Franch Monsters

Kumon North America, Inc. franchises Kumon Math and Reading Centers, after-school learning centers that teach math and reading with the Kumon Method, a worksheet-based program. Instead of a percentage of revenue, Kumon charges a monthly royalty for each enrolled student in each subject, at different rates for different students.

Key figures

Investment

from $101,630

Payback

not disclosed

Royalty

$38 per student per month

Initial fee

$2,000

Listing updated October 20, 2026. Investment, royalty, and initial fee are from the franchisor's Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) and may be out of date; check them with the franchisor and in its current FDD. Franch Monsters is not affiliated with Kumon; this page is not an offer to sell a franchise.

About the franchise

Item 20 of Kumon's 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD), issued March 27, 2026, counts 1,710 Kumon Centers in the USA as of December 31, 2025, listed by state and the District of Columbia: 1,705 franchised and 5 company-owned. The total was 1,659 at the end of 2023 and 1,689 at the end of 2024, while company-owned Centers fell from 28 at the start of 2023 to 5. The franchisor, Kumon North America, Inc., is a subsidiary of Kumon Institute of Education Company, Ltd., a Japanese corporation, and has offered Kumon franchises since 1994 (FDD Items 1 and 20). Item 19 of the 2026 FDD states: "We do not make any representations about a franchisee's future financial performance or the past financial performance of company-owned or franchised outlets."

Kumon Centers are after-school learning centers that teach the Kumon Math and Reading programs with Kumon's Worksheets; the FDD calls each program a Subject-Franchise. A Center must offer students at least one of three options: attending the Center twice a week, online video sessions, or a combination of both, and students complete daily assignments at home on non-Center days (FDD Item 1). Before opening, Kumon charges the initial franchise fee, a materials fee, and a pre-opening marketing payment; it also charges a monthly royalty per enrolled student and, from the seventh month after opening, a monthly New Center Marketing Fee.

Included in the franchise

The Instructor Development Program, which Kumon does not charge for, per the "Investment Costs & Fees" page on kumonfranchise.com; you pay your own transportation, lodging, and meals for any Kumon training (Franchise Agreement, Section 4.4)
For a new Center, furniture and fixtures that Kumon selects and has delivered before opening, at no cost to you; the FDD puts their cost at $10,000 if you paid for them yourself (FDD Item 7)
For a new Center, reimbursement for the fabrication, delivery, and installation of one exterior sign, whose fabrication Kumon currently estimates from $4,800; Kumon owns the sign, and you pay for its repairs and, when the franchise ends, for its removal (FDD Items 7 and 11)
For a new Center, reimbursement for the initial carpet, window blinds and shades, and paint, in an amount Kumon determines, currently capped at $5,500 (FDD Items 7 and 8)
$3,600 that Kumon contributes for digital marketing of your Center, allocated over the first 18 months after you open (or take over) the Center (FDD Item 6)
Under a first Franchise Agreement, for a new Center or a purchased operating Center that has held instruction sessions two days a week, a rent subsidy of 50% of your monthly rent for the first 12 months of the lease, at most $1,000 a month, if you agree to hold four sessions a week (FDD Item 7)
After the initial materials fee, Kumon Materials (Placement Tests, Achievement Tests, Worksheets, Record Books, and Progress Charts) at no additional charge, since the royalty covers them; you pay the shipping (FDD Items 6 and 8)
A license to Kumon's proprietary software and customer management system, a link to your Center's information on kumon.com, and an email address for your Center (FDD Item 11)

