SBA 7(a) loan outcomes · FY2010–FY2019 cohort · Statuses as of June 30, 2026 · Last updated August 17, 2026
Doctors Express Franchise Failure Rate: 7.9% 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 13 Doctors Express SBA borrowers failed to repay — well above the Freestanding Ambulatory Surgical and Emergency Centers average of 5.2%.
Between 2010 and 2019, 38 Doctors Express franchisees financed with SBA 7(a) loans. 3 defaulted — a 7.9% charge-off rate, 1.5x the Freestanding Ambulatory Surgical and Emergency Centers average of 5.2%. Source: U.S. Small Business Administration FOIA dataset, loan statuses as of June 30, 2026.
What is the Doctors Express franchise failure rate on SBA loans?
Doctors Express is a Freestanding Ambulatory Surgical and Emergency Centers franchise. This page reports the outcome of every SBA 7(a) loan the U.S. Small Business Administration's public FOIA file attributes to Doctors Express franchisees: 38 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–FY201938
- Charged off3
- Charge-off rate7.9%
- Freestanding Ambulatory Surgical and Emergency Centers franchise benchmark5.2%
- Brand vs industry1.5x
- All-franchise SBA benchmark10.2%
- Average loan size, 2010s cohort$674,700
How does Doctors Express compare with other Freestanding Ambulatory Surgical and Emergency Centers franchises?
The table sets Doctors Express's charge-off rate beside its Freestanding Ambulatory Surgical and Emergency Centers 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 | Doctors Express | Freestanding Ambulatory Surgical and Emergency Centers | All franchises | All SBA borrowers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Default (charge-off) rate | 7.9% | 5.2% | 10.2% | 8.0% |
| Loans in sample | 38 | — | — | — |
| Defaults | 3 | — | — | — |
| Average loan size | $674,700 | — | — | — |
Source: U.S. SBA FOIA dataset, statuses as of June 30, 2026.
Show the numbers behind this chart
| Fiscal year | Loans | Charged off | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2010 | 5 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2011 | 5 | 1 | 20.0% |
| FY2012 | 3 | 1 | 33.3% |
| FY2013 | 3 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2014 | 9 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2015 | 2 | 1 | 50.0% |
| FY2016 | 8 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2017 | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2018 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
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?
Doctors Express's figure rests on 38 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 38 resolved loans, one default moves the rate by about 2.6 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 Doctors Express figure is recomputed from the public SBA FOIA file on each rebuild.
Based on 38 resolved loans — directional, not precise.
Frequently asked
- What is Doctors Express's franchise failure rate on SBA loans?
- Between 2010 and 2019, 38 Doctors Express franchisees financed with SBA 7(a) loans. 3 defaulted — a 7.9% charge-off rate, 1.5x the Freestanding Ambulatory Surgical and Emergency Centers average of 5.2%. Source: U.S. Small Business Administration FOIA dataset, loan statuses as of June 30, 2026.
- Is Doctors Express a safe franchise investment?
- Between 2010–2019, Doctors Express franchisees defaulted on SBA loans at 7.9% versus a 5.2% industry average. This data is one input for due diligence; it is not investment advice.
Cite this page
Franchise Default Rates (2026). Doctors Express franchise SBA 7(a) default rate, FY2010–FY2019 cohort: 7.9% (3 of 38 loans charged off). Derived from U.S. SBA FOIA data, loan statuses as of June 30, 2026.
https://franchisefailurerates.com/franchise/doctors-express/ · Data & methodology · Download the dataset (CSV)