North Dakota will enforce non-compete agreements as long as the agreements are fair and not excessive in their restrictions. Geographic area clauses must be incredibly specific and list cities, counties, or neighborhoods. The state also recommends that both parties have enough time to read and understand the agreement before being required to sign.
However, North Dakota does not allow for non-compete clauses or non-solicitation clauses to be included in a contract for the sale of a business or if the partners want to dissolve their partnership. This was decided in the North Dakota Supreme Court case known as Brown & Saenger, Inc.
Protect your North Dakota business by also using a North Dakota non-disclosure agreement form. Download a North Dakota non-disclosure agreement form now!
To write a North Dakota non-compete agreement, first review state law. Include the following clauses, but remember to keep them reasonable in scope:
The parties must sign and print their names. The signatures should be dated. Each party should keep a copy of the executed contract for their records.