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

Oregon allows employee non-competes only when every condition in ORS 653.295 is met, and a non-compete that misses any one of them "is void and unenforceable." The conditions are a written job offer that disclosed the non-compete at least two weeks before the first day of work (or a later bona fide promotion), a salaried administrative, executive or professional job, a protectable employer interest, a signed copy delivered within 30 days after the job ends, and annual pay above an inflation-adjusted threshold, which the Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) lists at $119,541 for 2026.

Even a valid Oregon non-compete cannot last longer than 12 months after the job ends. Separate rules go further for doctors, nurse practitioners and other medical licensees, whose non-competes are void against most health care employers under a 2025 law, and for home care and personal support workers. 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 Oregon's general non-compete statute (ORS 653.295), the 2025 medical-licensee rules (ORS 653.297 and 653.298) and the home care worker rules (ORS 410.631 and 410.632), with a short note on the federal FTC rule. It does not cover trade-secret claims (see Oregon trade secret laws) or severance agreements (see Oregon severance pay laws).

Are non-competes enforceable in Oregon?

Only if they pass every test in ORS 653.295(1). The statute opens:

"A noncompetition agreement entered into between an employer and employee is void and unenforceable unless: (a)(A) The employer informs the employee in a written employment offer received by the employee at least two weeks before the first day of the employee's employment that a noncompetition agreement is required as a condition of employment; or (B) The noncompetition agreement is entered into upon a subsequent bona fide advancement of the employee by the employer;" ORS 653.295(1)

The full list of conditions, all of which must be met:

A "noncompetition agreement" under the statute is a written agreement (ORS 653.295(8)(d)). The statute contains no geographic limit, no separate consideration rule and no right-to-counsel rule.

Which agreements these rules govern

Senate Bill 169 (Oregon Laws 2021, chapter 75) applies the current conditions, including the 12-month cap, only to agreements entered into on or after its effective date, January 1, 2022. Under the earlier version of the statute, BOLI says, an agreement that did not conform was voidable rather than void. The maximum term was 18 months for agreements entered into from January 1, 2016 through 2021; the version in effect before 2016 allowed up to two years (Oregon Laws 2015, chapter 429).

The salary threshold: $119,541 for 2026

ORS 653.295(1)(e) still prints the original figure, $100,533, but the statute adjusts it every year for inflation using the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, West Region, with the figure tied to the calendar year of the employee's termination. BOLI publishes the adjusted amounts on its Noncompetition Agreements page:

Two cautions. The test looks at pay "at the time of termination," so the year that matters is the year the job ends, not the year the agreement was signed. And BOLI's table, rounded to the nearest dollar, still marks the 2026 inflation entry "TBD"; BOLI had not posted a 2027 figure as of October 8, 2026.

Below the threshold or not salaried exempt: the 50 percent pay route

ORS 653.295(7) gives employers a second path. If an employee does not meet the job-type test in (1)(b) or the pay threshold in (1)(e), a non-compete can still be enforced for up to 12 months if the employer agrees in writing to pay the employee, during the restriction, the greater of:

• 50 percent of the employee's annual gross base salary and commissions at termination, or
• 50 percent of $100,533, as adjusted for inflation.

That written payment promise is what makes the covenant enforceable on this route.

Broadcasters, doctors and home care workers

On-air broadcasters

ORS 653.295(2)(c) gives a broadcaster's employer a protectable interest in on-air talent only if, in the prior year, it spent resources equal to at least 10 percent of the employee's annual salary on developing, improving, training or publicly promoting the employee on media the employer does not own or control, and it pays the employee during the restriction the greater of 50 percent of annual gross base salary and commissions at termination or 50 percent of $100,533 as adjusted. The pay threshold in (1)(e) does not apply to on-air talent.

Physicians, physician associates, nurse practitioners and naturopathic physicians

Oregon's 2025 law on management services organizations added ORS 653.297. For a "medical licensee," it provides:

"Notwithstanding ORS 653.295 (1) and (2) ... a noncompetition agreement that restricts the practice of medicine or the practice of nursing is void and unenforceable between a medical licensee and"

a "person" as defined in ORS 442.015, a management services organization, or a hospital or hospital-affiliated clinic (ORS 653.297(2)(a)).

