How Much Does It Cost to Buy a FedEx Route?

There's no price list for FedEx routes: the price of a route business is set between the buyer and the seller, and nobody publishes an average. What you can plan for is the cash the deal needs from you. With an SBA 7(a) loan, that starts with a down payment of at least 10% of the total project cost, which includes more than the price. On top of it come working capital to carry the operation until FedEx's weekly payments catch up, the trucks, insurance in force from the day the agreement is signed, and the costs of closing. Each piece is below, with where it comes from.

Why nobody can tell you the price

• FedEx doesn't sell routes. Its contracting FAQ says FedEx "does not facilitate the sale or purchase of an existing service provider's business." You buy from the current contractor, and FedEx has to consent to the assignment.
• Every operation is paid on its own agreement. FedEx pays each contractor an agreed-upon amount based on its stops and packages, at the charges negotiated in that contractor's agreement. Two operations with the same number of routes can earn very different amounts, so the price of one says little about another.
• The figures online come from brokers and sellers. We know of no independent, published average price. What a specific operation is worth rests on its verified cash flow, how long its agreement runs and the condition of its trucks. See how much a route business is worth.

What FedEx expects a buyer to bring

FedEx's contracting site says the ideal candidate has "the financial capability to invest at least $100,000" and the ability to own or long-term lease a fleet of vehicles. That's FedEx's bar for a candidate, not the price of a route. FedEx also contracts only with for-profit corporations, not LLCs, so the corporation is the business that buys the operation and takes any loan.

The cash a route purchase needs, step by step

1. Set up the corporation. FedEx's FAQ says it contracts with businesses "established as for-profit corporations" that are registered and in good standing where they are incorporated. Forming and registering one, with an attorney and an accountant, is the first cost of the deal.
2. The down payment. For an SBA 7(a) loan, SBA's SOP 50 10 sets the rules. Version 8.1 applies to applications issued an SBA loan number on or after October 1, 2026. When you buy a business you don't already own, the minimum equity injection is 10% of the total project cost, which SBA defines as "all costs required to become operational," however they are paid for, except lines of credit. So the working capital and closing costs below count in it, not only the price.
   • A seller note counts toward the 10% only on full standby: no principal or interest paid for the whole term of the SBA loan.
   • Standby debt, seller debt and minority investors can cover at most half of the required injection, combined.
   • If the price is more than the lender's business valuation supports, SBA says the difference must be made up by equity.
   More in SBA loans for FedEx routes.
3. Working capital while FedEx's pay catches up. FedEx's FAQ says payments are made weekly. In the ISP Agreement filed publicly with the SEC (version 2024.06.01), FedEx pays each Saturday-to-Friday week "on a weekly basis, in arrears," no later than seven days after that Friday. So from the first morning you run, it can be up to two weeks before the first settlement lands, and every week after that is still paid after it's worked. Payroll, fuel and maintenance for every service day in those weeks, five, six or seven a week depending on your terminal, come out of your cash first. The same agreement puts the costs of running the trucks on the contractor: maintenance, fuel, tires, repairs, licenses, permits and registration fees. Settle in the purchase agreement who receives the settlements for weeks worked before closing, because FedEx pays them after it. See how FedEx contractors get paid.
4. Anything the seller's agreement owes FedEx at assignment. In the same filed agreement, two amounts can come due when an agreement is assigned before it expires. One is the share of any one-time "Advance Contract Service Charge" for the weeks left on the term, and FedEx can make its consent to the assignment conditional on that repayment. The other is any remaining "Cost Contribution Amount," a contribution toward FedEx's public liability costs that FedEx can charge back on assignment. Both fall on the contractor that holds the agreement, so ask whether either applies and put who pays it in the purchase agreement.
5. Trucks. FedEx doesn't supply them. Its FAQ says "FedEx does not lease vehicles to service providers," and its contracting site says a service provider "is responsible for acquiring its vehicles." Whether the seller's trucks come with the business, how much of the price is allocated to them, and whether any leases can move to you are deal terms. If trucks are retitled to your corporation, your state may charge tax when you title them. In Missouri, for example, the Department of Revenue charges state sales tax of 4.225% plus local sales tax on the purchase price, due when you title them, within 30 days of the purchase. That's Missouri's rule only. See FedEx routes for sale in Missouri, and ask your accountant about your own state.
6. Insurance, in force from the day you sign. FedEx's FAQ says "it is a service provider's responsibility to obtain insurance coverage." In the filed agreement, Schedule L says the contractor's coverage must be in force from the date the agreement is signed, and sets these minimums:
   • Non-trucking public liability, for the trucks while they aren't being used for FedEx service: at least $1,000,000 per occurrence, with FedEx named as an additional insured.
   • Workers' compensation: statutory coverage for the contractor and all of its personnel.
   • Employment practices liability: at least $1,000,000 per policy, including at least $10,000 of wage and hour defense cost coverage.
   • Supplemental rental insurance, if you use rented trucks: at least $1,000,000 per occurrence.
   The liability and rental policies need an insurer rated B+ or better by A.M. Best, workers' comp can also come from a state-owned or licensed insurer, and FedEx gets certificates. FedEx carries no insurance on your trucks themselves, so physical damage coverage is yours to decide. Get quotes before you make an offer, and read Schedule L of the agreement you would take over: that one counts, not this summary.
7. Due diligence and closing. Plan for each of these, priced from your own quotes:
   • An attorney for the purchase agreement and the closing, and an accountant for the structure and the taxes.
   • The lender's business valuation. Under SOP 50 10 8.1 it comes from an accredited appraiser and is prepared for the lender, though the lender may value the business itself when the purchase price is $350,000 or less and buyer and seller aren't closely related.
   • A quality of earnings report, which SBA requires on top of the valuation when the purchase price is $3 million or more. The SOP lets the cost of these reports, the valuation included, be passed on to you, and what you spend on them can count toward the down payment.
   • SBA's upfront guaranty fee. The lender pays it, and SBA's program terms say lenders "are permitted to pass the cost of the fee on to the borrower."
   • The lender's own fees, title and registration on any trucks, and setting up payroll before the first week.
   The due diligence checklist covers what to check, as distinct from what it costs.

