How to Start an Express Employment Professionals Franchise in 7 Steps: Checklist

Express's current franchise site lists at least $250,000 in net worth and access to at least $200,000 in liquid capital as financial screening benchmarks. It also says staffing experience is not required for the standard ownership path. These are current public qualification statements, not guarantees of approval; the 2026 FDD says Express assesses qualifications, background and location when deciding which Authorized Occupations Addenda it will enter.

Owner involvement is contractual. The franchisee, or the principal owner of an entity-franchisee, must be actively involved in day-to-day operations and serve as the on-premises supervisor; Item 15 states that supervisor must hold at least 51% equity in the entity. Every person owning an interest in an entity-franchisee must sign the Owner's Guaranty. The current Manual requirement disclosed in Item 15 calls for at least three internal staff positions.

The public candidate journey and the contractual obligations fit into the following eight dependency-based stages. The public site can describe exploration and validation; the FDD and Franchise Agreement control the signing, office, training and opening obligations.

Express defines the Territory in the Franchise Agreement using market information and attaches a supporting GbBIS report. The FDD says there is no minimum Territory size and that the territory can vary by Authorized Occupations Addendum. It also expressly says the franchisee does not receive an exclusive territory, even though specified territorial protections apply to the services authorized by the signed addendum and are subject to stated exceptions.

The franchisee must keep an office inside the Territory and is responsible for finding the location, negotiating the lease or purchase, complying with local ordinances and building codes, obtaining required permits, and completing construction, remodeling or decoration. Express provides layout/design guidance for Core Occupations or branding/style guides for Professional and Healthcare formats, but it is not contractually required to perform the real-estate work. A deviation from the suggested interior layout requires advance written approval under Franchise Agreement §5.1(b).

Third-party dependency: Express specifically disclaims an obligation to locate the site, negotiate the lease, secure permits, conform the premises to local codes, or build/remodel/decorate the office. These workstreams can delay opening even when franchise approval and training are on track.

Item 11 describes up to one week of initial training in Oklahoma City, Tualatin, Oregon, or virtually, plus two weeks in the franchise office, virtually or at another designated field site, with the location chosen by Express. The program is described as occurring about three weeks before opening and must be completed to Express's satisfaction. The detailed training agenda separately says Core, Professional and Healthcare programs can run up to four weeks and lists classroom and on-the-job hours by service type.

No. They share due-diligence and agreement stages, but eligibility and transition work differ. A resale is a transfer of an existing office, a conversion starts with an independent staffing business, and the BTO and Emerging Entrepreneur programs add program-specific qualification or development requirements.

Current opportunities can be reviewed on the franchisor's resale listings. For an existing independent staffing company, the franchisor also publishes a conversion overview. A Branch Office or Recruiting Station is different again: each is a within-Territory add-on governed by its own addendum, not an automatic right to another Territory. The 2026 FDD does not disclose an Area Development Agreement or automatic multi-unit schedule; an existing franchisee seeking another Territory must follow the separate expansion-approval conditions described in Item 12.

The 2026 FDD does not identify a separate universal opening certificate or single formal opening-authorization event. Readiness is therefore a dependency check: the franchisee must satisfy the agreement's office, systems, insurance, licensing, staffing and training requirements while remaining within the 180-day deadline.

Licensing is market-specific. The FDD states that some states require licensing and/or bonding for temporary staffing agencies, direct-hire agencies or consultants, and that the franchisee must comply with applicable federal, state and local law. It also treats failure to obtain, maintain or renew a required license or permit as a serious default ground. Verify the actual rules with the relevant authority and qualified advisers for the office location and services being offered.

Ask Express to identify in writing the exact Authorized Occupations Addendum(s), Territory exhibit and office location requirements that will apply to the proposed franchise. Confirm whether any location approval, sign approval, design approval or other written consent is still outstanding, and identify which dependencies are controlled by the landlord, insurer, lender, suppliers or government authorities rather than by Express.

Also reconcile the exact training attendee and duration language, the current Manual's minimum staffing and systems requirements, and any state-specific addenda before signing. Use Item 20 contacts to ask current and former franchisees how long lease, permitting, system installation and training scheduling actually took in comparable markets; those conversations can inform planning but do not change the contract.