Seller-assisted marketing plans, also known as business opportunities or franchises, are required to comply with the Seller-Assisted Marketing Plan Act (SAMP Act). The SAMP Act provides requirements for disclosures to purchasers, contents of the marketing plan contract, filings, and fees. The Bureau of Securities regulates business opportunities and franchises and ensures that such businesses operate within the requirements set forth in the SAMP Act.
Certain transactions may be exempt from some requirements of the SAMP Act. For more information on what should be filed or if a business qualifies for an exemption, please contact the Bureau of Securities at DOB.SecuritiesFiling@nebraska.gov.
Initial Filing
The following information should be submitted prior to placing any advertisement, making any other solicitation, making any sale, or making any representations to any prospective purchaser in Nebraska:
- A disclosure document that includes the information required by the SAMP Act;
- A list of names and resident addresses of individuals selling the business opportunity or franchise (list must be resubmitted every six months); and
- Initial filing fee of $100.
Amendments and Renewals
Business opportunities shall file an updated disclosure document with the Bureau of Securities when information within the disclosure documents materially changes ($50 amendment fee), and to renew their filing annually ($50 renewal fee). No fee is required for any filing which includes only an updated list of sales representatives.
Franchises offered and sold in compliance with the Federal Trade Commission “Franchise Rule” (16 C.F.R. Part 436) are exempt from the disclosure and marketing plan contract requirements of the SAMP Act.
Initial Exemption Filing
The following information should be submitted prior to placing any advertisement in a Nebraska-based publication, offering for sale to any prospective purchaser in Nebraska, or making any representations in connection with such offer or sale to any prospective purchaser in Nebraska:
- A completed Nebraska Franchise Notice of Exemption; and
- $100 filing fee.
Franchise filers are not required to submit a copy of a disclosure document.
An email acknowledging the filing will be sent to the email address of the filer or issuer provided on the Nebraska Franchise Notice of Exemption.
Amendments and Renewals
The Nebraska Franchise Notice of Exemption is a one-time filing and does not require renewal. Amendments to the seller or filer’s contact information may be made by submitting an updated Nebraska Franchise Notice of Exemption to the Bureau of Securities. Such amendments do not require payment of a fee. All other changes require a new initial exemption filing and fee.
Business opportunities and franchises for which the immediate cash payment made by the purchaser does not exceed $500 and the payment is made for the not-for-profit sale of sales demonstration equipment, material, or samples for use in making sales and not for resale or the payment is made for product inventory sold to the purchaser at a bona fide wholesale price are exempt from the disclosure and marketing plan contract requirements of the SAMP Act. Such business opportunities and franchises are not required to make a filing with the Bureau of Securities prior to the offer or sale of such businesses.
A business opportunity or franchise wishing to file electronically may do so using the North American Securities Administrators Association’s Electronic Filing Depository which can be found at www.efdnasaa.org.
Note: The EFD system charges a processing fee which is in addition to the filing fee paid to the Department. Please refer to the NASAA EFD website for further information concerning processing fees.
Payment by corporate check or money order must be made using U.S. check or U.S. money order. Filers may also make payment using ACH or through NASAA EFD, as available. Any payments received via foreign check or foreign money order will be returned to the filer.
Our agency also investigates complaints regarding the purchase of a franchise or business opportunity by a Nebraska resident. For more information regarding this process, please visit our Complaint section.
