Franch Monsters

Valvoline Instant Oil Change Franchise

Valvoline Instant Oil Change logo
+1 859-357-7303
Official website

Valvoline Instant Oil Change Franchising, Inc. (VIOCF) franchises Valvoline Instant Oil Change Centers: quick-lube service centers offering stay-in-your-car oil changes, chassis lubrication, routine maintenance checks, and other automotive services. VIOCF does not operate any Centers itself; the company-owned Centers counted in its Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) are run by its affiliate Valvoline LLC.

Key figures

Investment

from $192,375

Payback

not disclosed

Royalty

from 2% of Adjusted Gross Revenue

Initial fee

$30,000

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 Investment, royalty, and initial fee are from the franchisor's Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) and may be out of date; check them with the franchisor and in its current FDD.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 Valvoline Instant Oil Change; this page is not an offer to sell a franchise.

About the franchise

VIOCF's FDD, issued December 26, 2025, and amended July 16, 2026, counts Centers at the end of each fiscal year, which for VIOCF ends on September 30 (Item 20, Table No. 1). There were 1,723 Centers at the end of fiscal 2023, 1,875 at the end of fiscal 2024, and 2,039 at the end of fiscal 2025. Of these, 879, 962, and 1,063 were franchised, and 844, 913, and 976 were company-owned Centers operated by Valvoline LLC. Item 19 of the same FDD reports historical data for company-operated Centers and, from point-of-sale data, for franchised Centers for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2023, 2024, and 2025, as well as year-over-year growth in same-store net sales.

Item 7 of the FDD estimates the initial investment for a new Center. Its lower total, from $192,375, assumes that you lease the land and building and lease the signage from VIOCF or its affiliate, an option the FDD gives to qualifying franchisees; Item 10 of the FDD describes VIOCF's sign lease under "Direct Financing." Signage bought outright is estimated from $45,000, and the FDD prints no total for leased real estate with purchased signage. Both Item 7 totals, the payments due before opening, the ongoing fees, and financing are in the questions below; capital and the opening deadlines are under "Franchisee requirements."

For a newly opened Center, the monthly royalty is 2% of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) in the first year of the initial term, counted from the month the Center opens, 3% in the second year, and 6% from the third year until the end of the 15-year initial term. It is paid by electronic funds transfer on the 20th of each month, and the FDD says royalty fees are non-negotiable. AGR is Gross Revenue minus sales and similar taxes you collect, discounts given to customers or employees through coupons or promotions (including fleet discounts), and sales of your used fixtures and equipment. An existing franchisee whose Centers together had more than $1,000,000 in AGR in the prior fiscal year (October 1 to September 30) may instead pay, from the third year, a rate set by that combined AGR: 5.50% from $1,000,000, 5.25% from $1,500,000, 5.00% from $2,000,000, 4.75% from $2,500,000, 4.50% from $3,000,000, 4.25% from $4,000,000, and 4.00% from $5,000,000. Under that schedule, the 2% and 3% rates end early, from the month after a Center's trailing twelve-month AGR reaches $1,500,000 before the end of its second year, and the election is revoked from October 1 if the combined AGR for a fiscal year falls below $1,000,000. If you renew, VIOCF may have the right to charge a higher royalty percentage during the renewal term (FDD Item 6 and Exhibit A-8).

Included in the franchise

Initial training at no charge: the Real Estate & Development Orientation and Administration Training for you (or a principal of your company), Operations Training for your first Center manager with about 20 days on the job at an operating Center, opening training at your Center, and follow-up training about 3 to 6 months after opening; you pay for printed training materials, travel, lodging, meals, and wages
SuperPro training materials, which VIOCF provides through online learning platforms for your initial training, and the SuperPro System, which your Center must use (FDD Items 7 and 11)
Site selection assistance, including on-site help when VIOCF considers it necessary, and one set of VIOCF's current building plans at no charge for your first Center, which your architect or engineer adapts to your site
Valvoline motor oils, lubricants, filters, and related products at the same base price that company-operated Centers pay, when you buy them from VIOCF or its affiliate Valvoline LLC

