Start a American Family Care Franchise in 2025

2025 Franchise 500 Rank: #47 Ranked #71 last year

Initial investment: $956K - $1.5M

Units as of 2025: 403 41.9% over 3 years

In 1982, D. Bruce Irwin, M.D., founded American Family Care. As an alternative to emergency room visits, the urgent care franchise provides patients with non-emergency medical attention for injuries and illnesses. American Family Care strives to eliminate the need for extended travel and high admission costs in non-emergency situations. Since it began franchising in 2008, the brand has become a leading provider of urgent care in the United States.

American Family Care is a national brand. It has built a reputation as a great healthcare provider, keen on creating a kind and caring environment and upholding patient rights. As a franchisee, you may provide a vital service to your community by making care convenient and accessible at any time and location.

Why You May Want to Start an American Family Care Franchise

American Family Care aims to reduce strains in ERs and create opportunities for individual and community growth. If you're looking to switch careers or are an industry professional—nurse, doctor, or otherwise—American Family Care may be a good fit. The company is also open to franchisees who are "experienced investors." You don't necessarily need a medical degree to be a franchisee, but a passion for caring for others and business is a must.

An American Family Care franchise could be a good alternative for a franchisee whois looking to open an independent medical practice. It may also be of interest to a franchisee looking to provide quality medical care for lower-income communities. Those franchisees who wish to own their location as an absentee owner may do so, as well.

What Might Make American Family Care a Good Choice?

American Family Care stresses convenience, affordability, and quality care—both for patients and franchisees. A franchisee only needs eight employees to run a location, effectively cutting costs that may be attributed to paying employees. Franchisees also have the option to own multiple units.

Franchisees may expand their medical care revenue to cover telemedicine, occupational health, digital x-ray services, and lab testing. Some locations may also open an on-site pharmacy. Additionally, the company provides marketing, research, and development support. With help from corporate and a caring, quality team of physicians, you may create a sturdy business behind your medical practice.

How to Open an American Family Care Franchise

Before you pursue an American Family Care franchise, consider any other urgent care franchises in your area. Though it's helpful to have medical options in your market, too many could work against you. Find out the demand for urgent care or more affordable medical options in your area, as well.

Your personality should align with what American Family Care corporate is looking for, too. If you are a medical professional, you know that you need to follow strict policy and procedure. You also need to be communicative and involved. Even if you're an absentee owner, you need to be 100% invested in the business in more ways than just monetarily.

Prepare for thorough on-the-job training if the company approves you as a franchisee. American Family Care also provides additional training at master locations to guarantee that franchisees and core employees are well-equipped to meet client needs.

Company Overview

About American Family Care

Industry	Health & Wellness
Related Categories	Urgent/Primary Care Clinics, Miscellaneous Health Services
Founded	1982
Parent Company	Lorient Capital
Leadership	Jeremy Morgan, CEO
Corporate Address	3700 Cahaba Beach Rd. Birmingham, AL 35242
Social	Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

Business Overview

Franchising Since	2008 (17 years)
# of employees at HQ	146
Where seeking	This company is offering new franchises throughout the US.
# of Units	403 (as of 2025)

Information for Franchisees

Here's what you need to know if you're interested in opening a American Family Care franchise.

Financial Requirements & Ongoing Fees

Here's what you can expect to spend to start the business and what ongoing fees the franchisor charges throughout the life of the business.

Initial Franchise Fee Definition: The initial fee paid to a franchisor to join their system What you need to know: Found in Item 5 of the FDD, this may be a flat fee, or may vary based on territory size, experience, or other factors.The franchise fee is an up-front (one-time) cost that a new franchisee pays to the franchisor. This fee is usually due at the signing of the franchise agreement and covers the right to use the franchisor's trademarks, name, and related business systems.	$60,000
Initial Investment Definition: The total amount necessary to begin operation of the franchise What you need to know: The initial investment includes the franchise fee, along with other startup expenses such as real estate, equipment, supplies, business licenses, and working capital. This is outlined in a chart in Item 7 of the FDD, showing a range of possible costs from low to high.	$955,500 - $1,519,500
Net Worth Requirement Definition: The minimum net worth you must have in order to qualify to become a franchisee of this company What you need to know: Net worth is the value of a person's assets minus liabilities. Assets include cash, stocks, retirement accounts, and real estate. Liabilities include items like mortgages, car payments, and credit card debt.	$1,200,000
Cash Requirement Definition: The minimum liquid capital you must have available in order to qualify to become a franchisee of this company.	$500,000
Royalty Fee Definition: A ongoing fee paid to the franchisor on a regular basis. What you need to know: Most franchisors require franchisees to pay an ongoing royalty fee, which is detailed in Item 6 of the FDD. This fee is typically a percentage of weekly or monthly gross sales, but may also be a flat weekly, monthly, or annual fee.	6%
Ad Royalty Fee Definition: An going fee paid to the franchisor on a regular basis to support advertising or marketing efforts. What you need to know: This may also be called advertising fee, marketing fee, brand fund fee, and more, but the basic purpose is the same-- to support promotion of the brand systemwide. As with the royalty fee, it is detailed in Item 6 of the FDD, and can be a percentage of weekly or monthly gross sales or a weekly, monthly, or annual fee.	1%
Term of Agreement Definition: The length of time your franchise agreement will last. What you need to know: Franchise terms are typically anywhere from 5 to 20 years in length, but are sometimes instead dependent on factors such as the term of your lease. Once your term is up, you may have the option to renew your agreement, typically for a smaller fee than the original franchise fee.	10 years
Is franchise term renewable?	Yes

Financing Options

Some franchisors offer in-house financing, while others have relationships with third-party financing sources to which they refer qualified franchisees.

Third Party Financing	American Family Care has relationships with third-party sources which offer financing to cover the following: franchise fee, startup costs, equipment, inventory, accounts receivable, payroll

Training & Support Offered

Franchisors offer initial training programs and a variety of ongoing support options to help franchisees run their businesses.

On-The-Job Training	78 hours
Classroom Training	20.5 hours
Ongoing Support	Newsletter Meetings & Conventions Toll-Free Line Grand Opening Security & Safety Procedures Lease Negotiation Field Operations Site Selection Proprietary Software Franchisee Intranet Platform
Marketing Support	Co-op Advertising Ad Templates Regional Advertising Social Media SEO Website Development Email Marketing

Operations

Additional details about running this franchise.

Is absentee ownership allowed?	No
Can this franchise be run from home/mobile unit? Definition: The business can be run from your home and/or a vehicle, and it is not necessary to have a retail facility, office space, or warehouse.	No
Can this franchise be run part time? Definition: This business can be run by the owner on a part-time basis (less than 40 hours per week) and/or as a side business; it is not necessary for the business to be open/run full-time.	No
# of employees required to run	8
Are exclusive territories available? Definition: An exclusive territory is a fixed area in which you are given the right to operate and in which no other units of the same franchise may be opened. What you need to know: Territory size may be based on factors such as radius, population size, zip codes, and more. Details can be found in Item 12 of the FDD.	Yes