US · contractsSources checked
Are non-compete agreements enforceable in California?
No. Under section 16600 of California's Business and Professions Code, every contract by which anyone is restrained from engaging in a lawful profession, trade or business is void to that extent, except as the chapter provides. Subsection (b)(1) directs that this be read broadly to void a non-compete in an employment context no matter how narrowly tailored, unless it satisfies an exception in the chapter.
Sources
- California Business and Professions Code, section 16600 (Contracts in Restraint of Trade)leginfo.legislature.ca.gov (California Legislative Information) · checked 17 August 2026 · Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 828, Sec. 1 (AB 1076), effective 1 January 2024.
Related questions
- Does a narrowly drafted non-compete survive?
- Section 16600(b)(1) states the section voids a non-compete in an employment context no matter how narrowly tailored, unless it satisfies an exception in the chapter.
- Does it only bind people who signed the contract?
- Section 16600(c) states the section is not limited to contracts where the person being restrained is a party to the contract.
What this answer does not cover
- This is California law. Other states take different approaches to non-competes, which this page does not cover.
- The chapter contains its own exceptions, which this page does not set out.
