How does the 101 Mobility franchise opening process work?
The 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document says a 101 Mobility business usually opens within 60 days after the Franchise Agreement is signed. The binding outer limit is different: the standard agreement requires opening by the 120-day Opening Deadline measured from its Effective Date. Site acceptance, training, permits, vehicle preparation, staffing, systems, and written franchisor approval can control whether the next stage begins.
Data basis
No verified franchise-controlled public copy of the 2026 FDD was identified. FDD evidence is therefore cited by year, Item, agreement section, and page; official supplemental information is linked separately.
What must a candidate qualify for before signing?
The current official 101 Mobility franchise page publishes minimum liquidity of $100,000 and minimum net worth of $400,000. It also says the brand seeks a dedicated full-time owner-operator with sales, business-development, operational, leadership, and team-building capability. Meeting those published screens does not compel approval or reserve a Territory.
| Qualification point | Verified standard | What remains to confirm |
|---|---|---|
| Financial capacity | $100,000 minimum liquidity and $400,000 minimum net worth on the official website. | Whether the threshold is tested per applicant, ownership group, or entity in the current application. |
| Experience | The official FAQ says mobility or medical-industry experience is not required. | No FDD minimum for education, credit score, or prior franchise ownership is disclosed. |
| Owner role | An equity owner must serve as Operating Principal, work full time, supervise from the premises, and complete training. | Which proposed owner will hold that authority and whether any role-combination is approved. |
| Ownership liability | Every direct and indirect owner of an entity must sign the Payment and Performance Guarantee. | The complete ownership chain and state-specific enforceability with counsel. |
Item 10 states that the franchisor does not offer direct or indirect financing and does not guarantee a note, lease, or other obligation. Funding approval and closing therefore remain applicant-and-lender dependencies rather than franchise award or opening guarantees.
The FDD does not publish a minimum credit score or a universal background-check standard. Do not convert silence into “no screening.” Ask which personal, financial, criminal, credit, or business records the current application requires before submitting sensitive information.
What are the actual steps from inquiry to authorized opening?
The official Steps to Ownership page describes introductory, operational, and support calls, FDD review, a team meeting, agreement signing, site selection, training, and grand opening. The roadmap below adds the contractual dependencies and keeps candidate approval, signing, site acceptance, training completion, and opening authorization separate.
Submit the inquiry and test initial fit
Complete candidate review and validation
Receive and review the current FDD
Fix the Territory and execute the documents
Obtain site and lease approval
Build the operating platform
Complete onboarding and Initial Training
Prove readiness and obtain written opening approval
After the business opens, the standard agreement requires the franchisor to provide, at its expense, up to two days of on-site training and assistance. That post-opening support is not the same as written opening approval and does not transfer responsibility for legal compliance, staffing, installation quality, or day-to-day operation.
Which disclosed periods control the critical path?
These periods share a day-based unit but have different triggers, so they are not additive. The 120-day bar is a contractual outside deadline; the 30-day site period is a typical response after a complete submission; the other bars are pre-sale or task deadlines.
Relative bar length shows the disclosed number of days, not a single continuous schedule.
Interpretation: Start the site, training, vehicle, permitting, and staffing workstreams early because several can run in parallel but any one can prevent written opening approval. Sources: 2026 FDD, Items 8 and 11, pp. 16 and 22–24; Franchise Agreement §§5.1(b) and 5.7; FTC Franchise Rule Compliance Guide; 16 CFR §436.2.
Failure to complete Initial Training to the franchisor’s satisfaction or to begin operating by the Opening Deadline is an Event of Default. The standard agreement does not disclose a general extension right. Any extension, waiver, or changed Effective Date should be documented in a signed writing rather than inferred from scheduling conversations.
What must be approved before the lease and buildout proceed?
Territory designation does not approve a site, lease, floor plan, buildout, or protected market status beyond the agreement’s limited terms. Attachment A identifies the Territory by ZIP codes. The Business Office must sit inside that Territory and ordinarily combine showroom or administrative functions with warehouse space.
| Official path | Agreement structure | Opening consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Start-up | Standard Franchise Agreement plus attachments. | Secure an accepted office/warehouse, approved plans, vehicle, systems, staff, training, and written approval. |
| Conversion | The FDD offers conversions but lists no separate conversion agreement. | Existing assets or premises still must satisfy current System standards and the same Opening Deadline unless a signed amendment says otherwise. |
| Multiple Territories | Separate Franchise Agreement and Attachment A for each Territory; no Development Agreement is listed in Item 22. | Contiguous Territories may currently share an approved office in some cases; each non-contiguous Territory requires its own Business Office. |
The disclosed target is approximately 2,000–2,500 square feet, including roughly 900–1,000 square feet of warehouse area with ceilings of at least 10 feet. The site review considers location, storage, building characteristics, accessibility, and lease terms. The office must be handicapped accessible, including relevant parking, doorways, and bathroom access.