Franchisee requirements

Minimum net worth and liquid capital are not published in the FDD or on Valvoline Instant Oil Change's franchising site (all five pages of viocfranchise.com, checked October 20, 2026). Item 7 of the FDD includes additional funds from $50,000 for the first three months of operation, which it describes as the minimum capital VIOCF recommends for that period; for the total initial investment, see "How much does it cost to open a Valvoline Instant Oil Change Center?" below
A site VIOCF approves, with approximately 15,000 square feet of land at minimum and improvements built or remodeled to VIOCF's specifications. If you have no approved site when you sign the License Agreement, you must submit one for approval within 1 year, and the Center must open within 2 years of signing; the FDD gives 180 to 650 days as the typical time from signing to opening. If you miss the site or opening deadline, VIOCF may terminate the License Agreement, and all License Fees are non-refundable (FDD Items 5, 7, and 11)
Buy at least 95% of the motor oils, greases, and other lubricants; oil, air, and cabin air filters; and automotive performance chemicals sold or used at the Center from VIOCF, its affiliate, or a supplier VIOCF designates (FDD Item 8)
Participate in the national fleet customer program and honor its pricing and discounts: fleet customers pay VIOCF, and VIOCF pays you for the products and services you provide to them at the program's prices, but it may offset any amounts you owe VIOCF or its affiliates against those payments; VIOCF may also charge a fee to recapture the program's administrative expenses (FDD Item 6)
Your first Center manager must complete VIOCF's manager training program, including SuperPro training, and directly supervise the Center's operation; VIOCF recommends that you take part personally in running your first Center (FDD Item 15)
Your spouse must sign a document that makes your spouse liable for all financial obligations under the License Agreement, even without an ownership interest in the franchise; officers, directors, partners, holders of 5% or more of your business entity, and certain people related to you may be required to personally guarantee the performance of the business (FDD Special Risks and Item 15)

Franchise agreement

The initial term of the License Agreement is 15 years. If you meet VIOCF's conditions, you may renew for two consecutive 5-year terms, one 10-year term, or one 15-year term. You must give written notice 12 to 18 months before the term ends, be in compliance with the agreement, sign a release of claims and the then-current license agreement, whose terms may be materially different, and pay a renewal fee of $2,500 for a 5-year term or $5,000 for a 10- or 15-year term (FDD Items 6 and 17).

A transfer requires a transfer fee of $30,000 for your first Center if transferred to a new franchisee, $5,000 if transferred to an existing franchisee, and $2,500 for each additional Center transferred in the same transaction; the fee is waived for certain transfers, including qualifying transfers within an existing ownership group or to certain qualified family members. During the term, at VIOCF's request and at your expense, you must update your Center to match the image of new Centers, but you will not have to spend more than the greater of $50,000 or 2% of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) per Center over the previous five years, unless the changes are required by law, are needed to adopt new products, services, or methods, or are made on renewal (FDD Item 6).

Frequently asked questions

Item 7 of the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) puts the total estimated initial investment for a new Center from $192,375 if you lease the land, building, and signage, and from $1,773,750 if you buy the land, build the Center, and buy the signage. Each total covers the $30,000 License Fee, the land and building (three months of rent in the lower total), the signage (three months of lease payments in the lower total), grand opening advertising, training expenses, security deposits, insurance, start-up supplies, the initial inventory of Valvoline products, equipment, the point-of-sale system, and additional funds for the first three months. Item 7 does not estimate the cost of buying an existing service center, which the FDD says can vary substantially (FDD Item 7).

