Culver's Franchise Cost 2026: $3.4M+ to Open, $65K Fee

Per its FDD issued March 30, 2026, a Culver’s restaurant costs $3,406,350 to $10,294,100 to open, with a $45,000 to $65,000 franchise fee, a 4% royalty on gross sales, and at least $500,000 in liquid assets required per its franchise FAQ.

The total assumes you acquire land and construct a new building. Item 7 notes 3 through 5 say the minimum is lower if you lease the land, with an estimated annual land lease of $100,000 to $500,000, or lease the building. Culver’s real-estate page states, “The vast majority of our owner-operators own their real estate. And most of our restaurants are freestanding.” Its FAQ requires $750,000 in liquid assets if you prefer to own the real estate, building and equipment. Both website pages were checked October 14, 2026; the construction and lease assumptions come from the March 30, 2026 FDD.

Item 5: initial fees and discounts

The FDD cover gives a $45,000 to $65,000 initial franchise fee range. Item 5 explains who qualifies for each fee and discount.

Fee or program	Amount and conditions in Item 5
New franchisee	$65,000. The $5,000 application fee is credited toward this fee if approved and refunded if not approved.
Certain existing franchisees	$55,000 for an additional restaurant during the first agreement’s initial term, if that agreement provides the opportunity, the operator is the same, the franchisee is in complete compliance and meets then-current qualifications. Approval is discretionary.
Mentoring Program	$45,000 if approved. The Key Manager must have worked as a general manager or performed those duties for at least one year at the mentor’s restaurant or within the mentor group’s ownership structure. The mentor and Key Manager must meet ownership requirements; the Key Manager must pass the current approval process, leadership assessment and required training. A Key Manager may participate once as a mentee; Culver’s may deny participation for any reason.
Veterans’ Discount	$10,000 reduction for an honorably discharged United States veteran with a form DD 214 who is opening a first Restaurant, is the present and engaged full-time on-site owner-operator and personally manages the Restaurant. Culver’s reserves the absolute right to determine eligibility and may deny or modify the discount at any time for any reason.
Territory Reservation Agreement	$40,000 nonrefundable reservation fee for 24 months. Signing within 12 months credits the full fee toward the franchise fee; signing between 12 and 24 months credits $20,000. One approved six-month extension costs $10,000; signing during it credits $25,000 of the amounts paid. If the franchise fee is below $40,000 when the full credit applies, the difference is refunded within 60 days of signing.
Multiple-unit Development Agreement	$50,000 Territory Fee per restaurant, in addition to each initial franchise fee. Refunded for that restaurant if its scheduled opening date is met; otherwise nonrefundable. Missing scheduled dates can result in termination of the development agreement without a refund.

Item 5 also permits termination before the fifth week of the Franchisee Development Program with a 75% initial-fee refund, subject to written notice, compliance with post-term obligations and a signed release. Other than the stated exceptions, the fee and deposits are nonrefundable.

The Veterans’ Discount above is dated to the March 30, 2026 FDD. The franchise FAQ does not mention it (checked October 14, 2026).

Item 6: royalties, advertising and other fees

These are the amounts printed in Item 6 of the March 30, 2026 FDD. The local-advertising requirement is separately stated in Item 11 and the FAQ checked October 14, 2026.

Fee	Amount and trigger
Service fee (royalty)	4% of gross sales, payable monthly by the 10th of the next month via EFT
Advertising fee	2.5% of gross sales, payable monthly by the 10th of the next month via EFT
Cooperative advertising	Up to 4% of gross sales, as approved by majority vote of the co-op region’s members; required if a regional co-op is formed
Local advertising (Item 11 and FAQ)	At least 1% of gross sales; the FAQ specifies each calendar year
Additional training	$1,000 per person for additional training after the Franchisee Development Program
Additional assistance	$500 per week for additional or special training or assistance needed or requested
Custom design	Up to $5,000 for requested changes to standard prototype plans that Culver’s considers
Extraordinary building assistance	Up to $50,000 if the project is bid or built without complete, proper plans prepared and sealed by a licensed design professional
Building conversion	Up to $10,000 if a conversion proceeds and plans are approved
Site design	$1,000 per site location after two site locations
Transfer	$10,000 plus attorneys’ fees, or $5,000 plus attorneys’ fees if the buyer is an existing franchisee
Renewal	$40,000 upon signing the successor franchise agreement
Insurance	Varies, if Culver’s pays insurance you did not pay
Audit	Cost of inspection or audit if records indicate understatements exceeding 2%
Interest	Lesser of 1.5% per month or the highest contract interest rate allowed by law, on overdue amounts
Management	Determined under the circumstances, when an appointed manager runs the restaurant upon your death or disability
Costs and attorneys’ fees	Varies, upon failure to comply with the agreement
Indemnification	Varies, reimbursing Culver’s for liability arising from restaurant operations
Supplier payments	Varies, reimbursing Culver’s if it pays your unpaid, noncontested supplier, lessor or creditor obligations
Testing	Cost of testing proposed new products or suppliers
Relocation	Costs Culver’s incurs for a requested relocation
Technology	Not charged at disclosure; estimated $600 to $1,000 monthly if imposed for the online support center and other systems, with possible increases if costs rise
Development schedule extension	$20,000 per restaurant for one permitted extension of up to six months to sign the franchise agreement and open
Territory reservation extension	$10,000 for one extension of up to six months to sign the franchise agreement

Item 6 defines gross sales broadly, including business-interruption insurance and promotional items. It excludes collected and remitted sales tax, good-faith customer refunds or allowances, and approved unreimbursed coupon or discount amounts. Gift cards count when redeemed, not when sold.

