Roto-Rooter Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a Roto-Rooter franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2025), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
Roto-Rooter discloses little or no owner-earnings data (Item 19) — the franchisor won't put real profit in writing.
What their own earnings claim actually says
No financial performance representations made whatsoever. Zero revenue, earnings, or expense data disclosed. Complete blackout—no cherry-picking possible but maximum opacity for buyers.
What a Roto-Rooter franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $25,000 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Total initial investment | $113,640 – $288,200 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
Royalty is flat monthly fee $545-$36,000+ based on territory population, CPI-adjusted; not a revenue percentage.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
Roto-Rooter system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 453 |
| Ceased operations | 0 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 3 |
| Transferred to new owners | 13 |
| Closure rate | 0.0% of outlets |
Franchised outlets declined from 354 to 337 over three years; 14 terminations and 8 reacquisitions across 2022-2024.
From Item 20 of the FDD 2025. Terminations and ceased operations are the franchisor's own count of owners who stopped — the number the sales pitch leaves out.
Is Roto-Rooter worth it? — how it compares to 85 similar franchises
| Startup cost | from $113,640 | about average (median $119,850) |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade F | less honest than most of the category |
| Closure rate | 0.0% of outlets | better than most (median 2.8%) |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 1 | about average |
Benchmarked against every home & trade services franchise we've graded from public FDDs — the context the franchisor's pitch never gives you.
Owner take-home for a Roto-Rooter
The franchisor's framing: No financial performance representations made whatsoever. Zero revenue, earnings, or expen… We reconstruct what an owner actually keeps, from their own FDD.
- Reconstructed owner P&L — net take-home after royalty, ad fund, rent, labor & debt
- Break-even timeline + cash-on-cash ROI
- Full fee stack + required-purchase markups
- Decoded real failure / closure rate
- How it ranks vs comparable franchises
- Validation-call playbook — the exact questions to ask
See a full sample report → · 30-day guarantee
Roto-Rooter franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a Roto-Rooter franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $113,640–$288,200, including a $25,000 initial franchise fee.
- How much do Roto-Rooter franchise owners make?
- Roto-Rooter discloses little or no earnings data (Item 19) — meaning the franchisor won't put real owner profit in writing. That's a red flag worth questioning.
- What are the Roto-Rooter franchise fees?
- Roto-Rooter's FDD discloses a $25,000 initial franchise fee. Royalty is flat monthly fee $545-$36,000+ based on territory population, CPI-adjusted; not a revenue percentage.
- What is the Roto-Rooter franchise profit margin?
- Roto-Rooter discloses no Item 19 earnings representation, so no profit margin can be derived from the FDD at all. Any margin figure quoted elsewhere is an estimate, not a disclosure.
- What is the Roto-Rooter franchise failure rate?
- Franchised outlets declined from 354 to 337 over three years; 14 terminations and 8 reacquisitions across 2022-2024.
- How many Roto-Rooter locations are there?
- Roto-Rooter's FDD reports 453 total outlets, with 0 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 13 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does Roto-Rooter have complaints or lawsuits?
- Roto-Rooter discloses 1 legal matter in Item 3 of its FDD. Item 3 covers the franchisor's litigation history, which is the closest thing to a public record of how it treats franchisees — read the case descriptions, not just the count.
- Is a Roto-Rooter franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. Roto-Rooter scores F on disclosure honesty, and discloses 1 legal matters. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Compare Roto-Rooter to similar franchises
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Source: MN CARDS 33166-202503-03 (Clean FDD 2025). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with Roto-Rooter or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.