A request to use an unapproved supplier, item, service, vehicle, or equipment source can take up to 60 days after all requested information is submitted; no response within that period is treated as disapproval. These System standards do not replace zoning, building-code, fire, occupancy, contractor, or specialized installer requirements imposed locally.
Who must train, and what must be operational before opening?
The Franchise Agreement requires the franchisee, every Owner, and the Operating Principal to attend and satisfactorily complete Initial Training before opening. The FDD describes an onboarding call within seven days, e-learning, required third-party QuickBooks Online, general financial, and OSHA 10 programs, plus approximately nine days of in-person training in Wilmington, North Carolina.
The public training and support page markets a two-week headquarters program, while the current FAQ describes a broader 90-day onboarding journey. Those website descriptions are not a replacement for the 2026 FDD’s contractual milestones. The FDD and Franchise Agreement control the requirement to complete training to the franchisor’s satisfaction by the Opening Deadline.
OSHA explains that its Outreach Training Program provides 10- and 30-hour course-completion cards and is not itself an OSHA certification or a substitute for training required by a specific OSHA standard. The franchise contract nevertheless makes the designated OSHA 10 program a pre-opening requirement.
Readiness also includes MOBILINK, QuickBooks Online Plus, required hardware and communications, 101 Mobility email accounts using Microsoft Authenticator, approved payment-card systems, and applicable PCI controls. The franchisee must maintain required insurance, including general liability, vehicle, workers’ compensation, property, landlord-required coverage, and builder’s risk or installation coverage when applicable. The insurer must satisfy the disclosed standards and provide at least 30 days’ prior written notice before cancellation or amendment.
Who controls each opening dependency?
The franchisee owns most execution risk; the franchisor controls designated approvals and System standards; third parties control many dates neither side can guarantee. Franchisor advice about suppliers, sites, or launch preparation is assistance, not a promise that a landlord, lender, contractor, authority, insurer, or vendor will perform on time.
Applicant
Provide truthful application and financial information, complete validation, review the FDD and agreements, choose the ownership entity, and identify the Operating Principal.
Franchisee
Find the site, negotiate the lease, fund and coordinate buildout, permits, insurance, vehicle, suppliers, systems, hiring, training, inventory, and launch readiness.
Franchisor
Designate the Territory; evaluate site, lease, plans, advertising, and requested substitutes; provide initial training and manuals; and issue written opening approval.
Third parties
Landlord, lender, architect, contractor, suppliers, trainer, insurer, payment provider, and government authorities control their own approvals, deliveries, and inspections.
What should the buyer verify before authorizing a launch date?
A launch date is defensible only when the documentary, site, people, system, and regulatory dependencies are evidenced—not merely scheduled. Use the following checks against Attachment A, the final signed agreements, the Manuals, andwritten approvals.
Official references: 101 Mobility U.S. website; 101 Mobility franchise FAQ; SBA licenses and permits guide; PCI DSS standards.
Item 20 and Exhibit H identify current and recent former franchisees. Ask them which milestones actually delayed their site, training, vehicle, hiring, supplier setup, permits, and written opening authorization; the FDD reports no franchisee confidentiality clauses signed in the prior three years that restrict those communications.
What is the decision-ready conclusion?
The verified 101 Mobility path is candidate qualification and validation, FDD review, Territory and agreement execution, site and lease acceptance, buildout and systems setup, Initial Training, staffing and launch readiness, then written opening approval. The FDD supplies an official typical estimate of 60 days after signing, while the Franchise Agreement supplies a separate 120-day Opening Deadline from the Effective Date.
The most important applicant-controlled dependency is coordinating an accepted office/warehouse, vehicle, systems, permits, staff, and all required trainees early enough to finish before the deadline. The most important franchisor or third-party dependency is timely written site and opening approval after complete submissions, alongside landlord, contractor, supplier, insurer, and government performance. The unresolved issue to verify in writing is whether any transaction-specific extension, shared-office arrangement, conversion accommodation, or multi-Territory timing change modifies the standard documents.