If you are thinking about franchising in Iowa, you need to know one thing: Iowa franchise law is unique, and most out-of-state laws firms don’t really get it.

Let me explain.

Iowa Code Chapter 537A.10 governs franchise agreements in this state. It lays out the specific rules and regulations that franchisors and franchisees must follow when doing business here. While this code provides essential protections, such as requiring good faith and fair dealing and preventing unwarranted termination, you won’t find much about it on most national law firm websites. Why? Because they don’t fully understand it and historically Iowa has not really been a hot bed of franchising.

I was digging into an Iowa franchise law issue recently and, unsurprisingly, ran across a couple of prominent franchise law firms. These big names had some generic mentions of Iowa law, clearly optimized to show up in search results. If you aren’t really familar with franchise law, it looks like they know their stuff. But when you dig a little deeper, it becomes obvious: they are not very familiar with Iowa’s specific franchise laws. They glossed over key points, only mentioning business opportunity laws and providing surface-level information that was not even close to telling the whole story.

And that’s a problem.

Although Iowa is not a registration state, Chapter 537A.10 of the Iowa Code still places specific duties on franchisors that are meant to protect Iowa franchisees. Failure to understand these nuances could leave a franchisor exposed to unnecessary risk or a franchisee without important protections available under our state’s laws.

The truth is, navigating Iowa franchise laws takes more than just a passing mention on a website intended to grab as much traffic as possible. It requires a deep understanding of the local landscape. If you are serious about franchising in Iowa, you need someone who knows the terrain—not a law firm that throws in a couple of buzzwords to attract search engine traffic.

Here’s the takeaway: Do not let out-of-state firms fool you into thinking they are experts on Iowa franchise law just because they rank high on Google. When it comes to protecting your investment and making smart franchise decisions, work with someone who’s genuinely familiar with how things operate in Iowa.

Franchising is a big decision, and it’s easy to get lost in all the legal jargon. But trust me, you don’t want to skimp on local expertise. The stakes are too high.

In short, the best advice I can give is this: Do your homework. Make sure the law firm you are trusting to guide your franchise journey knows Iowa law inside and out. Because in the end, it is not just about signing on the dotted line. It’s about making sure the terms of that contract work for you, especially here in Iowa.