Is My Louisiana Non-Compete Enforceable?

Louisiana law disfavors non-compete agreements — La. R.S. 23:921 voids most of them by default, and only allows narrow exceptions with strict, specific requirements. Whether you are an employer relying on one or an employee bound by one, answer a few questions about the agreement for a rough read on where it stands. It is not legal advice, and only a lawyer reviewing the actual document can tell you for sure.

Louisiana courts apply these requirements strictly — a single missing element can void the entire restriction, not just narrow it. Answer what you know; if you are unsure of an answer, say so and the tool will flag it.

The screener

What situation created this non-compete?

Louisiana law only allows non-competes in three narrow situations: an employer/employee relationship, a business sale, or an entity dissolution. Nearly everything else is void by default.

Is it in writing, and signed by the person being restricted? What is the stated duration of the restriction, in months? No specific duration is stated in the agreement

Louisiana caps every version of this restriction at two years (24 months) from the triggering event — termination, sale, or dissolution. Longer than that, or no stated duration at all, voids the restriction.

How is the geographic area described?

This is the single most common reason Louisiana non-competes fail. The law requires specific, named parishes or municipalities — a general or regional description voids the entire restriction, and Louisiana courts will not narrow it down to a “reasonable” area on their own.

Please read. This tool is a free educational aid, not legal advice, and using it does not create an attorney-client relationship. It applies only the core structural requirements of La. R.S. 23:921 in simplified form and cannot read the actual document, weigh the specific facts, or account for every defense and exception — including how courts treat non-solicitation clauses, multi-state employment, or a choice-of-law clause selecting another state. One nuance worth knowing regardless of your result: Louisiana courts do not “blue-pencil” an overbroad non-compete down to something reasonable — a defective restriction is void in its entirety, and a savings or severability clause in the contract does not change that. This screener never tells you that an agreement is definitely enforceable or definitely void. Whether you are trying to enforce a non-compete or get out of one, do not rely on this result to make a decision — have the actual document reviewed before you act, sign, resign, or compete.

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