The FDD calls the initial franchise fee a License Fee. It is $30,000 for your first Center, whether you build it new or convert an existing non-Valvoline facility; half is paid when you sign the License Agreement, and the other half on the date your first royalty payment to VIOCF is due after the Center opens. For a second Center it is $20,000 if newly built or $5,000 if you convert a qualifying independent quick-lube facility that is already operating; for a third Center it is $5,000. Under a Development Agreement for at least three Centers, you also pay a development fee of $5,000 per Center when you sign it, and the License Fee is from $2,500 per Center. If you buy a Center from an existing franchisee, the License Fee is $5,000 for the first Center and $2,500 for each additional Center bought from the same franchisee. The License Fee and the development fee are non-refundable (FDD Item 5).

Besides the first half of the License Fee, which is due when you sign the License Agreement (see the previous question), you must buy a point-of-sale system for each Center from VIOCF, its affiliate, or a vendor VIOCF designates; the FDD estimates it from $15,000, including installation, and the non-refundable fee must be paid before the Center opens. Before opening, you also buy your initial inventory of Valvoline products from VIOCF, its affiliate, or a supplier VIOCF designates, estimated from $28,750. Item 7 also lists security deposits for utilities and the landlord, from $500, and training costs for transportation, food, lodging, and wages, from $5,000, as due before opening. For the opening itself, you must spend at least $7,500 on grand opening advertising, which Item 7 lists as due at opening; this spending does not count toward the local advertising requirement of 3% of Adjusted Gross Revenue (FDD Items 5, 7, and 11).

Besides the royalty, which for a new Center is 2% of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) in the first year, 3% in the second, and 6% from the third (see "About the franchise" above for the schedule for existing franchisees), each Center contributes to VIOCF's General System Fund, which the FDD sets at "up to 2% of AGR," paid monthly on the 20th until the Center's annual cap is reached. For VIOCF's 2026 fiscal year, which ended September 30, 2026, the cap was estimated at $7,344 and could not exceed $7,500; VIOCF sets the cap at the start of each fiscal year and may waive or prorate the contribution in your first partial year of operation. Under the July 16, 2026, amendment to the FDD, National Advertising Fund contributions begin in January 2027 and are included within the same 2% of AGR cap; the fund may require 0.25% of each Center's trailing twelve-month AGR in VIOCF's 2027 fiscal year, Item 11 anticipates increasing the contribution "up to 1% of AGR over the first five (5) years of the fund," and VIOCF determines the amount. From that fiscal year, which began October 1, 2026, VIOCF may also administer a separate Technology Fund, taking over some costs now covered by the General System Fund; the FDD states no amount. You must also spend at least 3% of AGR each calendar year on local advertising whose content and media VIOCF approves; VIOCF may require you to contribute that amount to an advertising fund or cooperative (FDD Items 6 and 11).

VIOCF does not finance the License Fee or the development fee. Item 10 of the FDD describes three arrangements. First, VIOCF may lease the Center's signage to you with no interest charged; the FDD estimates the payment from $375 a month over a 120-month lease, and your business owners may be required to personally guarantee the lease. Second, under a program with Bank of America, a qualified borrower may finance expenses related to equipment, business value, real estate, and real estate construction; VIOCF guarantees Growth Loans, which the bank makes to some borrowers who do not meet its standard credit underwriting requirements, and receives a fee from the bank on them. Loan terms do not exceed five years, the variable interest rate was 8.25% as of September 29, 2025, and a term loan carries a processing fee of 0.50% of its principal. Third, under the Bounty incentive, a qualifying new ground-up Center may receive an incentive payment of no less than $10.00 for each oil change in VIOCF's projection for the Center, under a promissory note with the same term as the License Agreement (currently 15 years), repayable only if you default; at least 24 months after opening, VIOCF compares actual oil changes with the projection, and any overpayment or underpayment is settled within 30 days. Item 10 also describes Bounty payments for acquired oil change facilities and for 15-year renewals (FDD Items 6 and 10).
Updated: October 20, 2026116 views

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