Franchisee requirements

Have at least $100,000 in liquid capital, per Kumon's franchising site, kumonfranchise.com: its home page FAQ ("you'll need at least $100,000 in liquid capital") and the Franchise Ownership FAQs page ("you'll need to have liquid capital of at least $100,000"). This amount is not in the FDD, and a minimum net worth is not published in the FDD or on Kumon's franchising site
Hold a bachelor's degree and be a U.S. citizen or a green card holder (permanent legal resident), per the Franchise Ownership FAQs page; before admission to the Instructor Development Program, pass Kumon's background check and personal interview and, if Kumon gives them, Mathematics and Reading Proficiency Tests; once invited to the program, submit fingerprints for an FBI criminal background check before attending (FDD Items 1 and 7)
Lease retail space, such as a storefront, shopping center, or mall, of at least 1,000 square feet for at least five years, where you can affix one of Kumon's exterior signs; Kumon must approve the site before you sign the Franchise Agreement, and you may sign the lease only after you sign the Franchise Agreement and Kumon's Legal Department approves the lease (FDD Items 7 and 11)
Complete the Instructor Development Program's two semesters: Kumon offers a franchise after the first semester (or, at its discretion, after the first course), and the second semester's courses begin at least three months after the Center opens; if you do not complete the second semester, the Franchise Agreement will be terminated (FDD Items 1 and 11)
As an individual franchisee, instruct the students personally and devote full time to the franchise; in a corporation or LLC, these duties fall on its Corporation Instructor, whom Kumon must approve (FDD Item 15)
Under a first Franchise Agreement, hold at least four Center sessions a week, 14 hours in total, with no session shorter than 3 hours (the current minimum, FDD Item 11)
Carry commercial general liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 in the aggregate, plus workers' compensation insurance, and keep yourself and your employees certified in SAM (sexual assault and molestation) Prevention Training while the Center operates (FDD Items 6 and 7)

Franchise agreement

The initial term of the Franchise Agreement is 5 years. A franchisee in good standing who meets Kumon's renewal requirements can renew for further 5-year terms, with no franchise fee or materials fee due on renewal. Renewal conditions include new FBI background checks and criminal history records, currently at least 50 Professional Development Credits (PDCs), a General Release, and signing the then-current form of Franchise Agreement, which may contain materially different terms (FDD Item 17; Franchise Agreement, Sections 5.1 and 5.2).

You may transfer the franchise only with Kumon's consent, and to transfer your entire Center business, you must have been a Kumon franchisee for at least two years. Before Kumon's final approval, the buyer must, among other things, complete the Instructor Development Program and pay Kumon an Initial Franchise Fee of $2,000 ($3,000 if the Center offers English as a Foreign Language, or EFL) and a $2,000 materials fee; Item 6 lists no transfer fee for you. Kumon expects that in most cases final approval will come no earlier than eight months after tentative approval, and after you sell, it may refuse to let you open a new Center for at least two years (FDD Items 6 and 17).

You may terminate the Franchise Agreement at any time with at least 270 days' advance written notice. Without that notice, you owe Kumon liquidated damages of three times your average monthly royalty in the three months before your last day of operating the Center (subject to state law); Kumon may waive them if it decides your reasons are justified. The same amount is due if you leave the business during a transfer before Kumon gives final approval to your buyer, or after it disapproves the buyer, and do not resume operating. If the agreement terminates automatically, for example when the Center stops holding class sessions without Kumon's prior written approval or you are charged with or convicted of a felony or a crime against children, the amount is based on the three months before that event. In North Dakota, the state addendum deletes the Liquidated Damages section of the Item 6 chart in its entirety, and the rider to the Franchise Agreement says parts of the provision might not be enforceable; in Minnesota, state law might prohibit requiring you to consent to liquidated damages (FDD Items 6 and 17; Franchise Agreement, Sections 14.3, 14.5, and 17.4; Exhibit G).

Frequently asked questions

Item 7 of the 2026 FDD puts the total initial investment for a new Kumon Center from $101,630. The estimate includes the $2,000 initial franchise fee, three months' rent, assistants' payroll for three months, and additional funds for the first three months after opening. It also already counts four payments Kumon makes for a new Center (see "Included in the franchise"): the furniture and fixtures; the exterior sign; the initial carpet, window blinds and shades, and paint; and three months of the rent subsidy. Without them, the FDD estimates leasehold improvements from $45,500 rather than from $40,000, three months' rent from $12,000 rather than from $9,000, and furniture, equipment, signage, and supplies from $23,800 rather than from $9,000, but it prints no total without them. Kumon does not offer direct or indirect financing or guarantee your notes, leases, or other obligations to others (FDD Items 7 and 10).

