Del Taco franchise: cost, fees & unit track record
Opening a Del Taco franchise takes $813,700 – $1,900,500 all-in, per its franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05). The initial franchise fee is $46,700 – $106,000. Ongoing, franchisees pay a royalty of 5% on sales plus an ad-fund contribution of up to 4%. To qualify, Del Taco asks for $500,000 in liquid cash and a $1,000,000 net worth. Anything the filings do not state is marked "Not disclosed" below — never estimated.
Del Taco franchise costs and fees
| Verification mark | Cost item | Low | High | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise feeOne-time, paid to the franchisor at signing | $46,700 | $106,000 | $46,700 to $106,000 | |
| Initial investment (all-in)FDD Item 7-derived range: build-out, equipment, opening costs | $813,700 | $1,900,500 | $813,700 to $1,900,500 | |
| Net worth requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | |
| Liquid cash requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $500,000 | $500,000 | $500,000 | |
| Cash to open (all-in range) | $813,700 | $1,900,500 | $813,700 to $1,900,500 |
| RoyaltyOngoing, % of sales | 5% |
|---|---|
| Ad fundOngoing, % of sales | Up to 4% |
| Initial termLength of the first franchise agreement | 20 years |
See the full Del Taco cost breakdown — what's in that number and what isn't
How Del Taco's cost compares
A dollar figure means more with a yardstick. Here is where Del Taco's disclosed cost sits against the Food & Beverage category:
- Minimum startup cost of $813,700 — about 2.9× the Food & Beverage median of $282,500.
- Initial franchise fee of $46,700 — about 1.3× the Food & Beverage median of $35,000.
Category medians are computed from the Food & Beverage brands in our data that disclosed each figure — a benchmark for scale, not a quality judgment. See all Food & Beverage franchises
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How Del Taco's units have held up
Openings and closures from FDD Item 20-style unit history, 2012–2022: began the window at 245 units; 52 units opened, 56 closed, ending at 301 units. (partial records: 2017, 2018, 2019 are not in the source data — totals span the reported years only.)
What about earnings?
We don't publish per-brand earnings figures — for Del Taco or anyone else. The only primary source is Item 19 of the brand's own franchise disclosure document (FDD), and no law requires a franchisor to publish one, so the "average owner income" numbers circulating elsewhere are usually unsourced or survivorship-biased. Ask Del Taco for its current FDD and read Item 19 yourself — and if there is no Item 19, that silence is information too.
What this data can't tell you
Everything on this page comes from disclosure filings — fees, ranges, and unit counts. Four questions that matter just as much are not in any filing we can source, so we say so instead of guessing:
- The hours and the labor
- No dataset field says whether Del Taco is a manage-from-a-laptop business or a 60-hour week in disguise. Item 15 of the FDD states whether you're obligated to run the business personally, and Item 11 lists what the franchisor actually does for you — then ask current owners what their week looks like (validation calls), not the sales team.
- How hands-on the ownership really is
- "Semi-absentee" is a pitch, not a filing field. Treat any hands-off claim as unverified until it's consistent with Item 15 and with what multiple current franchisees tell you — what absentee ownership actually means.
- Your territory — whether it's protected, and whether it's open
- Two territory questions sit outside our data. Whether Del Taco grants a protected or exclusive area is set in Item 12 of the FDD and varies brand to brand — some grant none, and the carve-outs (online sales, national accounts) matter as much as the map. And filing data can't say what's open in your market this month; only Del Taco can confirm current availability. Ask both before you inquire, and get the answer in writing.
- What owners earn
- Covered honestly above: our dataset has no earnings fields, the only primary source is the brand's own Item 19, and here is how to read that evidence.
About the Del Taco franchise
Del Taco is a food & beverage franchisor with 301 units at the end of 2022 (FDD Item 20-style unit history). Between 2012 and 2022, it began the window at 245 units; its filings record 52 unit openings and 56 closures, ending at 301 units (partial records: 2017, 2018, 2019 are not in the source data — totals span the reported years only). Its parent company is Del Taco Restaurants Inc..
No franchise-related lawsuits reported in the disclosure data we hold (FDD Item 3, as of 2026-05) — an absence in our sources, not a guarantee; confirm against the brand's current FDD.
From the franchisor's materials
Del Taco first opened its doors in 1964, when Ed Hackbarth's taco stand and hamburger stand combined to serve guests quality and fresh Mexican and American favorites. Today, Del Taco is the second largest quick-service restaurant concept in the Mexican category with over 580 restaurants in 15 states. In June of 2015, Del Taco was acquired by Levy Acquisition Corp. and began being traded on the NASDAQ with the ticker symbol of TACO. This transition into a public company poises Del Taco Restaur...
Del Taco franchise: quick answers
- How much does a Del Taco franchise cost?
- $813,700 – $1,900,500 all-in to open, per Del Taco's franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05).
- How many Del Taco units are there?
- 301 units at the end of 2022 (FDD Item 20-style unit history).
- How have Del Taco's units held up?
- 92.3% of units at risk between 2020 and 2022 did not close, per our metric recomputed from FDD Item 20-style unit history (methodology published on our verification page).
- Is Del Taco SBA-eligible?
- Del Taco is flagged SBA-eligible in our dataset (as of 2026-05). Confirm current status on the SBA Franchise Directory before relying on it for financing.