Washington’s noncompete law is changing again: What you need to know

The legal landscape for noncompetition agreements in the state of Washington is changing again. Beginning June 30, 2027, nearly all noncompetes will be void and unenforceable in the state. Washington will join at least four other states in near-total bans of such agreements.

What’s new

On March 23, 2026, Governor Bob Ferguson signed Engrossed Substitute House Bill (HB) 1155, which became Chapter 149, 2026 Laws. The Act amends sections of Revised Code of Washington (RCW) Chapter 49.62, Washington’s noncompetition covenants law, which was enacted in 2019 and took effect on January 1, 2020.

Under the law that took effect in 2020, as previously amended, noncompetes are banned for workers earning below certain annually adjusted thresholds, and the term of any such permissible agreement is presumptively limited to 18 months. The law broadly applies to all noncompete agreements between an employer and its Washington employees and independent contractors.

The most significant change wrought by HB 1155 is its dictate that beginning on the Act’s effective date—June 30, 2027—“all noncompetition covenants are void and unenforceable regardless of when the parties entered into the noncompetition covenant.”