A franchise agreement is a document covered under the laws of the various states and is a legal and binding contract. This means that the document is valid as proof or as evidence in a State court of law. There are very many laws as regards franchising within the United States, and each of the state has its own set of laws. The two parties that participate in the signing of a franchise agreement are referred to as the franchisor and the franchisee. It is the franchisee who is supposed to make payments to the franchisor, according to the terms agreed in the franchise agreement. There is always an arbitrator who is indicated at the time of signing the agreement and within the contents of the same. The arbitrator refers to the person who is supposed to mediate in times of any disagreement that should happen to occur between the two parties as regards any terms in the agreement that they signed. The United States Federal Trade Commission is authorized under The Franchise Rule to regulate all the disclosures of information prior to franchising. Under this rule, the franchisee is supposed to be supplied with the necessary documents relating to the disclosures at least ten days before the day the franchise agreement is to be signed. The franchisee has to be supplied with a Franchise Disclosure document that is to be signed within the period. It is only after the provisional ten day period has expired that the Franchise Agreement signed between the two parties finally becomes part of the state law and can be submitted for ruling under the state rules according to which it was signed in the first place. Since the franchising laws differ from state to state, it is therefore to be expected that the contents of a Franchise Agreement are not the same for different states. Every state uniquely defines the articles contained in the agreement, within its jurisdiction. However, there are some contents of the franchise agreements that tend to be common for all the states. These contents include definition of the parties signing the agreement i.e. the franchisor and franchisee are clearly defined. The agreement must also contain all of the disclosures that are required by the state laws. A definition of all terms used in the agreement, plus an outline of the services to be offered by the franchisor along with the payments that the franchisee has to make are also outlined in the agreement.