Louisiana Non-Compete Laws (2026): Are Non-Competes Enforceable?

Louisiana starts from the opposite end of most states: non-competes are void unless a statute allows them. La. R.S. 23:921 makes any agreement restraining a person from exercising a lawful profession, trade or business null and void, then lists exceptions. An employee non-compete is enforceable only if it fits one, which for most workers means naming the parishes or municipalities covered and lasting no more than two years after employment ends.

Separate rules cap physician non-competes, bar them for car salesmen, and, since August 1, 2026, bar those entered into by apprentices and certain student interns. For how other states compare, see our non-compete laws by state guide.

Information last verified on 2026-10-08. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Louisiana's non-compete statute, La. R.S. 23:921, including the 2024 physician amendments and 2026 Act No. 150, and federal appellate decisions applying it, with a short note on the federal FTC rule. It does not cover trade-secret claims (see Louisiana trade secret laws) or severance agreements (see Louisiana severance pay laws).

Are non-competes enforceable in Louisiana?

Only within the statute. La. R.S. 23:921(A)(1) reads:

"Every contract or agreement, or provision thereof, by which anyone is restrained from exercising a lawful profession, trade, or business of any kind, except as provided in this Section, shall be null and void. However, every contract or agreement, or provision thereof, which meets the exceptions as provided in this Section, shall be enforceable." La. R.S. 23:921(A)(1)

So the question is never only whether a covenant is reasonable. It is whether the covenant fits one of the exceptions and meets that exception's limits.

The employee exception: named parishes, two years

Subsection (C) is the exception that covers most workers. An employee, agent or servant may agree with the employer to refrain from carrying on or engaging in a business similar to the employer's, and from soliciting the employer's customers, or both, within specified parishes or municipalities, or parts of them, for as long as the employer carries on a like business there. The restraint may not exceed "a period of two years from termination of employment."

Under subsection (D), a person who goes to work for a competing business, even without owning any of it, may be deemed to be carrying on or engaging in a similar business.

There is no salary or exempt-status threshold anywhere in La. R.S. 23:921, and the statute has no advance-notice, lawyer-review or consideration requirement.

How strictly courts read the statute

Federal appeals courts applying Louisiana law hold employers to the statute's terms. The decisions below come from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, not Louisiana's own courts; our research did not open a Louisiana Supreme Court opinion directly.

• Strict compliance. In Brock Services, L.L.C. v. Rogillio, 936 F.3d 290 (5th Cir. 2019), the court said a non-compete "must strictly comply with the requirements of the statute." In Rouses Enterprises, L.L.C. v. Clapp, No. 21-30293 (5th Cir. Mar. 8, 2022) (unpublished), it said restrictive covenants are unfavored in Louisiana and are narrowly and strictly construed.
• Parishes must be named. Brock described earlier decisions in which agreements that named no specific parishes, such as Aon Risk Services v. Ryan and Waguespack v. Medtronic, were found invalid.
• The agreement must be with your employer. In Rouses, a non-compete signed by a job applicant before he became an employee was unenforceable, because subsection (C) permits agreements only between an employee and his employer.

What a court does with an overbroad non-compete

The answer depends on what the agreement says. In Brock, the Fifth Circuit held that where the geographic scope is overbroad but the agreement names specific parishes, a court may rely on a severability clause to "excise the offending language" and enforce the named parishes. That fix did not save agreements that named no parishes at all.

Fired or quit

La. R.S. 23:921 has no provision that treats a fired or laid-off worker differently from one who quits. The two-year limit in subsection (C) runs from termination of employment. For Louisiana's general rule on ending employment, see Louisiana at-will employment laws.

Physicians

A 2024 law, Acts 2024, No. 273, added three subsections for physicians, effective January 1, 2025, according to the statute's history line:

For a physician contract that already existed on January 1, 2025, Act 273 says the three- or five-year term starts on January 1, 2025, not on the contract's original date, and the act's geographic limits apply from that day (2024 La. Acts No. 273, Section 2).

The rural exemption covers a physician employed by or under contract with a rural hospital under the Rural Hospital Preservation Act (R.S. 40:1189.1 et seq.) or a federally qualified health center (R.S. 40:1183.3) operating in a rural parish, as designated by the federal Office of Management and Budget when the physician was hired.

Our research found no profession-specific rule in La. R.S. 23:921 for nurses or other health care workers.

Car salesmen

Under La. R.S. 23:921(I), no agreement between an automobile salesman and his employer may restrain him from selling automobiles. A "salesman" here is someone licensed by the Louisiana Motor Vehicle Commission or the Used Motor Vehicle and Parts Commission, other than a person with a proprietary or equity interest in a Louisiana new or used car dealership.

Interns and apprentices (2026)

House Bill 315 of the 2026 Regular Session became 2026 Act No. 150, signed by the governor on May 15, 2026 and effective August 1, 2026. It adds La. R.S. 23:921(P):

"there shall be no contract or agreement or provision entered into by an intern, whether paid or unpaid, or apprentice and his employer restraining the intern or apprentice from engaging in a business or an employment similar to that of the employer" La. R.S. 23:921(P), as enacted by 2026 La. Acts No. 150

The agreement also may not restrict the intern or apprentice from pursuing employment, educational or professional opportunities after the program ends. Interns and apprentices remain subject to confidentiality, intellectual property and data protection agreements. The act defines "intern" narrowly: a student learner in an internship authorized and regulated by LAC 28:CXV.3113 or successor rules of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education for a work-based learning program classified as an internship. It does not define "apprentice."

