SBA 7(a) loan outcomes · FY2010–FY2019 cohort · Statuses as of June 30, 2026 · Last updated August 17, 2026
Checkers Franchise Failure Rate: 10.0% SBA Loan Defaults (2010–2019 Federal Data)
Source: U.S. SBA FOIA dataset, statuses as of June 30, 2026. Figures also in the comparison table below.
About 1 in 10 Checkers SBA borrowers failed to repay — in line with the Limited-Service Restaurants average of 10.3%.
Between 2010 and 2019, 30 Checkers franchisees financed with SBA 7(a) loans. 3 defaulted — a 10.0% charge-off rate, 1.0x the Limited-Service Restaurants average of 10.3%. Source: U.S. Small Business Administration FOIA dataset, loan statuses as of June 30, 2026.
What is the Checkers franchise failure rate on SBA loans?
Checkers is a Limited-Service Restaurants franchise. This page reports the outcome of every SBA 7(a) loan the U.S. Small Business Administration's public FOIA file attributes to Checkers franchisees: 30 loans approved between fiscal 2010 and 2019, of which 3 were charged off. Loan statuses are as of June 30, 2026, and the cohort has matured, so these are settled outcomes rather than projections.
- SBA 7(a) loans approved FY2010–FY201930
- Charged off3
- Charge-off rate10.0%
- Limited-Service Restaurants franchise benchmark10.3%
- Brand vs industry1.0x
- All-franchise SBA benchmark10.2%
- Average loan size, 2010s cohort$655,080
- New SBA loans since 202018
- Early charge-offs since 20200
How does Checkers compare with other Limited-Service Restaurants franchises?
The table sets Checkers's charge-off rate beside its Limited-Service Restaurants peers and the two economy-wide benchmarks. All figures use the same cohort — SBA 7(a) loans approved FY2010–FY2019, statuses as of June 30, 2026 — and the same denominator of resolved loans, so they are directly comparable.
| Measure | Checkers | Limited-Service Restaurants | All franchises | All SBA borrowers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Default (charge-off) rate | 10.0% | 10.3% | 10.2% | 8.0% |
| Loans in sample | 30 | — | — | — |
| Defaults | 3 | — | — | — |
| Average loan size | $655,080 | — | — | — |
What has Checkers SBA lending looked like since 2020?
Since 2020, Checkers franchisees have taken 18 new SBA 7(a) loans. None have charged off to date, though most remain outstanding and unresolved.
Loans approved since 2020, by fiscal year — counts only: 0 have charged off to date and most are still outstanding, so no rate is drawn.
Source: U.S. SBA FOIA dataset, statuses as of June 30, 2026.
Show the numbers behind this chart
| Fiscal year | Loans | Charged off | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2013 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2014 | 3 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2015 | 8 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2016 | 4 | 1 | 25.0% |
| FY2017 | 4 | 1 | 25.0% |
| FY2018 | 9 | 1 | 11.1% |
| FY2019 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2020 | 5 | — | outstanding |
| FY2021 | 5 | — | outstanding |
| FY2022 | 2 | — | outstanding |
| FY2023 | 1 | — | outstanding |
| FY2024 | 3 | — | outstanding |
| FY2025 | 1 | — | outstanding |
| FY2026 | 1 | — | outstanding |
How to read this
A charge-off means a franchisee borrowed, operated, and failed severely enough that the SBA wrote off the government-guaranteed loan. Unlike franchisor marketing or Item 19 disclosures, this is an observed outcome recorded by a federal agency. One caveat cuts the other way: SBA borrowers are typically less capitalized than all-cash buyers, so these rates can overstate risk for well-funded operators.
How reliable is this number?
Checkers's figure rests on 30 resolved SBA 7(a) loans approved between fiscal 2010 and 2019 — a matured cohort, so the rate is a settled outcome, not a projection. With 30 resolved loans, one default moves the rate by about 3.3 percentage points. Loans approved since 2020 are excluded from the rate because most are still outstanding; they appear on this page as counts only. Every Checkers figure is recomputed from the public SBA FOIA file on each rebuild.
Based on 30 resolved loans — directional, not precise.
Frequently asked
- What is Checkers's franchise failure rate on SBA loans?
- Between 2010 and 2019, 30 Checkers franchisees financed with SBA 7(a) loans. 3 defaulted — a 10.0% charge-off rate, 1.0x the Limited-Service Restaurants average of 10.3%. Source: U.S. Small Business Administration FOIA dataset, loan statuses as of June 30, 2026.
- Is Checkers a safe franchise investment?
- Between 2010–2019, Checkers franchisees defaulted on SBA loans at 10.0% versus a 10.3% industry average. This data is one input for due diligence; it is not investment advice.
Cite this page
Franchise Default Rates (2026). Checkers franchise SBA 7(a) default rate, FY2010–FY2019 cohort: 10.0% (3 of 30 loans charged off). Derived from U.S. SBA FOIA data, loan statuses as of June 30, 2026.
https://franchisefailurerates.com/franchise/checkers/ · Data & methodology · Download the dataset (CSV)