Guide
Gas Station Due Diligence Checklist
Gas station due diligence covers six areas: financial verification, fuel supply agreements, environmental condition, real estate or lease review, licenses and compliance, and operations. Missing any one of them can turn a good deal into an expensive mistake.
Financial due diligence
Never rely on a seller's summary sheet. Request source documents and reconcile them against each other.
- 3 years of P&L statements and tax returns
- 12+ months of bank statements reconciled to reported sales
- POS reports showing inside sales by category
- Fuel supplier statements verifying gallonage
- Lottery commission and ATM income reports
- Payroll records to normalize labor costs
Fuel supply agreement
The supply agreement can be worth — or cost — hundreds of thousands of dollars over its life.
- Remaining term, renewal, and termination provisions
- Margin structure: dealer tank wagon vs. rack-plus
- Minimum volume commitments and shortfall penalties
- Unamortized image/incentive money and clawbacks
- Assignment and change-of-control consent requirements
Environmental review
Underground storage tanks are the defining risk of fuel-retail real estate. Environmental issues can block financing entirely.
- Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (Phase II if flagged)
- Tank and line tightness test results
- UST registration and state fund participation status
- Historical release reports and remediation records
- Age and construction of tanks and piping
Real estate or lease review
For owned real estate: title, survey, zoning conformity, and property condition. For leased sites: term with options, rent escalations, maintenance responsibility, and assignment provisions — the lease determines whether the cash flow is durable.
Licenses and compliance
License transfers can take months and are often the long pole in closing timelines.
- Lottery, tobacco, and alcohol license status and transferability
- Food service permits if applicable
- Weights & measures and dispenser compliance
- ADA and local code compliance
Operations review
Spend time on-site at different hours. Watch traffic patterns, count customers, review staffing schedules, and assess equipment age — dispensers, canopy, HVAC, coolers, and POS systems all carry real replacement costs.
Reviewed by the Station Brokers team — fuel-retail transaction specialists. This guide is general information, not legal, tax, or investment advice.