There are three exceptions in ORS 653.297(2)(b). In each one, the agreement is enforceable only to the extent and on the terms ORS 653.295 allows:

1. The licensee owns 1.5 percent or more of the entity.
2. The agreement is with a professional medical entity that documents a recruitment investment (costs equal to 20 percent or more of the licensee's annual salary), and the restriction lasts no more than 5 years from hire if the licensee practices directly in a county designated a health professional shortage area under 42 U.S.C. 254e, or 3 years from hire otherwise.
3. The licensee does not directly provide medical services, health care services or clinical care.

ORS 653.297 reaches agreements entered into "before, on or after" June 9, 2025. Senate Bill 951 (Oregon Laws 2025, chapter 295) took effect June 9, 2025 under an emergency clause, and House Bill 3410 (chapter 572), which added the "before, on or after" language, took effect July 24, 2025.

The same law limits gag clauses. Under ORS 653.297(3), nondisclosure and nondisparagement agreements between a medical licensee and a management services organization, or a hospital or hospital-affiliated clinic that employs the licensee, are void, unless the entity ended the licensee's employment or the licensee left voluntarily, or the agreement is part of a negotiated settlement. Even then, the agreement cannot be enforced against a good-faith report of a suspected legal violation to the hospital or clinic or to a state or federal authority. ORS 653.298 bars a management services organization or professional medical entity from retaliating against a licensee for violating such an agreement or for a good-faith report.

Home care workers and personal support workers

ORS 410.631 protects these workers regardless of pay:

"Notwithstanding ORS 653.295, a noncompetition agreement as defined in ORS 653.295 made in the context of an employment relationship or contract with a home care worker or personal support worker, as defined in ORS 410.600, is voidable by the home care worker or personal support worker and may not be enforced by a court of this state." ORS 410.631

ORS 410.632 applies the same treatment to customer and employee non-solicitation agreements with these workers.

Non-solicits, bonus clawbacks and trade secrets

ORS 653.295(5) takes two kinds of agreements out of the conditions in subsections (1) and (3):

• Non-solicitation clauses. A covenant not to solicit the employer's employees, or not to solicit or do business with the employer's customers, is not subject to those conditions (ORS 653.295(5)(b)), except for home care and personal support workers under ORS 410.632.
• Bonus restriction agreements. An agreement whose only penalty is forfeiture of unpaid profit-sharing or bonus pay is lawful and enforceable if its time, geography and activity limits are reasonable and the employee works in management, has customer contact, or has access to trade secrets (ORS 653.295(5)(a), (8)(a)).

ORS 653.295(6) preserves an employer's right to protect trade secrets and proprietary information by injunction or other lawful means, with or without a non-compete. See Oregon trade secret laws.

The conditions in subsections (1) and (3) apply only to non-competes made in the context of an employment relationship or contract (ORS 653.295(4)). Our research did not cover the rules for covenants made in other settings, such as the sale of a business.

Fired, laid off or asked to sign mid-job

ORS 653.295 does not treat workers who quit differently from workers who were fired or laid off. How the job ended matters only as a measuring point: the pay threshold is tested at termination, the 30-day copy runs from termination, and the 12-month limit runs from termination.

A non-compete presented to a current employee without a bona fide advancement does not satisfy the notice condition in ORS 653.295(1)(a), so it is void under the current statute. Under an older version of the same rule, the Oregon Supreme Court held in Dymock v. Norwest Safety Protective Equipment for Oregon Industry, Inc., 334 Or. 55 (2002), that the statute made such an agreement void but gave no right to refuse to sign it, so an employee fired for refusing had no wrongful-discharge claim. The statute has been rewritten several times since, so Dymock is noted here only for that narrow point. For how Oregon treats firing generally, see Oregon at-will employment laws.

What courts do with a non-compliant agreement

A covenant that misses a condition in ORS 653.295(1) is void and unenforceable. A covenant that runs longer than 12 months is void only for the excess (ORS 653.295(3)). The statute says nothing else about blue-penciling or reformation, and our research did not review Oregon case law on that question.

ORS 653.295 and 653.297 contain no employee damages, fee-shifting or penalty provision and no choice-of-law or forum-selection rule. BOLI publishes guidance on its Noncompetition Agreements page, which advises that "Employers should likely seek legal counsel," but the page does not describe BOLI taking complaints about or enforcing ORS 653.295.

