Primary statute
15 Okla. Stat. §§ 217, 219, 219A
Primary verifiedhttps://law.justia.com/codes/oklahoma/title-15/section-15-219a/
- Effective
- 1910-01-01
- Research verified
- 2026-05-08
Statutory ban
Non-compete enforceability in Oklahoma
Statutory void with sale-of-business and customer-non-solicit carve-outs only. No judicial reformation.
What this means for you
Oklahoma is an absolute-ban state: post-employment non-competes are void by statute for most workers — regardless of salary, industry, or how "reasonable" the clause looks. The narrow exceptions are typically sale-of-business and partnership-dissolution covenants.
Controlling case-law
Howard v. Nitro-Lift Techs., L.L.C., 2014 OK 78, 338 P.3d 627
Reaffirmed strict statutory void; courts may not reform overbroad covenants.
Doctrine
Red-pencil statutory void. Courts treat over-broad non-competes as void in their entirety — no judicial reformation is permitted.
Gotchas
- §219A permits a narrow non-solicit-of-established-customers carve-out — anything broader is void on its face.
- Red-pencil rule: courts may not 'blue-pencil' or reform overbroad covenants.
Federal context
The FTC's 2024 federal non-compete ban was vacated nationwide in Ryan v. FTC and removed from the Code of Federal Regulations in February 2026. There is no federal ban in force — so Oklahoma's state law controls. Read the federal status.
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