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Non-Compete Laws in Tennessee

Tennessee courts enforce a reasonable employee non-compete, but for agreements made, renewed or amended on or after July 1, 2026, an employer may not require or enforce one against an employee whose annualized pay is less than $70,000.

Last checked . General information, not legal advice.

Tennessee at a glance

Status
Enforceable if reasonable; $70,000 pay floor
Since July 1, 2026, a restraint of two years or less is presumed reasonable for employees, and courts may modify an overbroad covenant.
Enforceable against employees
Only with conditions
Must be reasonable, and void for employees paid less than $70,000 a year (agreements from July 1, 2026).
Salary threshold
$70,000 or more
Annualized pay including wages, salary, commissions and nondiscretionary bonuses; hourly rate times 40 times 52 for hourly workers.

Sources

Last checked

The rules in Tennessee

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

Status in Tennessee: Enforceable if reasonable; $70,000 pay floor. Since July 1, 2026, a restraint of two years or less is presumed reasonable for employees, and courts may modify an overbroad covenant.

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

Only with conditions. Enforceable against employees in Tennessee: only with conditions. Must be reasonable, and void for employees paid less than $70,000 a year (agreements from July 1, 2026).

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

Salary threshold in Tennessee: $70,000 or more. Annualized pay including wages, salary, commissions and nondiscretionary bonuses; hourly rate times 40 times 52 for hourly workers.

Where do the Tennessee non-compete laws come from?

The rules above come from Tenn. Code 50-1-210, Tenn. Code 50-1-211 and Hasty v. Rent-A-Driver, Inc., 671 S.W.2d 471 (Tenn. 1984). Each source is linked on this page. We last checked them in October 2026.

Good to know

Public Chapter 934 (2026), effective July 1, 2026, added Tenn. Code 50-1-210 and 50-1-211. Confidentiality and customer or employee non-solicitation agreements are not affected by the time presumptions.

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.