This is general information as of October 2026, not legal or tax advice. SBA's rules change, and your lender, attorney and accountant decide how they apply to your deal.

A worked example

These are made-up numbers, chosen to show how the cash pieces work. They are an example, not typical figures for any operation, and they leave out the price on purpose.

• Weekly costs to run the operation, every service day: $20,000
• Working capital to carry two weeks before the first settlement lands: $40,000
• What that working capital adds to the SBA 10% minimum, if it isn't on a line of credit: $4,000
• Missouri state sales tax on $150,000 of the price allocated to the trucks, at 4.225%: $6,337.50, plus local sales tax, due within 30 days of the purchase
• Insurance, attorney, accountant, valuation and lender fees: from your own quotes

None of these is the price, and all of them have to be ready at closing or within weeks of it. A buyer who budgeted only the down payment on the price would find the gap in the first two weeks.

Common questions

How much money do I need to buy a FedEx route?

FedEx says the ideal candidate can invest at least $100,000. With an SBA 7(a) loan, plan on at least 10% of the total project cost, at least half of it from your own funds, plus the working capital, trucks, insurance and closing costs above. The price itself is set between you and the seller.

Can I buy a FedEx route with no money down?

Not with an SBA 7(a) loan, if you don't already own the business. SOP 50 10 8.1 says the 10% for that kind of purchase "cannot be reduced or eliminated," and a standby seller note can cover at most half of it.

Is it different if I already run FedEx routes?

It can be. SOP 50 10 8.1 treats an existing business with at least two full fiscal years under its current owners, buying a business in the same industry group, as a business expansion. The minimum is still 10%, but the lender may reduce or eliminate it if the business has enough liquidity and working capital to keep operating after the purchase. Ask your lender which category your deal falls in.

What comes due to FedEx when a route changes hands?

In the 2024 ISP Agreement filed with the SEC, the contractor repays the share of any advance contract service charge for the weeks left on the term, and FedEx can charge back any remaining cost contribution amount. Read the agreement you would take over for the terms that apply to it, and see how to buy a FedEx Ground route for FedEx's consent.

Do I have to buy the trucks with the routes?

Whether the seller's trucks come with the business is between you and the seller. Either way you need them on day one: FedEx wants a candidate who can own or long-term lease a fleet, and it doesn't lease trucks to contractors.

Can an SBA loan cover the working capital?

Yes. SOP 50 10 8.1 says a loan for a change of ownership may include funds for working capital, and a line of credit can sit alongside it. Working capital in the term loan counts in the project cost, so it raises the 10% too.

How much does a FedEx route cost in my state?

We know of no published figure for any state. What does change by state is the tax on the deal, such as sales tax on retitled trucks and, in Missouri, the seller's tax clearance. See FedEx routes for sale in Missouri.

Seeing the numbers before you pay for them

Route Impact exists to make FedEx Ground operations more profitable. Your AI staff finds the profit in the contract you sign, the routes you run, the drivers you pay and the trucks you keep, and for a buyer that work starts before closing. Routes listed at routeimpact.ai/listings show revenue, stops and packages read from the seller's own FedEx settlement statements, not typed in, and label anything from the seller's books as the seller's, with full financials behind an NDA and no cut of the sale. If the operation has a MESO offer open, your AI contract analyst models each offer for $199, one time: every charge type, across volume scenarios from 30% below FedEx's projection to 30% above, plus the fleet each offer's volume needs and an estimate of what it costs. We're operators too, and the margins are too tight to run this business the old way.