The compiled statute on the legislature's website did not yet show subsection (P) when our research read it; the text comes from the act itself. Act 150 does not say it applies to agreements signed before August 1, 2026, and La. R.S. 1:2 provides that no section of the Revised Statutes is retroactive unless it expressly says so. An intern or apprentice who signed before that date should not assume subsection (P) voids the agreement.

Other exceptions in La. R.S. 23:921

The statute also permits non-competes, each with its own limits, for:

• a seller of a business's goodwill, in specified parishes or municipalities, for up to two years from the sale (subsection (B));
• partners on dissolution of a partnership (subsection (E));
• franchise agreements, including franchise employees, for up to two years (subsection (F));
• employees who develop computer programs, for up to two years (subsection (G));
• shareholders, partners and LLC members, each for up to two years (subsections (J), (K) and (L)).

Non-solicits and NDAs

A customer non-solicit is treated like a non-compete: it must fit an exception that allows it and stay within that exception's limits. For employees, subsection (C) requires named parishes or municipalities and no more than two years; the seller, shareholder, partner and LLC-member exceptions in subsections (B), (J), (K) and (L) work the same way, and the franchise exception in subsection (F) allows a non-solicit of up to two years. La. R.S. 23:921 does not address confidentiality agreements or no-poach clauses, other than preserving confidentiality agreements for interns and apprentices in subsection (P).

Out-of-state law and forum clauses

Louisiana limits an employer's ability to move the dispute elsewhere. Under La. R.S. 23:921(A)(2), a choice-of-forum or choice-of-law clause in an employee's contract or collective bargaining agreement, or an attempt to enforce one, is null and void "except where the choice of forum clause or choice of law clause is expressly, knowingly, and voluntarily agreed to and ratified by the employee after the occurrence of the incident" that is the subject of the case.

Remedies and enforcement

Under La. R.S. 23:921(H), failing to perform a valid non-compete is a breach of an obligation not to do. The employer may recover damages, and on proof of the failure to perform, the court shall order injunctive relief without the employer having to prove irreparable injury.

The statute contains no penalty or fee award for employees, and it names no state agency to enforce it. Disputes are decided in court.

Recent changes

Our search for other 2025 and 2026 bills amending La. R.S. 23:921 was limited and found none. Bills for the 2027 session were not checked.

The FTC rule and Louisiana non-competes

The FTC's nationwide non-compete ban never took effect, so La. R.S. 23:921 remains the operative law. A federal court in Texas set the rule aside on August 20, 2024 (Ryan, LLC v. FTC, No. 3:24-CV-00986-E, N.D. Tex.); the FTC voted on September 5, 2025 to dismiss its appeals, and the rule was removed from the Code of Federal Regulations on February 12, 2026. The FTC still pursues individual employers, including a final order approved June 22, 2026 requiring a pest-control company to stop enforcing non-competes. See FTC non-compete ban struck down.

If you have been asked to sign

In Louisiana, start with the statute's checklist: does the agreement fit an exception, does it name the parishes or municipalities it covers, and does it stay within the time limit for your situation. Physicians, car salesmen, interns and apprentices have their own rules. A lawyer licensed in Louisiana can review a specific agreement.

Related

• Non-compete laws by state
• Louisiana trade secret laws
• Louisiana severance pay laws
• Louisiana at-will employment laws

Disclaimer: This article provides general legal information about Louisiana non-compete law under La. R.S. 23:921, not legal advice. The information was last verified on 2026-10-08. Louisiana non-compete disputes are decided by the courts; for advice about a specific agreement, contact a legal aid office or a lawyer licensed in Louisiana.

Last updated: 2026-10-08.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are non-competes enforceable in Louisiana?

Only within the exceptions in La. R.S. 23:921. For employees, subsection (C) allows an agreement limited to named parishes or municipalities and to no more than two years after employment ends; anything outside the exceptions is null and void.

How long can a non-compete last in Louisiana?

For an ordinary employee, no more than two years from termination of employment under La. R.S. 23:921(C). Physician agreements have separate caps of three or five years from the initial contract under subsections (M) and (N); for a contract already in place on January 1, 2025, 2024 Act No. 273 starts that term on January 1, 2025.

Does a Louisiana non-compete have to list parishes?

Yes. Subsection (C) limits the restraint to specified parishes or municipalities, and the Fifth Circuit in Brock Services v. Rogillio (2019) described agreements naming no specific parishes as invalid under Louisiana law.

Can I be held to a non-compete I signed before I was hired in Louisiana?

In Rouses Enterprises v. Clapp (5th Cir. 2022, unpublished), the court held a non-compete signed by a job applicant unenforceable because La. R.S. 23:921(C) permits agreements only between an employee and his employer.

Are non-competes for car salesmen legal in Louisiana?

No. La. R.S. 23:921(I) bars any agreement restraining a licensed automobile salesman from selling automobiles, except for a salesman with an ownership or equity interest in a Louisiana dealership.

Did Louisiana ban non-competes for interns?

Partly. 2026 Act No. 150 (HB 315) added La. R.S. 23:921(P), effective August 1, 2026, barring non-competes for apprentices and for paid or unpaid interns who are student learners in an internship regulated under the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education's work-based learning rule (LAC 28:CXV.3113). They remain subject to confidentiality, intellectual property and data protection agreements.

What can an employer get if a Louisiana non-compete is broken?

Under La. R.S. 23:921(H), the employer may recover damages, and on proof of the failure to perform, a court shall order injunctive relief without proof of irreparable injury.

Does the FTC non-compete ban apply in Louisiana?

No. A federal court set the rule aside on August 20, 2024, and the FTC removed it from the Code of Federal Regulations on February 12, 2026.