Minnesota Franchise Registrations Scraper

Minnesota Franchise Registrations Scraper

Scrape franchise registration filings from Minnesota's CARDS system, including FDDs, orders, and amendments. Every record comes with the franchisor name, brand, document type, filing date, and direct PDF links. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

Minnesota's CARDS system is the only public source for franchise registration documents filed in the state, but its web interface makes bulk research slow. This actor reads the public filings directly, letting you filter by franchisor, brand, document type, year, or file number, and returns each match in one fixed schema. No manual searches or PDF downloads required.

Who uses it	What they scrape Minnesota CARDS Franchise Registry for
Franchise attorneys	Monitor regulatory filings and orders for specific franchisors across Minnesota.
Franchise brokers	Build lead lists of franchisors actively registering or renewing in the state.
Competitive intelligence analysts	Track which franchise brands are expanding into Minnesota and their filing history.
Franchise consultants	Research Franchise Disclosure Document filings and amendments for due diligence.

What it does

This Actor collects franchise registration filings from the Minnesota CARDS public portal and returns each one as a flat row with franchisor details, document metadata, and PDF links.

• 📋 Document type filter: Narrow results to Clean FDDs, Final FDDs, orders, amendments, bonds, and 40+ other document categories.
• 🏢 Franchisor and brand search: Filter by franchisor legal name or franchise brand name with partial matching.
• 📅 Year and file number filters: Target specific filing years or individual Minnesota file numbers.
• 🔗 Direct PDF links: Every record includes the document URL so you can download the original filing.

Results export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML, or straight from the API.

What you can do with Minnesota CARDS Franchise Registry data

📈 Monitor franchise registration activity.

A franchise attorney runs the actor weekly with a year filter set to the current year to catch new orders, amendments, and renewals for their client franchisors.

🔍 Research a franchisor's filing history.

A due diligence analyst enters a franchisor name to pull every registration document, amendment, and deficiency notice filed in Minnesota for that entity.

📊 Build a lead list of active franchisors.

A franchise broker filters for Clean FDD and Final FDD filings from the past two years to identify franchisors actively selling in Minnesota.

📁 Download FDDs in bulk.

A consultant sets the document type to Clean FDD and Final FDD, collects all matching records, and uses the PDF links to download the full disclosure documents.

Why choose this scraper

	What you get
Franchisor name	Legal entity name as filed with the state
Franchise brand	The consumer-facing brand or trade name
Document type	Clean FDD, Final FDD, order, amendment, bond, and more
Filing date	When the document was filed with the state
PDF link	Direct URL to the original filing document

How it compares

This actor focuses on collecting the full filing metadata and PDF links from Minnesota CARDS, while the FDD Item 19 Parser specializes in extracting financial performance data from the PDFs themselves.

Feature	ParseForge	FDD Item 19 Parser - Franchise AUV & Financial Performance
Full CARDS filing metadata	Yes	Not listed
Filter by 40+ document types	Yes	Not listed
Franchisor and brand name search	Yes	Not listed
Extracts Item 19 financial data from PDFs	Not listed	Yes
Direct PDF download links	Yes	Not listed

Configure the run

Drive the Actor with optional filters for document type, franchisor name, franchise brand, year, file number, document ID, or keyword search, and filters run as each record is read so only matches reach your dataset. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

{
 "maxItems": 10,
 "year": "2025"
}

A larger pull:

{
 "maxItems": 200,
 "year": "2025"
}

Pricing

Pay-per-result: $0.01599 per result collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

Results collected	Approximate cost
100 results	$1.60
1,000 results	$15.99
10,000 results	$159.90

New Apify accounts start with $5 in free credit.

Free users

Free-plan runs return up to 10 results as a preview. Upgrade your Apify plan to collect up to 1,000,000 results per run.

Run it

1. Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit.
2. Open the Minnesota Franchise Registrations Scraper.
3. Set your inputs and any filters, then click Start.
4. Export the results as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML from the Dataset tab.

Run it programmatically through the Apify API (run-sync-get-dataset-items) or the ApifyClient for JavaScript and Python.

Use with AI agents (MCP)

Give an AI agent live access to Minnesota CARDS Franchise Registry through the Model Context Protocol. Add the Actor to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client:

claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=parseforge/mn-franchise-registrations-scraper"

Then prompt it in plain language to run the scraper and read back the results.

Troubleshooting

Why am I getting no results?

Check that your filters are not too restrictive. Try removing the document type, year, or name filters one at a time. Also verify the franchisor or brand name spelling, as the CARDS system uses legal names that may differ from consumer-facing brands.

The actor returns fewer records than my maxItems setting.

This is expected when there are fewer matching filings in the CARDS system than your requested maximum. The actor collects all available matches and stops. Try broadening your filters to capture more records.

The PDF link does not open.

CARDS PDF links are direct URLs to the state's document server. If a link fails, the document may have been removed or the server may be temporarily unavailable. Try the link again later or search for the filing manually on the CARDS portal.

My franchisor name search returns unexpected results.

The franchisor filter uses partial matching, so a short name like 'Pizza' will match any franchisor containing that string. Use a more specific name or combine it with the brand name filter to narrow results.

The run times out before collecting all records.

Increase the actor's timeout setting in your Apify run configuration, or reduce the maxItems value and run multiple smaller batches with different filters.

FAQ

Question	Answer
What is the Minnesota CARDS system?	CARDS (Commerce Automated Registration and Document System) is the Minnesota Department of Commerce's online portal for franchise registration filings, orders, and related documents. It is the official public record for franchise activity in the state.
What document types can I filter by?	The actor supports over 40 document types including Clean FDD, Final FDD, orders of registration, amendments, bonds, deficiency notices, and withdrawal orders. Leave the filter blank to retrieve all types.
Can I search by franchise brand name?	Yes. The franchise brand name filter accepts partial matches, so entering 'Anytime' will return filings for Anytime Fitness and any other brand containing that word.
Does this actor download the PDF documents?	No. Each record includes a direct URL to the PDF filing on the CARDS system. You can use the link to download documents separately or feed them into another actor for parsing.
How many records can I collect per run?	You can set the maximum from 1 up to 1,000,000 records per run. The actor stops when it reaches your limit or exhausts the matching filings.
What is the difference between Clean FDD and Final FDD?	A Clean FDD is the final, unmarked Franchise Disclosure Document. A Final FDD may include the state's approval markings. Both contain the full franchise disclosure.
Can I filter by a specific filing year?	Yes. The year filter accepts a four-digit year like '2024' or '2025' and returns only filings from that calendar year.
Does this cover other states?	No. This actor scrapes only Minnesota's CARDS system. For other states, you would need a separate scraper or a multi-state franchise registration actor.
Is this an official API?	No. This actor reads the public-facing CARDS web portal. It does not require an API key, registration, or any relationship with the Minnesota Department of Commerce.
What export formats are supported?	You can export your dataset to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML from the Apify platform after the run completes.

Related actors

Browse the full ParseForge collection for more scrapers.

🆘 Need help? Email parseforge@protonmail.com with your run ID, your input, and what you expected.

⚠️ Disclaimer. This Actor is unofficial and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Minnesota Secretary of State. It collects only publicly available data. You are responsible for using the collected data in compliance with the source's terms of service and applicable data-protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA, and PIPL. Do not use it to collect personal data unlawfully.