What happens if my franchise agreement doesn't say anything about transfers at all?

A franchise agreement that's genuinely silent on transfers is unusual — most are drafted with detailed transfer provisions precisely because franchisors care deeply about controlling who operates under their brand — but where it happens, you're generally left relying on the agreement's general terms and the broader relationship between franchisee and franchisor rather than a specific transfer clause to guide the process.

In practice, most franchisors will still expect to be consulted and to approve any change in who's operating the location, even without an explicit transfer clause, since the franchise relationship typically involves ongoing use of trademarks, systems, and confidential information that a franchisor has an interest in controlling regardless of what any one clause says. The Arthur Wishart Act's duty of good faith and fair dealing continues to apply to how both sides conduct themselves around a sale, even where the agreement itself is silent on the mechanics.

Because ambiguity here creates real risk for both you and your buyer, don't assume silence means you're free to sell without franchisor involvement. A Treadstone business lawyer can help assess what your agreement as a whole actually requires.