How much does it cost to open a Carvel franchise?

The franchisor's Item 7 table puts the total initial investment to open a Carvel franchise at $428,405 to $1,051,200, according to their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).

What is the royalty rate for Carvel franchise?

Carvel charges a 6.0% royalty fee (percentage of net sales), as disclosed in their FDD, Item 6.

What is the Murk Score for Carvel?

Carvel has a Murk Score of 32/100 (MODERATE, our band for scores 2 to 39). The Murk Score measures FDD transparency across 32 binary checks covering disclosure completeness, system trajectory, franchisor solvency, internal consistency, and litigation. A lower score indicates greater transparency.

How many Carvel franchise locations are there?

Carvel has 360 total franchise outlets, with a net growth of +24 units in the last reported year, according to their FDD, Item 20.

Does Carvel have any franchise litigation?

According to Item 3 of their FDD: Litigation detected: 2 pending cases, 4 concluded, affiliate government order.

Carvel FDD Analysis | Franchise Sonar

[ KEY FINDING ]

Carvel has a Murk Score of 32/100 (MODERATE, our band for scores 2 to 39), from Franchise Sonar's 32-check review of its Franchise Disclosure Document.

Source: Murk Score Analysis

[ VERIFIED // FDD 2026 ]

Carvel

Issuance Date: March 27, 2026·Verified: Sep 10, 2026

4 RED FLAGS DETECTED

0/100

MURK SCORE

FRANCHISE SONAR MURK SCORE: MODERATE(our band for scores 2 to 39)

Does Carvel Have Franchise Litigation?

Litigation detected: 2 pending cases, 4 concluded, affiliate government order.

[ FULL LITIGATION ANALYSIS LOCKED ]

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How Much Does a Carvel Franchise Cost?

Royalty Rate	Initial Investment	Total Units	Net Growth (1Y)
6.0% percentage of net sales	$428K to $1.1M	360	+24

Royalty Rate

Initial Investment

Total Units

Net Growth (1Y)

6.0%

percentage of net sales

$428K to $1.1M

360

+24

Source: FDD Items 6, 7, 20

VERIFIED // CHECKED AGAINST THE FDD

What Does Carvel's Item 19 Disclose About Earnings?

Avg Gross Sales	Sample Size	Average vs Median
$0,000,000	000 units	Unlock to see

[ EARNINGS DATA LOCKED ]

Average, sample size and footnotes, page-cited

[ RISK_ALERT ]

We found 4 red flags in Carvel's FDD.

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We found 4 red flags in Carvel's FDD.

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Essential Scan

$199

Items 19-21 financials

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Analyzed by Franchise Sonar Research Team

How is the Murk Score calculated? →

Franchise Sonar provides independent analysis of franchise disclosure documents (FDDs) filed with state regulators. This is for informational purposes only and is NOT investment advice. Data extracted using automated technology; verify all financial information directly in the official FDD before making decisions. Murk Score measures disclosure completeness, not franchise quality. Carvel is a trademark of its respective owner. Franchise Sonar is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or associated with Carvel.