The initial franchise fee is $2,000, or $3,000 if Kumon approves your Center to offer English as a Foreign Language (EFL) as an additional subject. For a first Center, you pay a $1,000 deposit when you sign the Training Agreement for the Instructor Development Program; Kumon applies it toward the fee if you successfully complete the program and sign a Franchise Agreement, and refunds it if the Training Agreement is canceled and Kumon receives the training materials within 15 days after the notice of cancellation. The fee, less that deposit for a first Center, is due when you sign the Franchise Agreement, together with a $2,000 fee for your initial materials, such as instruction answer books, student achievement and placement tests, and promotional posters. Before opening, you also pay Kumon $2,500 for pre-opening marketing, which Kumon pays to third-party vendors on your behalf. The FDD cover page puts the total you pay Kumon from $6,500. Item 7 also lists other costs due before opening, among them the books on the Kumon Recommended Reading List, from $3,000; notebook computers and tablets, from $2,000; SAM Prevention Training, from $400; and fingerprinting for an FBI criminal background check, with a $50 fee to process the card (FDD Items 5 and 7).

Kumon charges the royalty per enrolled student in each Subject-Franchise (Math and Reading) and debits it by electronic funds transfer each month for the prior month, currently on the 17th or the next business day. Each subject starts with a Temporary License Period (TLP), when the monthly royalty is $42.75 for each full-paying student and $21.38 for each partially exempt or prorated student; after you complete that subject's TLP, the rates are $38 and $19. The TLP requirements, set in the Operations Manual, currently include cumulative enrollment of 600 or more Math students and 400 or more Reading students, 10% or more of them using Kumon Connect, Kumon's online worksheet platform. If you later fail to meet the Ongoing Training and Performance Requirements, you revert to the higher rate for at least one calendar year, and if you underreport students and Kumon does not terminate the agreement, you pay the higher rate for 3 years. A $30 Initial Enrollment Royalty Fee is also due each time a student registers, unless the student is already enrolled in another subject at your Center. Kumon can change royalty rates with at least one year's notice, with no contractual limit on the change, and you may terminate the Franchise Agreement if you are unwilling to pay an increased royalty (FDD Special Risks, Items 1 and 6).

From the seventh month after you open (or take over) the Center, you pay a New Center Marketing Fee of $300 a month, which Kumon passes to its designated supplier for a required digital advertising program. Item 6 also requires an annual advertising contribution of at least the Operations Manual minimum; currently, Kumon recommends, but does not require, at least $4,800 a year on local advertising, and the New Center Marketing Fee, which equals $3,600 a year, is required. Kumon may set up a national or regional advertising fund and redirect your required marketing spending to it. You pay shipping for Kumon Materials: currently $50 or the actual cost, whichever is less, for ground shipping of your initial monthly order, and additional or expedited orders at cost. The required Kumon Lead Management System (customer relationship management software and a telephone system) costs $50 a month plus applicable taxes, by the vendor's estimate. Kumon's liability insurance program is optional and costs $0.58 per Math student per month from July 1, 2026. The FDD's fee table also lists charges that apply only in some cases, such as late payment fees, late report fees, and a $2,000 relocation fee if fewer than 80% of your students transfer to the new location, and Kumon may raise or lower its fees at its discretion (FDD Items 6, 7, and 11).

You must hold your first Center session within six months after signing the Franchise Agreement or within six months after Kumon grants you a certificate of completion of the Instructor Development Program, whichever comes first. If you have not opened by then and Kumon decides you are not making sufficient progress, it may terminate the Franchise Agreement; if you are making sufficient progress, it may extend the deadline. Item 17 lists failure to open the Center within six months among the defaults you cannot cure. None of the initial franchise fee, the materials fee, or the pre-opening marketing payment is refundable. The FDD says franchisees usually open within six months after signing the Franchise Agreement and that the time from signing the Training Agreement to opening can range from six to ten months. If you do not open within six months of your certification in Kumon's software, you must be recertified (FDD Items 5, 11, and 17).
Updated: October 20, 2026134 views

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