Free Non-Compete Agreement Template
Protect your trade secrets, client lists, and intellectual property.
Customize and send for a legally binding eSignature in minutes.
What is a Non-Compete Agreement (NCA)?
A Non-Compete Agreement, or NCA, is a legal contract between an employer and an employee that restricts the employee from working for competing businesses or starting a similar business for a specific period and within a certain geographic area after their employment ends. The primary purpose is to protect the employer's sensitive information, such as trade secrets, client lists, and business strategies, from being used to give a competitor an unfair advantage. A well-drafted NCA is a critical tool for safeguarding your company's competitive edge and investment in your employees.
Key Clauses in a Non-Compete Agreement
Our template includes essential, legally-vetted clauses you can customize.
Confidentiality and Trade Secrets
Defines what constitutes proprietary information that the employee cannot disclose or use, forming the core reason for the agreement.
Definition of Competition
Clearly specifies the types of businesses and roles that are considered competitive, leaving no room for ambiguity.
Geographic Scope
Outlines the specific geographical area (e.g., city, state, or region) where the restrictions apply. This must be reasonable to be enforceable.
Time Restriction
Sets a clear and reasonable duration for the non-compete obligation, typically ranging from a few months to a couple of years post-employment.
Non-Solicitation Clause
Prevents the former employee from soliciting the company's clients or other employees for a specified period.
Enforceability and Legal Recourse
Details the consequences of breaching the agreement and specifies the governing law and jurisdiction for any legal disputes.
From Template to Signed Agreement in 3 Simple Steps
Streamline your workflow and secure your business interests effortlessly.
1. Customize Your Template
Start with our legally-vetted non-compete template. Easily edit terms, add specific clauses, and tailor it to your business needs and state laws directly within the eSignly editor.
2. Add Signers & Fields
Enter the employee's name and email. Drag and drop signature, initial, and date fields onto the document. Ensure all necessary information is captured accurately.
3. Send & Track Securely
Send the agreement for signature with one click. Track the document's status in real-time from your dashboard and receive instant notifications upon completion. A full audit trail is automatically generated.
Why Use eSignly for Your Non-Compete Agreements?
Go beyond a simple template. Leverage a platform built for security, compliance, and efficiency.
Bank-Grade Security
Protect your sensitive agreements with enterprise-level security, including robust encryption and compliance with standards like SOC 2 and ISO 27001.
Legally Binding Signatures
eSignly signatures are compliant with the U.S. ESIGN Act and UETA, providing a legally recognized and enforceable method for executing your NCAs.
Court-Admissible Audit Trail
Every action is tracked from start to finish. Receive a comprehensive Certificate of Completion with timestamps, IP addresses, and a full event log for undeniable proof.
Unmatched Speed & Efficiency
Stop chasing paper. Digitize your entire process to get critical agreements signed in minutes, not days, accelerating your onboarding and operational workflows.
Seamless Integration
Connect eSignly with the tools you already use, like Google Drive, Dropbox, and Salesforce, to automate workflows and reduce manual data entry.
Centralized Document Management
Store all your signed agreements in one secure, organized, and easily searchable cloud repository. Never lose a critical document again.
Trusted by Businesses of All Sizes
"eSignly's non-compete template was a lifesaver. It was comprehensive, easy to customize, and the signing process was incredibly smooth for our new hires. It professionalized our onboarding overnight."
Caroline Manning
HR Director, Tech Innovators Inc.
"As a startup founder, I wear many hats. eSignly took the legal guesswork out of creating NCAs. The audit trail gives me peace of mind that our IP is protected right from day one."
Jason Stewart
Founder & CEO, ScaleUp SaaS
"We needed to deploy non-competes to our entire national sales team. The bulk send feature in eSignly saved us literally days of work. The tracking dashboard is fantastic for compliance."
Julia Larson
VP of Sales, Market Leaders Corp.
Real-World Success with eSignly
See how organizations like yours leverage our platform to protect their assets.
Fast-Growing SaaS Company Secures Intellectual Property During Hyper-Growth
Client Overview: A venture-backed SaaS startup specializing in AI-driven analytics was in a rapid expansion phase, aiming to double its engineering team from 20 to 40 members in one quarter. Their core asset was their proprietary algorithm, making intellectual property protection a top priority for their investors and leadership.
Key Challenges:
- Needed a standardized and enforceable NCA for all new developers.
- The existing manual process (emailing PDFs) was slow, hard to track, and unprofessional.
- Lacked a central repository for signed, critical HR documents.
