How to Start a Dollar Rent A Car Franchise in 7 Steps: Checklist

Dollar publishes an online franchise questionnaire asking for identity and contact information, estimated net worth, and the city and state of interest. The public questionnaire does not publish a minimum net-worth threshold, credit-score requirement, education minimum, or universal prior-business-ownership requirement. Meeting the form fields is therefore not the same as approval.

The 2026 FDD does impose operating qualifications that matter before the deal is finalized. The franchisee must devote significant personal time, energy, direction and best efforts to the business, and the location must be under the franchisee's day-to-day supervision or a full-time manager's supervision. That manager must be disclosed to Dollar, complete required training, have sufficient Vehicle Rental Business experience, and work full time in management. See 2026 FDD Item 15, p. 15-1; Franchise Agreement §12.2.

The exact pre-signing order of qualification discussions, territory scoping, and internal approval is not fully disclosed. The roadmap below separates what is verified from what depends on Dollar, the applicant, landlords, lenders, airport authorities, suppliers, contractors, insurers, and government authorities.

The federal disclosure clock is separate from Dollar's application and site process. Under the FTC Franchise Rule, a prospective franchisee must receive the FDD at least 14 calendar days before signing a binding franchise agreement or paying the franchisor or an affiliate in connection with the franchise sale. The FTC's Consumer's Guide to Buying a Franchise and the FTC Franchise Rule page explain the federal disclosure framework.

For a standard Dollar deal, the core contract is the Dollar Rent A Car, Inc. Franchise Agreement with Attachment A identifying the territory, locations, opening dates, term, commercial terms and security choice. Attachment C records ownership and management information. If a Personal Guaranty is selected, Attachment G is the form; Attachment A also contemplates a letter of credit or security deposit instead, so the buyer must verify the completed attachment rather than assume every owner signs the same security package.

Three recurring process clocks are measurable but start from different events. They are shown together only to compare order-of-magnitude timing; they are not additive and do not create a 134-day opening schedule.

Airport locations add a separate concession path. If Dollar permits the franchisee to become the concessionaire or lessee, the franchisee must provide Dollar with the bid package and bid or RFP by the earlier of completion or 10 days before submission; Dollar may approve or disapprove it. Executed Airport Agreements must be provided within 30 days after receipt. Failure to follow Franchise Agreement §17.2 can permit Dollar to bid itself, sever the airport location from the territory, or terminate the agreement.

For additional locations required later during the term, Attachment A gives another distinct clock: 60 days from Dollar's written notice to state the intent to open, and 180 days from that notice to commence operations. Those periods do not replace the initial Location Opening Date already written into Attachment A.

The franchisee controls most execution work. Each location must have required government licenses, permits and certificates; the FDD says local, municipal, county and state requirements vary, so there is no universal permit list. The Franchise Agreement also places accessibility compliance on the franchisee; ADA.gov is the federal source for Americans with Disabilities Act information, but local design, zoning and construction questions require the relevant authorities and qualified professionals.

Insurance must be effective before operations and evidenced to Dollar. The agreement includes at least $1 million combined single-limit automobile liability and commercial general liability per occurrence, $500,000 Employer's Liability, and $4 million umbrella liability per occurrence, plus required property, business interruption, data privacy/security, garage liability and garage keepers coverage. The actual policy package can also be affected by state law, lenders, landlords and fleet lessors.

The operating platform includes the required Computer System and an approved counter automation system capable of interfacing with Dollar's systems. The FDD states six counter automation systems were approved as of the disclosure date, while reserving the right to change the list. A PCI-compliant security service subscription is also required; the PCI Security Standards Council maintains the underlying payment-card security standards.

Fleet readiness is also contractual. Attachment D sets the minimum vehicle requirement for the particular deal. Unless the Operations Guide prescribes otherwise, rental vehicles may not remain in inventory beyond 24 months after first public-road use or 40,000 miles. Franchisees must respond promptly to manufacturer recalls; the NHTSA recall lookup is a federal verification resource, while the Franchise Agreement and Operations Guide control Dollar-specific grounding procedures.

The 2026 FDD summary says the franchisee, manager and key employees must attend and complete required initial training before opening. The Franchise Agreement §11.1 is narrower in wording: it says the franchisee or the full-time manager must participate in and complete the initial program to Dollar's satisfaction. Because those provisions are not identical, the buyer should confirm the required attendee roster in the final training plan rather than infer a fixed headcount.

The disclosed curriculum totals 74 hours across orientation, brand introduction, pre-opening procedures, fleet programs, privacy, facility guidelines, marketing and sales, revenue management, airport/off-airport counter observation, forms, daily operations, counter procedures, brand service, fleet operations, customer service/sales, accident reporting and back office. Training may occur at headquarters, a zone facility, a franchisor-owned store, online or at the franchisee's designated location. Initial training has no separate tuition charge under the Franchise Agreement, but travel, living expenses and wages remain the franchisee's responsibility.

Completion is a contractual gate, not merely support. Unless Dollar gives written permission to postpone training, failure to complete required initial training to Dollar's satisfaction can constitute a default supporting termination. The franchisee must also implement a training program for all employees under current Dollar standards.

Yes. The FDD includes materially different document paths, so a buyer should identify the intended format before treating any checklist as complete.

The C-1 form for new multi-brand franchisees is written for a Hertz/Dollar/Thrifty package executed with separate franchise agreements. Unless specifically authorized otherwise, off-airport brands generally cannot share the same building, and customer-facing counters, telephone lines, buses, employees and uniforms must remain brand-specific. A neutral shared vehicle fleet may be permitted if each brand's inventory standards are met, but vehicles used interchangeably cannot be branded as one of the systems.

The decisive document is the completed Attachment A, not a generic timeline. Before signing, reconcile the territory description, every required location, each Location Opening Date, the selected security instrument, the initial fee, revenue targets and any airport rental location terms. Then verify that the site, landlord or airport authority, lender, insurer, fleet source, technology vendors and government authorities can support that date.