How to Start a Caring Senior Service Franchise in 7 Steps: Checklist

The 2026 FDD does not publish a minimum credit score, net-worth threshold, liquid-capital threshold, education requirement, citizenship rule, or mandatory home-care experience for a first-territory applicant. The Franchise Agreement instead records the buyer’s representation that the buyer has the business experience and financial ability to operate. Initial application forms, approval stages, and decision timing are not disclosed.

For an entity franchisee, every direct or indirect beneficial owner must sign the Continuing Guaranty; an owner’s spouse is not required to sign that guaranty. The business must be locally supervised by an approved, fully trained Agency Director or owner. Meeting any stated criterion does not compel the franchisor to award a territory. Source: 2026 FDD, Item 15, pages 32–33; Franchise Agreement recitals, page 2.

The disclosed sequence has eight decision-relevant stages. Some early sales-process details remain undisclosed, but the agreement-controlled steps after territory selection are specific.

Federal timing sources: 16 CFR Part 436, the FTC Franchise Rule page, and the FTC Franchise Rule Compliance Guide. The 14-day period is measured in calendar days and is not the total application or opening timeline.

The following periods use days but begin from different triggers. They should not be added together. Site selection, licensing, staffing, and systems work may overlap, while the 75-day agreement deadline continues to run.

Caring Senior Service provides criteria, approvals, training, approved-source specifications, and limited assistance. The franchisee remains responsible for finding premises, negotiating occupancy, hiring, permits, insurance, equipment, and timely completion. Landlords, regulators, insurers, and suppliers can delay the opening without changing the contractual deadline.

Site evidence can include a description, photographs, a map, and a letter of intent or proposed lease. Review criteria include neighborhood, parking, office size and physical characteristics, cable-internet availability, lease terms, access from major roadways, and population density. Exterior signs require written franchisor approval and remain subject to the lease and local ordinances.

Licenses and permits vary by jurisdiction. The FDD does not identify one nationwide home-care license or universal approval period. Use the SBA licenses and permits guide to identify government levels and the USA.gov directory of state consumer offices to locate official state contacts, then verify the applicable home-care regulator directly.

The owner and the Agency Director, when the owner is not serving in that role, must complete initial training to the franchisor’s satisfaction before opening. The FDD describes approximately two weeks of initial training and a curriculum totaling 37 classroom hours plus 68 simulated or on-the-job hours. The initial fee includes training for the owner and up to three additional trainees.

The operating office must have three different individuals in the Agency Director, Care Manager, and Homecare Consultant positions before opening. The Agency Director provides full-time local supervision and requires franchisor approval. The Hub may post openings, prescreen applicants, and schedule interviews for these initial roles; the franchisee makes the hiring decisions and remains the employer.

All three paths use the Caring Senior Service operating system, approved premises, required training, staffing, licenses, insurance, and opening conditions. The Conversion Addendum changes financial terms and adds verification of the prior business. The Development Addendum creates a separate expansion calendar and approval process for contiguous reserved Territories.

For a Development Territory, the franchisor has 30 days after receiving the Exercise Notice and all required information to approve or reject the request. If approved, the franchisee receives the then-current FDD and agreement and has 30 days after receipt to execute required documents and pay applicable amounts. Those approval and signing periods do not extend the 15-month Development Period.

The six-month development extension is a contractual right only when written notice is provided, and each Development Period may be extended once. Missing the signing-and-opening requirement after the applicable period causes the Development Addendum to expire, freeing the reserved Territories for sale. The Development Fee is nonrefundable. Source: 2026 Development Addendum §§2, 4–7 and 9.

Item 20 reports 62 franchised outlets at year-end 2025 and lists current and recent former franchisees. It also states that no franchisees signed experience-related confidentiality provisions during the prior three fiscal years. Prospects can use those contacts to verify actual site review, licensing, training delivery, hiring, and opening-clearance experience without treating another operator’s timeline as a contractual promise.