Culver’s 4% gross-sales royalty is a concrete example of the fee base to check with our Item 6 explainer.

Use our franchise royalty fees guide to distinguish the royalty from advertising contributions and other ongoing charges.

Item 7: the full opening-cost table

The March 30, 2026 FDD prints the following estimates. Land purchase and new construction drive the assumptions described above; a leased site needs its own budget.

Expenditure	Low	High
Initial franchise fee	$35,000	$65,000
Land	$225,000	$2,400,000
Site work	$356,000	$2,193,000
Building	$2,047,000	$4,391,000
Travel, living and expenses during training	$20,000	$80,000
Initial inventory	$50,000	$65,000
Furniture, fixtures, equipment and supplies, excluding signs and POS	$458,000	$584,000
Sign package	$88,000	$300,000
POS system	$42,350	$56,100
Miscellaneous expenses	$20,000	$40,000
Additional funds (working capital), three months	$65,000	$120,000
Total	$3,406,350	$10,294,100

Item 7’s $35,000 fee minimum differs from the cover’s $45,000 minimum. Note 2 lists the $65,000 general fee, $55,000 qualifying existing-franchisee fee, $45,000 Mentoring Program fee and possible $10,000 Veterans’ Discount. Eligibility conditions still apply; the table minimum is not a fee offered to every applicant.

Note 13 says the totals combine each line’s lowest or highest estimate; no single 2025 project had every minimum or every maximum. The estimate covers pre-opening investment and the first three months of operating expenses. It also requires 20% of your total projected initial investment in cash or liquid assets. That separate requirement must be considered alongside the FAQ’s $500,000 minimum and $750,000 real-estate ownership threshold.

Culver’s disclosed range is a high-end example for our guide to how much money you need to start a franchise.

Item 17: initial term and renewal

Provision	FDD terms
Initial franchise term	15 years, starting when the restaurant first opens or 12 months after the agreement date, whichever occurs first
Renewal	One additional 10-year term if in good standing
Renewal requirements	Advance notice; current and substantial, timely historical compliance, including financial obligations; current qualification and training requirements; a completed refresher course or program; remodeling; renewal fee; a new agreement that may have materially different terms; a lease extension if applicable; and a release of claims
Renewal fee (Item 6)	$40,000 upon signing the successor agreement
Development Agreement term	Ends on the last day of the Development Schedule

The FAQ checked October 14, 2026 also states a basic 15-year term and a $40,000 fee for a qualifying 10-year renewal. Those figures agree with the FDD; Item 17 adds the starting-date rule, the one-renewal limit and the conditions above.

Our Item 17 explainer helps you review the renewal conditions alongside termination and transfer provisions.

The owner-operator requirement

The FAQ checked October 14, 2026 requires full-time, hands-on engagement. An owner-operator must maintain at least 50% ownership in the business, or at least 25% in the business and real estate, and be involved full-time in day-to-day operations.

Where you can open

Culver’s overview describes over 1000 restaurants in 26 states, and its FAQ describes a 26-state development market (both checked October 14, 2026). Its available-markets page sorts counties into available, future (currently not available), and available only to existing franchisees (checked September 29, 2026). Check the current county listing before planning a site.

For another burger-brand comparison, review BurgerFi’s franchise cost guide alongside the disclosures for your proposed location.

Compare Culver’s terms with Habit Burger’s multi-unit development terms in its April 3, 2026 FDD.

Check Five Guys franchise availability in the U.S. before treating it as an alternative you can pursue.

Who this actually suits

This suits a prospective full-time restaurant operator prepared to assess a multi-million-dollar project, meet the FAQ’s liquidity thresholds and Item 7’s separate 20% cash-or-liquid-assets requirement, and evaluate land ownership or a lease against a specific site budget.

Building a Culver's-scale financing package?

Our free SBA-style business plan template structures the projections lenders review for a multi-million-dollar restaurant build. Plus the due-diligence kit.

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Our guide to reading an FDD and Item 7 explainer show where to check the full investment assumptions.

SBA Franchise Directory: Culver’s appears in the SBA’s Franchise Directory file effective October 9, 2026 (SBA Franchise Identifier Code S0449; franchisor certification marked received). A listing is what a lender checks for brand eligibility; it is not an endorsement, and your own eligibility as a borrower is assessed separately. See how to check the SBA Franchise Directory. The file notes a collateral condition when real estate secures the loan.

Questions to ask on the first call

• Which Item 5 fee applies to my ownership structure and experience?
• How would leasing land or an existing building change my site-specific Item 7 budget?
• How do the FAQ liquidity thresholds and Item 7’s 20% requirement apply together?
• Does my location participate in an advertising cooperative, and what contribution applies?
• Which renewal remodeling, training and lease requirements should I budget for?
• Which counties are currently available for a new franchisee?