Missouri is classified as a non-registration state, as there are no currently enacted laws requiring franchisors to register with the state as a franchise or business opportunity, or to provide disclosures to franchisees beyond what is already required by the Federal Trade Commission Amended Franchise Rule, 16 C.F.R. §§ 436.1 et seq. (the “FTC Rule”), before offering or selling a franchise in Missouri. The only state law that could potentially affect franchisors in Missouri is the state’s “Pyramid Sales Schemes” statute, which is codified at Mo. Rev. Stat. § 407.405. This law requires franchisors to provide franchisees with a written notice ninety-days in advance of cancelling, terminating, or failing to renew a franchise agreement. However, franchisors are not required to provide notice if the reason for cancelling, terminating, or failing to renew a franchise agreement is based on “criminal misconduct, fraud, abandonment, bankruptcy or insolvency of the franchisee, or the giving of a no account or insufficient funds check.”
Thus, in addition to the notice requirements set forth in Mo. Rev. Stat. § 407.405, franchisors in Missouri only need to comply with requirements of the FTC Rule, which, among other things, requires franchisors to disclose a validly issued Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) before entering into a franchise agreement or accepting payment from a franchisee.