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Non-Compete Laws in Georgia

Georgia allows reasonable post-employment non-competes only for employees in sales, management, key or professional roles, and courts may narrow an overbroad covenant.

Last checked . General information, not legal advice.

Georgia at a glance

Status
Restricted by role (statute)
O.C.G.A. 13-8-53 bars post-employment non-competes for employees outside the listed sales, management, key and professional roles.
Enforceable against employees
Only for certain roles
Must be reasonable in time, geographic area and scope of prohibited activities.
Advance notice required
No
O.C.G.A. 13-8-53 contains no advance notice rule.

Sources

Last checked

The rules in Georgia

Are employee non-compete agreements banned, restricted or enforceable in Georgia?

Status in Georgia: Restricted by role (statute). O.C.G.A. 13-8-53 bars post-employment non-competes for employees outside the listed sales, management, key and professional roles.

Can an employer enforce a non-compete against an employee in Georgia?

Only for certain roles. Enforceable against employees in Georgia: only for certain roles. Must be reasonable in time, geographic area and scope of prohibited activities.

Does Georgia require employers to give advance notice of a non-compete?

No. Advance notice required in Georgia: no. O.C.G.A. 13-8-53 contains no advance notice rule.

Where do the Georgia non-compete laws come from?

The rules above come from O.C.G.A. 13-8-53. Each source is linked on this page. We last checked them in October 2026.

What this means in practice

Read the restriction closely before signing. Note how long it lasts, the area it covers, which activities it bars and which state's law the contract says applies. A choice-of-law clause does not always control, because some states refuse to apply another state's law to their own residents or workers.

Salary thresholds are often adjusted every year for inflation. If a state uses a threshold, check the figure for the year the agreement was signed or is being enforced, and how the statute defines earnings.

A non-compete is different from a non-solicitation or confidentiality agreement. Many states that limit non-competes still allow narrower clauses that protect trade secrets or customer lists. An employment lawyer can explain how the rules apply to a specific agreement.

General information, not legal advice. Laws change, and cities can add their own rules, so check the current statute before you rely on it.