Nine states and Washington, D.C. have adopted some type of notice requirements for people who will be subject to a noncompete or are exempt from them — or in Florida’s case, for people who can be subject to enhanced noncompete covenants.
The requirements vary wildly.
Oregon was the first state to require advance notice (i.e., not permitting a noncompete to be disclosed to a worker for the first time on the first day of the job). Oregon was then followed by Massachusetts (2018), New Hampshire (2019), Maine (2019), Washington (2020), Virginia (2020), Illinois (2021), and Colorado (2022), Washington, D.C. (2022), and Florida (2025) with vary types and standards of notice requirements.
And, the notice requirements apply to other restrictive covenants as well.
As you know, back in 2021, we created a state-by-state chart of the substantive requirements and their timing to help people keep track of these requirements.
That chart has grown over the years, as for the last few years also identifies which other covenants are subject to the notice requirements. They are as follows: nonsolicitation agreements (Colorado, Illinois, possibly New Hampshire and, depending on the scope of the covenant, Washington); no-recruit agreements (Illinois); no-service agreements (possibly Colorado, and Virginia and Washington); conflict-of-interest/anti-moonlighting policies and restrictions (Maryland and Washington, D.C.); garden leave clauses (Florida). Note the footnote to the chart.
Below is a (downloadable) copy, which is updated as of today, January 21, 2026:
We will continue to keep you posted as things develop.
In the meantime, you may also want to check your agreements more generally to make sure you are complying with the noncompete laws in all states in which you have employees. Our 50-state noncompete chart (the first of its kind, created in 2010, and updated regularly since to keep track of the ever-changing noncompete laws) can serve as a starting point.
* * *
Firm resources:
We know how hard it is to keep up with the ever-changing laws and requirements around the country for how you can protect your trade secrets, customer goodwill, and the integrity of your workforce. To help, we have created the resources below (available for free). Each chart is regularly updated to reflect the latest developments.
 | 50-State Noncompete Law Chart, the first of its kind and regularly updated (downloadable PDF) (to be updated for the new exemptions in Illinois and Pennsylvania)50-State and Federal Trade Secret Law Chart, providing a comparison of the trade secrets laws nationally to the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (downloadable PDF) |
 | Chart of Noncompete “Low-Wage” Thresholds and Criteria (downloadable) |
| Notice requirements summary chart, providing details for each of the 8 states (plus D.C.) that has notice requirements related to noncompetes (downloadable PDF) |
 | “Changing Trade Secrets | Noncompete Laws” (dedicated blog page) now provides a current detailed summary of the changing landscape of trade secret laws and noncompete laws around the country, state by state and at the federal level |
 | Trade secret and other legitimate business interest protection plan strategy and checklist |
We hope you find all of these resources useful. More will be coming.
And please note, we are grateful for all of the input we’ve received over the years. We welcome any suggestions for improvements that you may be willing to share.