Recent changes and pending bills

• 2025, enacted: Senate Bill 951 (Oregon Laws 2025, chapter 295), effective June 9, 2025, created ORS 653.297 and 653.298 for medical licensees. House Bill 3410 (chapter 572), effective July 24, 2025, amended it, including the reach to agreements made before, on or after June 9, 2025.
• 2025, not enacted: Senate Bill 957 (non-competes with licensed health care providers), House Bill 3227 (non-competes, NDAs, non-disparagement and non-solicitation for medical professionals), Senate Bill 468 (non-competes for health professionals) and Senate Bill 1139 (applying the non-compete rules to non-solicitation agreements) were still in committee when the 2025 session ended, with no chapter number. None became law.
• 2026 session: the Legislature's table of statutes amended in 2026 lists no change to ORS 653.295, 653.297, 653.298, 410.631 or 410.632. Senate Bill 1518 (2026) amended ORS 653.020 but left subsection (3), the job-type test the non-compete statute uses, unchanged.
• 2027 session: no 2027 measures were indexed in the Legislature's bill database as of October 8, 2026.

The FTC non-compete rule

In Oregon, ORS 653.295 decides enforceability; the federal rule never took hold. The FTC's 2024 ban was set aside on August 20, 2024 in 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 agency now proceeds employer by employer; on June 22, 2026 it approved a final consent order in a pest-control non-compete case. More: FTC non-compete ban struck down.

What this page does not answer

Our research did not establish the following, so this page states none:

• the 2027 salary threshold;
• whether Oregon courts blue-pencil or reform a non-compete that fails a condition;
• profession-specific rules for lawyers, veterinarians or other occupations not covered above.

If you have a non-compete in Oregon

Under ORS 653.295 the questions that matter are when and how you learned about the non-compete, whether your job is salaried administrative, executive or professional work, what you earned in the year the job ended, whether you received a signed copy within 30 days, how long the restriction runs, and whether you are a medical licensee or home care worker. A lawyer licensed in Oregon can review a specific agreement against those points.

Related

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

Disclaimer: This article provides general legal information about Oregon non-compete law under ORS 653.295, 653.297, 653.298, 410.631 and 410.632, not legal advice. The information was last verified on 2026-10-08. Oregon non-compete disputes are decided by the courts, and BOLI publishes guidance on the statute; for advice about a specific agreement, contact a legal aid office or a lawyer licensed in Oregon.

Last updated: 2026-10-08.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are non-competes enforceable in Oregon?

Only if they meet every condition in ORS 653.295(1), including two weeks' written notice in the job offer, a salaried exempt-type job, a protectable interest, a signed copy within 30 days of termination and pay above the threshold, and they cannot run more than 12 months.

What is the Oregon non-compete salary threshold for 2026?

BOLI lists $119,541 for 2026. ORS 653.295(1)(e) sets a base figure of $100,533 that adjusts each year for West Region inflation, and the test uses pay at the time of termination.

How long can a non-compete last in Oregon?

No more than 12 months from termination. ORS 653.295(3) says the rest of a longer term is void and may not be enforced by an Oregon court.

Can I be made to sign a non-compete after I start a job in Oregon?

A non-compete signed after hire must come with a bona fide advancement to satisfy ORS 653.295(1)(a); otherwise it fails the notice condition and is void. Under an older version of the statute, Dymock v. Norwest (Or. 2002) held there was no wrongful-discharge claim for refusing to sign.

Are physician non-competes enforceable in Oregon?

Mostly not. Since June 9, 2025, ORS 653.297 voids non-competes restricting the practice of medicine or nursing between a medical licensee and a hospital, management services organization or similar entity, except for 1.5 percent owners, qualifying recruitment-investment agreements of 3 or 5 years, and licensees who do not provide clinical care directly.

Are non-solicitation agreements enforceable in Oregon?

ORS 653.295(5)(b) takes customer and employee non-solicitation clauses outside the non-compete conditions, so the notice, salary and 12-month rules do not apply to them. Home care and personal support workers can void them under ORS 410.632.

Does BOLI enforce Oregon non-compete law?

BOLI publishes guidance and the yearly salary threshold, but its Noncompetition Agreements page does not describe taking complaints or enforcing ORS 653.295; disputes go to court.

Does the FTC non-compete ban apply in Oregon?

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