- Required a solution that was fast to implement and easy for a small HR team to manage.
Our Solution:
eSignly was implemented in a single afternoon. The startup's legal counsel quickly approved our customizable NCA template. The HR manager then used the template feature to create a standardized agreement for all new hires.
- A reusable template was created for the Non-Compete Agreement.
- The HR team integrated eSignly with their Google Drive for automatic document storage.
- New hires received and signed their NCAs as part of a seamless digital onboarding packet.
- The dashboard provided instant visibility into the status of all outstanding agreements.
Positive Outcomes:
- 95% Reduction in time to get NCAs signed (from days to minutes).
- 100% Compliance achieved for all new engineering hires within the quarter.
- 8 Hours Saved per week in administrative follow-up and document management.
Boutique Consulting Firm Protects High-Value Client Relationships
Client Overview: A management consulting firm with 50+ consultants specialized in the financial services industry. Their client relationships are their most valuable asset, and they needed to prevent departing consultants from poaching clients or leveraging proprietary methodologies with competitors.
Key Challenges:
- High risk of revenue loss from departing employees soliciting clients.
- Inconsistent use of non-compete and non-solicitation clauses across the firm.
- Difficulty proving when and if an agreement was signed during legal disputes.
- Needed to project a modern, professional image to attract top-tier talent.
Our Solution:
The firm adopted eSignly's Business plan to standardize their employment contracts. They created a master template that included a robust, state-compliant NCA and non-solicitation clause, ensuring every consultant signed the same protective covenants.
- A master contract template was established with mandatory signature fields.
- The court-admissible audit trail provided irrefutable proof of signature.
- Custom branding was applied to all communications for a professional experience.
- The platform served as a secure, central location for all partner and employee agreements.
Positive Outcomes:
- Zero instances of client solicitation from departing employees since implementation.
- 80% Reduction in administrative overhead for contract management.
- Strengthened Legal Position with ironclad proof of signature for all agreements.
National Sales Organization Ensures Team-Wide Compliance Effortlessly
Client Overview: A company with a distributed sales force of over 200 representatives across the United States needed to update its commission structure and simultaneously roll out a revised non-compete agreement to the entire team.
Key Challenges:
- The logistical nightmare of sending and tracking 200+ individual agreements.
- Ensuring every single sales representative acknowledged and signed the new terms.
- Managing a high volume of documents while maintaining version control.
- Needing a fast and efficient way to complete the project before the new fiscal quarter.
Our Solution:
The sales operations team leveraged eSignly's bulk sending feature. They uploaded a single CSV file with the names and email addresses of all 200+ representatives. With one click, a personalized copy of the new agreement was sent to each person.
- Bulk Send feature was used to distribute all 200+ agreements simultaneously.
- The real-time dashboard allowed them to track open, viewed, and signed documents.
- Automatic reminders were sent to those who hadn't signed, eliminating manual follow-up.
- All signed documents were automatically filed and organized within their eSignly account.
Positive Outcomes:
- Project Completed in 48 Hours instead of the projected 2-3 weeks.
- 100% Signature Rate achieved with minimal administrative effort.
- Drastically Reduced risk of legal disputes over commission and competition terms.
Frequently Asked Questions
The electronic signatures captured by eSignly are legally binding under the U.S. ESIGN Act and UETA. The template itself is drafted based on common legal principles, but the enforceability of a non-compete agreement depends heavily on state and local laws, as well as the specific circumstances of the employment. We strongly recommend having your final agreement reviewed by legal counsel to ensure it is fully compliant and enforceable in your jurisdiction.
Absolutely. Our platform allows you to fully customize the text of the agreement. You can add, remove, or edit clauses to fit your specific business needs, industry standards, and legal requirements before sending it for signature.
Our paid plans include a bulk sending feature that is perfect for this. You can upload a list of employees, and our system will send a unique, trackable copy of the agreement to each person on the list simultaneously, saving you significant time and effort.
While free downloadable files provide text, eSignly provides a complete, secure workflow. With eSignly, you get legally binding eSignatures, a court-admissible audit trail, real-time tracking, automatic reminders, and secure cloud storage. This creates a professional, efficient, and legally defensible process that a simple file cannot match.
No. Signers do not need an eSignly account and there is no cost for them to sign. They will receive a secure email link, and they can review and sign the document on any device (computer, tablet, or smartphone) in just a few clicks.
Protect Your Business Today
Don't leave your company's future to chance. Use our free non-compete template to safeguard your most
valuable assets.
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