Must Franchise Fastlane Halt DonutNV Franchise Sales?

According to a number of franchise attorneys, franchisors whose state franchise registrations have expired must immediately “Go dark” (cease franchise sales activities) in those states.  Franchisors who do not have an up-to-date, current Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) must “Go dark” in EVERY state and cease all franchise sales activities.  Once the FDD is updated and received the necessary approvals, previously disclosed prospective franchisees must be redisclosed and given a mandatory 14 day waiting period to review.

With its 2024 FDD and a number of state registrations expired, is DonutNV Franchising Inc. and its FSO Franchise Fastlane legally required to “Go dark” and cease franchise sales in some, or all, states?    by Sean Kelly

(UnhappyFranchisee.Com)  I’m not an attorney and don’t draw legal conclusions.

But I ask a lot of questions and do a lot of research.

If you’re considering investing in a franchise opportunity – any franchise opportunity – you should do the same.

So here’s what actual franchise attorneys say about “Going Dark”:

What Does it Mean for a Franchisor to “Go Dark”?

Has the DonutNV Franchise Gone Dark?

DonutNV franchise registrations have expired in several states.

According to numerous sources, this would likely require them and their sales agents to immediately stop promoting and selling franchises in those states.

If the reason for those expired registrations is that they don’t have an up-to-date, FTC-compliant FDD, they may be required to “Go Dark” (ie cease all franchise sales activity) altogether… and so must their sales agents at Franchise Fastlane.

According to FTC rules, the DonutNV 2024 expired 120 days after the end of its last fiscal year on April 30, 2025.

Unless DonutNV Franchising Inc. has an up-to-date, FTC-compliant 2025 FDD, legal sources state that the all DonutNV franchise sales activities must go dark.

If and when the 2025 FDD is completed, prospective franchisees must be redisclosed and no franchise agreements can be signed or money exchanged during the 14-day waiting period.

We are reaching out to DonutNV’s Franchise Sales Organization (FSO) Franchise Fastlane for an update.

We also welcome input from Franchise Sidekick, IFPG, Franserve, Franchoice and other broker networks on how they communicate to and advise their brokers when a represented brand goes dark or lacks a valid, up-to-date FDD.

Related Reading:  DONUTNV Franchise Owners Selling at a Loss

Please share your candid & confidential opinions and information with an anonymous comment below, or by emailing the author at UnhappyFranchisee[at]Gmail[dot]com.

Several DonutNV Franchise Registrations Appear to Have Expired Last Week

Last week, in anticipation of the 2025 DonutNV Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD),  we published an interactive list of some of the franchisee closures, transfers, and sales we thought might be included:

DonutNV Franchise Failures, Closures & Transfers: An Interactive List

We were disappointed to see that the DonutNV franchise registration in Wisconsin expired 4/29/25:

The DonutNV franchise registration in Indiana expired 4/29/25

The NASAA State Regulators portal indicates that the DonutNV registration for New York may have expired 4/30/25.

The DonutNV FDD indicates that the Michigan franchise registration may have expired 4/24/25.

The DonutNV franchise registration for Minnesota may be expired.  There  is no new FDD or renewal viewable on the Minnesota Commerce Department website.

The Rhode Island franchise registration information for DonutNV is a bit confusing.

Its website states that its status is “expired” and has been since 2023. Yet the NASAA registration portal states that its renewal effective end date is July 10, 2025. It’s not clear (to me, at least) how state registrations can still be effective after the FDD has expired. I’ve posed this question to several state regulators.

We have sent requests for the registration and filing status to a number of states, but hope that Franchise Fastlane will issue an update that covers this.

We’ll update this page as status reports are received.

Is it Legal to Promote or Sell DonutNV Franchises in ANY State Currently?

An update from Franchise Fastlane could explain whether DonutNV has completed and issued its 2025 FDD or whether franchise sales have been suspended (gone dark) until the new disclosure document is issued.

If it lacks a current, up-to-date FDD, the DonutNV and its sales agents are reportedly required to suspend all sales efforts.

What Brokers, Consultants & Advisors Should Look for in the DonutNV 2025 FDD

When the 2025 DonutNV FDD is released, several disclosure sections that should be of particular interest to franchise consultants, advisors & brokers are:

• Item 20 OUTLETS AND FRANCHISEE INFORMATION, which will indicate how many franchises were sold, opened and exited the system via closure or transfers, and list contact information for all who exited the system,
• Item 19  FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE REPRESENTATIONS which will replace and hopefully eliminate use of the previous financial representations of a non-franchised affiliate – and will hopefully include the straightforward financial performance data from the entire range of franchisees with details such as number of territories, trailers & trucks that contributed to sales numbers given, and
• Audited Financials of DonutNV Franchising, Inc.  which will hopefully be accurate & straightforward.  Of interest will be the status of the $3,900,000 yearly payment due from its manufacturing affiliate which was counted as an asset for the year ending December 31, 2023.  Having sold a number of franchises does not necessarily mean the franchisor is financially healthy, especially if they are paying an inordinate amount to FSOs and brokers.

Please check back for updates to this page.

Also Read:

DonutNV is NOT a Franchise Success Story… And May Never Be

DonutNV Franchise Earnings Claims: Accurate?  Or Intentionally Deceptive?

DonutNV Franchise Downgraded by Broker Group (?) as Franchisees Exit, Questions Grow

Are you familiar with the DonutNV franchise opportunity? 

Are you familiar with Franchise Fastlane? 

Please leave a comment below or email us, in confidence, at UnhappyFranchisee[at]Gmail[dot]com.

Franchisors:  The franchisor, its employees and agents are invited to submit correction, clarifications, rebuttals or other opinions.  You may post in the comment section of any page or email us at UnhappyFranchisee[at]Gmail[dot]com

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Tags:  DonutNV, DonutNV franchise,  DonutNV franchise earnings, DonutNV franchise opportunity, Franchise going dark, Donut franchise, Franchise Fastlane, Alex Gingold, Amanda Gingold, franchise state registrations, expired FDD, Klehr Harrison, Joseph Ferris, attorney Joe Ferris, Franchise Sidekick, Franchoice, IFPG, Franserve, Franchise Brokers Association,