Franchise Facts Report → brands → Driving Academy
Driving Academy franchise — is it worth it?
Medium risk Item 19 disclosed
Driving Academy is a driving education franchise with an initial investment ranging from $224,200 to $557,300.
Everything below is free, read straight off Driving Academy's registered filing, with where the numbers land against other peers. Weighing Driving Academy against other options? Get a free shortlist of franchises that fit your budget.
Figures above are as disclosed in Driving Academy's most recent FDD (registered 2024). Source: California Dept. of Financial Protection and Innovation — Franchise Registration · filing app-31293 — check it yourself. See every other California-registered franchise.
Considering Driving Academy? See what else fits your budget
Tell us your budget and the industries you're open to. We'll match you with 5–10 franchises whose own FDDs fit — ranked by earnings disclosure, growth and closure rate — and email you the list. Driving Academy will be on it if it fits.
How much does a Driving Academy franchise make?
Driving Academy is one of the franchisors that answers this on the record: its most recent FDD makes an Item 19 financial performance representation — actual unit earnings figures, disclosed by the franchisor itself. The headline figure is $1,473,061 in average unit revenue — read it alongside what Item 19 says about which units it covers (often only mature or top-performing locations). See every other brand that discloses earnings in the Other franchises with disclosed Item 19 earnings ranking.
Driving Academy franchise profit vs. revenue
Revenue is not profit. An Item 19 almost always reports sales — what a location takes in — not what an owner keeps. Out of that number come Driving Academy's 10% royalty, the ad fund, rent, payroll, supplies and debt service. No FDD tells you a Driving Academy franchise's profit, because profit depends on your site, your rent and how you run it — so treat any "Driving Academy franchise profit" figure quoted elsewhere as someone's estimate, not a disclosure. On $1,473,061 of revenue, a 10% royalty alone is about $147,306 a year before any other cost.
Driving Academy lawsuits & legal history (FDD Item 3)
Driving Academy's most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2024) discloses no litigation in Item 3. That is a real signal rather than a gap: the FTC Franchise Rule requires a franchisor to disclose material litigation involving itself, its predecessors, parents, affiliates and management, so an empty Item 3 in a current filing means there was nothing it was required to report. It is worth reading alongside the churn numbers — a system can have a clean Item 3 and still be losing franchisees, which is what Item 20 shows.
Driving Academy closures & failure rate
Before you sign, Driving Academy will hand you a list of current owners to call as references — and they choose who's on that list. It won't include the owners who quit, got bought out, or were forced out last year. The FDD does report that number, even though the reference list leaves those people off. Below is what Driving Academy's most recent filing shows, and whether it's normal for a other of this kind.
The closest thing an FDD has to a failure rate is Item 20 — outlet openings, closures, terminations and non-renewals, reported by the franchisor. Driving Academy's outlet tables did not machine-read cleanly; Item 20 of the source FDD has them.
Who owns Driving Academy?
Driving Academy's franchise is offered by Driving Academy Franchising, Inc. — the franchisor named on the cover of its most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2024), and the entity a franchisee actually signs with. That name comes straight off the filing at CA DFPI; it identifies the franchisor, not necessarily the ultimate parent company behind it.
Franchises at a similar investment level at a similar investment level
Anyone weighing Driving Academy is really weighing it against the other brands their money could go into. These are the closest by total initial investment (FDD Item 7), each with its own FDD-based page.
Driving Academy franchise — frequently asked
Who owns Driving Academy — who is the franchisor?
Driving Academy's most recently filed FDD (2024) names Driving Academy Franchising, Inc. as the franchisor — the entity you would actually sign the franchise agreement with, as stated on the disclosure document itself. A registry filing names the franchisor, not necessarily its ultimate parent company.
How much does a Driving Academy franchise cost?
Driving Academy's most recently filed FDD (Item 7) puts the total estimated initial investment at $224,200 – $557,300, with an initial franchise fee of $50,000 and a 10% royalty. That price is the franchisor's own estimate of what it takes to open, not a quote. Against other peers it sits in the lower quartile (median $227,750).
How much profit does a Driving Academy franchise make?
Driving Academy discloses unit earnings in Item 19, but that figure is revenue — sales — not profit. Royalties (10% of gross for Driving Academy), the ad fund, rent, payroll and supplies all come out of it, and no FDD discloses what an owner nets. Any Driving Academy franchise profit number quoted elsewhere is an estimate. The headline figure Driving Academy discloses is $1,473,061 in average unit revenue.
Does Driving Academy disclose financial performance (Item 19)?
Yes — Driving Academy reports unit-level earnings in Item 19. The headline figure is $1,473,061 in average unit revenue, as the franchisor states it.
Are there lawsuits against Driving Academy?
No — Driving Academy's most recently filed FDD (2024) discloses no litigation in Item 3. Franchisors must disclose material litigation involving themselves, their predecessors, parents, affiliates and management, so an empty Item 3 is a genuine signal rather than an omission.
Is Driving Academy a good franchise to buy?
Nobody can answer that from Driving Academy's numbers alone — it comes down to how its investment, earnings, litigation and franchisee churn stack up against other peers and against your own budget. Our read on this filing is medium risk. Every figure behind that read is on this page for free. If you're comparing options, the free shortlist on this page matches you with 5–10 franchises that fit your budget and industry.
Get a free email when something changes on Driving Academy or other: a new FDD registration, a new lawsuit, an outlet count that shifts, or Item 19 earnings going from undisclosed to disclosed. Pulled straight from the same state registries this page is built on.