Allowed above a pay floor

Non-compete law in Colorado

Colorado voids a covenant not to compete that restricts an individual's right to receive compensation for labor, with exceptions: a trade-secret-protective covenant no broader than reasonably necessary for a worker earning at least the highly-compensated-worker threshold ($130,014 in 2026) at signing and at enforcement; a customer non-solicit for a worker earning at least 60% of that amount ($78,008.40); and sale-of-business, confidentiality and certain training/apprenticeship repayment provisions. Covenants must be disclosed in a separate signed notice. For covenants entered or renewed on or after Aug. 6, 2025, the highly-compensated exception no longer applies to covenants restricting the practice of medicine, advanced practice registered nursing or dentistry, and physician covenants in physician agreements are void outright. Violations carry actual damages and a $5,000 per-worker penalty.

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Employee non-competes
Only within the statute's conditions
Pay floor
$130,014 a year in 2026, adjusted annually
How pay is measured
'Threshold amount for highly compensated workers' = the amount determined by the Division of Labor Standards and Statistics (DLSS); statute requires annualized cash compensation at or above it both when the covenant is entered into and when enforced (C.R.S. § 8-2-113(2)(b), (2)(c)(II) as enacted by HB22-1317; 2022 text takes the greater of the amount on the Act's effective date and the amount when the covenant is executed). DLSS publishes it in the PAY CALC Order (7 CCR 1103-14; temporary rule effective 2026-01-01, permanent 2026 order adopted 2025-12-08 effective 2026-02-01; row G 'Highly compensated employees', $130,014 annually; future adjustment = annual EAP salary x 2.25). The order itself does not mention § 8-2-113; mapping of row G to the statute's term is the standard reading but is not stated in the order.
Pay floor (employee customer nonsolicit)
$78,008.40 a year in 2026
Duration
No statutory cap on duration. A covenant must be for the protection of trade secrets and no broader than reasonably necessary to protect the employer's legitimate trade-secret interest (§ 8-2-113(2)(b)). For a minority owner who received equity as compensation, a sale-related noncompete's duration in years may not exceed total sale consideration divided by average annualized cash compensation over the prior two years (or shorter affiliation period) (§ 8-2-113(3)(c), SB25-083).
Notice
Otherwise-permitted covenant is void unless notice of the covenant and its terms is given to a prospective worker before acceptance of the offer, or to a current worker at least 14 days before the earlier of the covenant's effective date or any additional compensation/change in terms that is its consideration. Notice must be a separate document, clear and conspicuous, in the language used for performance communications, signed by the worker; must identify the agreement, state it contains a covenant that could restrict later employment, and point to the specific sections (§ 8-2-113(4)). Worker may request a copy once per calendar year.
Consideration
No separate consideration rule beyond the 14-day-notice timing for current workers (§ 8-2-113(4)(a)(II)).

