A business opportunity is the sale or lease of any products, equipment, supplies or services for the purpose of enabling the purchaser to start a business.

The seller must also represent one of the following four things:

• That the seller will provide locations or assist the purchaser in finding locations for the use or operation of vending machines, racks, display cases or other similar devices or currency-operated amusement machines or devices, on premises neither owned nor leased by the purchaser or seller; or
• That the seller may, in the ordinary course of business, purchase any or all products made, produced, fabricated, grown, bred or modified by the purchaser using in whole or in part the supplies, services or chattels sold to the purchaser; or
• The seller guarantees that the purchaser will derive income from the bus-op which exceeds the price paid for the bus-op; or that the seller will refund all or part of the price paid for the bus-op, or repurchase any of the products, equipment, supplies or chattels supplied by the seller, if the purchaser is unsatisfied with the bus-op and pays to the seller an initial, required consideration which exceeds two hundred dollars ($200); or
• That the seller will provide a sales program or marketing program which will enable the purchaser to derive income from the bus-op which exceeds the price paid for the bus-op.(This does not apply to the sale of a marketing program made in conjunction with the licensing of a federally registered trademark or a federally registered service mark, or when the purchaser pays less than $200.)

Note that a bus-op is not the sale of an on-going business when the owner of the business sells and intends to sell only that one

Documents that must be filed under this Act with the Secretary of State include:

• 1 copy of a surety bond or formal notification of the establishment of a trust account if required.
• The bond or trust notification should be reviewed to determine compliance with G.S. § 66-96
• Must be filed contemporaneously with the disclosure statement
• 2 copies of the disclosure statement or appropriate alternative document.
• These documents should be reviewed to determine that all the information required by G.S. § 66-95 is contained within them, including the required coversheet. (Information provided on the link to the statute.)
• An irrevocable consent to service of process appointing the Secretary of State attorney for the acceptance of lawful process.(Provided under the FORMS link.)
• The $250.00 annual filing fee.This check or money order should be made payable to the NC Secretary of State.