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Non-Compete Laws in Iowa

Iowa courts enforce employee non-competes that are reasonably necessary to protect the employer's business, not unreasonably restrictive of the employee and not against the public interest.

Last checked . General information, not legal advice.

Iowa at a glance

Status
Enforceable if reasonable (case law)
Enforceable against employees
Yes, if reasonable

Sources

Last checked

The rules in Iowa

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

Status in Iowa: Enforceable if reasonable (case law).

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

Yes, if reasonable. Enforceable against employees in Iowa: yes, if reasonable.

Where do the Iowa non-compete laws come from?

The rules above come from Iowa Glass Depot, Inc. v. Jindrich, 338 N.W.2d 376 (Iowa 1983). 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.