How to Start a Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken Franchise in 7 Steps: Checklist

The official Lee’s franchising process starts with a Preliminary Application, development-team review, FDD request, and Financial Application. The current official preliminary application page states that prospective franchisees must verify at least $350,000 in liquid assets; a co-applicant may help satisfy that website threshold. Meeting it does not obligate Lee’s Franchisor LLC to approve or award a franchise.

The 2026 agreements do not disclose a numerical credit-score minimum, mandatory restaurant-experience minimum, education requirement, or fixed net-worth amount. Instead, the Guaranty leaves the “Guarantor Net Worth Threshold” blank for completion, while requiring at least one guarantor to satisfy the inserted threshold. That unresolved number should be obtained in writing before signing.

Sources: 2026 FDD Items 1 and 15; Franchise Agreement Sections 9(O), 13(A), 14(G) and Exhibit E; Area Development Agreement Sections 6 and 13. Official web pages are supplemental and do not replace the FDD.

The sequence below separates applicant actions, Lee’s approvals, and third-party dependencies. A step may overlap with another only where the contracts permit it; none of the disclosed periods should be treated as a guaranteed project schedule.

Sources: 2026 FDD Items 5, 8 and 11; Franchise Agreement Sections 6–7, 9 and 15; Exhibits A–D. The official franchise inquiry page is the public entry point.

The FDD supplies an official 120–365-day typical range, but each milestone below starts from a different event. The bars compare duration only; they are not a formula for a total opening time and should not be added.

A Site Selection Area is only a search area. It creates no territorial rights and may contain other candidates searching on a first-to-propose basis. The Designated Territory arises only after Lee’s consents to the Authorized Location and the parties sign Exhibit A; even then, the territory is not exclusive because Non-Traditional Venues and other reserved channels remain outside the grant.

The franchisee must submit complete Development Materials, obtain written site consent, and send the proposed lease to Lee’s before signing it. The landlord and franchisee must execute the Lease Addendum and Collateral Assignment of Lease. After site control, an approved licensed architect adapts prototype plans, Lee’s approves modifications, and a qualified licensed, insured, and bonded general contractor performs the buildout under approved plans.

Source: 2026 FDD Items 8, 11 and 12; Franchise Agreement Section 6 and Exhibits A–D. Lee’s site consent is an approval against its criteria, not a warranty of sales, suitability, permit issuance, or construction timing.

The franchisee or Operating Principal and at least three managers—including the general manager and assistant managers or equivalent roles—must complete the entire six-to-eight-week program to Lee’s satisfaction. If a non-controlling individual serves as Operating Principal, the controlling Principal Owner must separately complete required training. No person may supervise the business until certified to Lee’s satisfaction.

Opening readiness also requires approved systems, inventory, equipment, insurance, staffing, permits, and the grand-opening plan. Insurance evidence is due at least 30 days before taking possession and beginning development. The marketing plan is due 90 days before opening, while the approved $10,000 opening campaign is spent during the first 90 days after opening.

The required Computer System and card-processing environment must also support applicable payment-security obligations. The PCI Security Standards Council’s PCI DSS overview explains the baseline technical and operational requirements for merchants and service providers handling payment-account data.

Sources: 2026 FDD Items 7, 8 and 11; Franchise Agreement Sections 6(G)–6(I), 7(B)–7(C), and 9(P).

An Area Development Agreement requires a commitment of at least two Restaurants and creates a separate Development Area and mandatory Development Schedule. It does not itself authorize use of the Lee’s marks: every restaurant must operate under its own then-current Franchise Agreement, which may contain terms different from the form attached to the 2026 FDD.

Before the first developed restaurant opens, the developer must hire and train a full-time Managing Director approved by Lee’s. A unit owned through a differently structured entity may require approval and at least two-thirds ownership and control by the developer or its Principal Owners. The blank Development Schedule in the disclosure form does not establish the buyer’s actual dates; the executed Exhibit B does.

Source: 2026 FDD Items 1, 5, 12, 15 and 17; Area Development Agreement Sections 3–8 and Exhibit B.

Use the current FDD, proposed agreements, and completed exhibits—not the public marketing sequence alone. The FTC explains that the FDD must arrive at least 14 calendar days before signing or payment, while the FTC Franchise Rule FAQs explain when undisclosed or unilaterally changed material agreement terms can require seven calendar days for review.

Item 20’s current and former franchisee lists provide a direct way to test the practical sequence. Ask operators how long site approval, landlord documentation, permitting, equipment delivery, training, correction work, and opening authorization took in comparable markets, while recognizing that their experience does not amend your agreement.