Are noncompete agreements enforceable in Florida?

Section 542.335, Florida Statutes, requires a writing signed by the person bound, a legitimate business interest such as trade secrets or customer relationships, and a restriction reasonable in time, area and line of business. For a former employee, 6 months or less is presumed reasonable and more than 2 years is presumed unreasonable.

The CHOICE Act, sections 542.41 to 542.45, took effect July 1, 2025 and allows covered noncompete agreements of up to 4 years when its notice and acknowledgment rules are followed.

Under section 542.43, a covered employee is one who earns or is reasonably expected to earn a salary of more than twice the annual mean wage of the Florida county where the employer has its principal place of business, or of the county where the employee lives if that principal place of business is outside Florida. Health care practitioners are not covered employees.