally no more than 300,000. A larger population may be allowed under certain circumstances (e.g., densely populated urban areas or a high percentage of the prospective territory is impoverished). Franchisees will maintain rights to the territory even if the population in the territory increases. Franchisees will not receive an exclusive territory. However, provided franchisees are in full compliance with their Franchise Agreement, the franchisor will not operate or grant a franchise for the operation of another Mr. Rooter franchise with rights to market within the territory during the term of the Franchise Agreement.

Obligations and Restrictions: If franchisees are individuals, they must directly perform or supervise the operation of the business unless the franchisor consents otherwise. If franchisees are a corporation or other legal entity, direct, on-site supervision must be done by a designated owner who has successfully completed the training program unless the franchisor consents otherwise. Franchisees must obtain and maintain an immigration status that will allow them to live and work in the United States for the initial term of the Franchise Agreement and for the length of any renewal terms of the Franchise Agreement. Franchisees must offer and sell only the goods and services that conform to the franchisor’s standards and specifications. Franchisees must offer the goods and/or services that the franchisor designates as required for all franchisees and they may elect to offer other products and/or services only if the franchisor approves them in advance. Franchisees must honor the franchisor’s warranty policies for installations, repairs and replacements as described in the manuals.

Term of Agreement and Renewal: The length of the initial franchise term is 10 years. The Franchise Agreement can be renewed for one additional 10-year term by executing the then-current form of franchise agreement and meeting the other requirements for renewal.

Financial Assistance: The franchisor may agree to finance a portion of the initial franchise fee for qualified prospective franchisees under specified terms and conditions. The franchisor’s decision to finance the initial franchise fee will be based, in part, on the franchisee’s credit-worthiness, the collateral the franchisee has available to secure the financing and the franchisor’s then-current financing policies. The franchisor does not provide any financing in any transaction in which brokers are involved. The franchisor may periodically agree with third party lenders to make financing available to its qualified franchisees and it may, in its sole discretion, refer franchisees to a third party lender for financing. The franchisor does not guarantee a franchisee’s obligations to third parties. If franchisees are a United States or Canadian honorably discharged veteran (as such term is defined by us in the franchisor’s sole discretion) who meets the qualifications for purchasing a franchise, the franchisor will discount the minimum initial franchise fee by 20%.

Estimated Initial Investment

Name of Fee	Low	High
Initial Franchise Fee	$42,500	$42,500 + $425 per 1,000 additional population over minimum
Software System Enrollment Fee	$1,250	$1,250
Vehicle	$20,220	$69,300
Equipment, Supplies & Inventory	$25,000	$40,000
Insurance	$1,000	$4,200
Advertising & Promotional and Local Marketing Spending	$7,500	$25,000
Training, Travel, Lodging & Food	$3,100	$7,550
Deposits, Permits & Licenses	$350	$4,000
Professional Fees	$1,500	$8,000
ServiceTitan Software	$383	$2,000
Real Estate	$4,500	$20,000
Additional Funds – 3 Months	$15,000	$40,000
ESTIMATED TOTAL (does not include real estate costs)	$122,303	$263,800 + any additional franchise fee

 
Other Fees

Type of Fee	Amount
License Fee	6% of gross sales except for special rates that apply to specialty services, and “roll-in” sales. In addition, minimum license fees apply.
Marketing, Advertising & Promotion (MAP) Fee	2% of gross sales except for special rates that apply to specialty services and “roll-in” sales. In addition, minimum MAP fees apply.
Local Marketing Groups	Not to exceed 3% of gross sales.
Software System Fees	$76 per month, plus: Additional Microsoft Office365 Exchange, E1 and E3 email accounts are available at additional cost of $4.50 - $24/month depending on the email account. Any support or maintenance on the point of sale system (currently ServiceTitan) is provided at the then-current hourly rates (currently $125 per hour). If franchisees obtain QuickBooks Online through ZorWare, they will pay an additional fee of $30-$200 per month depending on the license tier selected.
Late Fees (on Software System Monthly Fees)	$25 per month or the maximum amount allowed under the law, whichever is less.
Call Center Program Fees	Fees vary by vendor.
Annual Convention (“Reunion”) Fees	Currently up to $1,000, plus travel, lodging, meals and other expenses.
Transfer Fee	The greater of (i) $15,000 or (ii) 5% of the sales price.
Late Fees (Franchise Agreement)	$10 per day.
Dishonored Check or ACH Draft	$50
Interest	12% on unpaid balances.
Audit	Cost of audit plus expenses, plus any amount owed as shown by the audit, plus interest and late fees.
Audit Noncompliance Fee	$500 per document (up to $2,500 per audit) that the franchisee fails to timely make available to the franchisor in connection with an audit; and/or: cost of audit, if audit is rescheduled due to the franchisee’s failure to cooperate with the audit.
Renewal Fee	$5,000
Amendment Fee	$300
Indemnification and Attorneys’ Fees and Costs	Varies according to loss.
Tax Reimbursement	Varies according to tax.
Key Accounts/Management Fee	Up to 5% of total gross sales related to key account work, including gross sales that relate to key accounts; gross sales that are the result of any lead or any agreement developed by the franchisor’s business development department or any similar group that is part of its company or is its designee; gross sales for work that is dispatched from any call center operated by the franchisor or its designee; gross sales that are audited by the franchisor or its designee according to key accounts standards or gross sales that otherwise benefit from its key accounts activities or management.
Additional Training Fees	Then-current fee; Currently: Up to $1,000 per day.

The above information has been compiled from the FDD of Mr. Rooter. Year of FDD: 2025.
Franchise Direct's Disclaimer