Skip to content
Oakclause

Non-Compete Laws in Louisiana

Louisiana voids non-competes except where the statute allows them: an employee may agree not to compete within specified parishes or municipalities for up to two years after the job ends.

Last checked . General information, not legal advice.

Louisiana at a glance

Status
Restricted: listed parishes, up to 2 years
The agreement must name the parishes or municipalities and can last no more than two years after employment ends.
Enforceable against employees
Only within statutory limits
Salary threshold
No salary threshold
R.S. 23:921 sets no salary minimum.
Advance notice required
No
R.S. 23:921 contains no advance notice requirement.

Sources

Last checked

The rules in Louisiana

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

Status in Louisiana: Restricted: listed parishes, up to 2 years. The agreement must name the parishes or municipalities and can last no more than two years after employment ends.

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

Only within statutory limits. Enforceable against employees in Louisiana: only within statutory limits.

Is there a minimum salary for a non-compete to be enforceable in Louisiana?

Salary threshold in Louisiana: No salary threshold. R.S. 23:921 sets no salary minimum.

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

No. Advance notice required in Louisiana: no. R.S. 23:921 contains no advance notice requirement.

Where do the Louisiana non-compete laws come from?

The rules above come from La. R.S. 23:921. Each source is linked on this page. We last checked them in October 2026.

Good to know

Subsections M and N limit physician non-competes: for a primary care physician no more than three years from the initial contract (five years for other physicians), with no non-compete in later contracts. The section was last amended by Acts 2024, No. 273, effective January 1, 2025.

Contracts restraining a licensed automobile salesman from selling automobiles are barred.

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.