Exceptions and special rules

  • Sale of a business: the statute allows a non-compete given by a seller.
  • Covenant not to compete related to the purchase and sale of a business, an ownership share, or substantially all assets, restricting an owner (§ 8-2-113(3)(c)); minority owner who received equity as compensation faces the duration formula above (SB25-083)
  • Reasonable confidentiality or trade-secret provision that does not bar disclosure of general training, knowledge, skill or experience, readily ascertainable information, or legally protected disclosures (§ 8-2-113(3)(b))
  • Recovery of training expense for training distinct from normal on-the-job training, limited to reasonable costs and decreasing proportionally over the two years after training (§ 8-2-113(3)(a)) [2022 text; Beck Reed Riden reports a 2024 act (effective Aug. 7, 2024) that further limited training repayment agreements; not read, so this description may be out of date]
  • Repayment of an apprenticeship scholarship if conditions are not met (§ 8-2-113(3)(d))
  • Physicians (agreements between physicians). Any covenant not to compete in an employment, partnership or corporate agreement between physicians that restricts the right to practice medicine on termination is void; other enforceable provisions stay enforceable, including damages reasonably related to the injury from termination (which may include damages related to competition). A physician may tell patients with a rare disorder about continuing practice and new contact information (§ 8-2-113(5)). (C.R.S. § 8-2-113(5) (HB22-1317 renumbered; SB25-083 amended))
  • Physicians (incl. physician assistants), advanced practice registered nurses, dentists (certified midwives are 'health-care providers' only for the patient-disclosure rule). For covenants entered into or renewed on or after the Aug. 2025 effective date, the highly-compensated-worker exceptions for noncompetes and customer non-solicits do not apply to a covenant that restricts the practice of medicine, advanced practice registered nursing or dentistry in Colorado. A covenant that prohibits or materially restricts a health-care provider from telling a patient (treated before departure) about continuing practice, new professional contact information or the patient's right to choose a provider is deemed such a covenant, and the attorney general may enforce it (§ 8-2-113(2)(b), (2)(d), (5.5), (9)(a)). Other exceptions (e.g., sale of a business, trade-secret confidentiality) are not removed by that text. (C.R.S. § 8-2-113(2)(b), (2)(c)(I.3)-(I.7), (2)(d), (5.5) (SB25-083))

Non-solicitation clauses

Customer non-solicit is void unless the worker earns at least 60% of the highly-compensated threshold at signing and enforcement and the covenant is no broader than reasonably necessary to protect trade secrets; the exception does not apply to covenants restricting the practice of medicine, advanced practice registered nursing or dentistry (§ 8-2-113(2)(d), SB25-083). The text does not separately address employee non-solicit.

Contracts naming another state's law

A covenant applying to a worker who, at termination, primarily resided or worked in Colorado may not require adjudication outside Colorado; notwithstanding contract terms, Colorado law governs enforceability for a worker who primarily resided and worked in Colorado (§ 8-2-113(6)). Worker or a subsequent employer may seek a declaratory judgment that the covenant is unenforceable (§ 8-2-113(7)).

Remedies

Employer may not enter into, present as a term of employment, or try to enforce a void covenant (§ 8-2-113(8)(a)). Violation: actual damages plus a $5,000 penalty per worker or prospective worker harmed; the attorney general or any harmed worker may sue for injunctive relief and penalties, and a private plaintiff may recover actual damages, costs and attorney fees; a good-faith, reasonable-grounds showing lets the court reduce or waive the penalty (§ 8-2-113(8)(b)-(c)). Attorney general enforcement authority is in § 8-2-113(9)(a) (as amended by SB25-083). Using force, threats or intimidation to keep a person from a lawful occupation is a class 2 misdemeanor (§ 8-2-113(1.5)). A void covenant leaves other enforceable contract provisions in force (§ 8-2-113(5)(a), SB25-083).

Which agreements it covers

HB22-1317: covenants entered into or renewed on or after the Act's effective date (2022-08-10: each Act says it takes effect 12:01 a.m. on the day after the 90-day period following final adjournment; the date is derived and matches secondary reports, not stated in a primary). SB25-083: covenants entered into or renewed on or after its effective date (2025-08-06, derived the same way; secondaries agree); the 2025 changes apply only from that date. No referendum petition is known. Date derived from the 90-day effective-date clause, not printed in a primary.

Recent changes

  • 2026-01-01. 2026 PAY CALC threshold $130,014 (2025: $127,091) took effect Jan. 1, 2026 through a temporary (emergency) rule adopted 2025-12-12; the permanent 2026 PAY CALC Order (adopted 2025-12-08, effective 2026-02-01) carries the same figure (7 CCR 1103-14). Source
  • 2025-08-06. SB25-083 (ch. 366, Laws 2025, approved 2025-06-03) took effect: excluded noncompetes and customer non-solicits restricting medicine, APRN or dentistry from the highly-compensated exceptions; added health-care-provider patient-disclosure rule; added minority-owner sale-of-business duration formula; added 'trade secret provision' language to the confidentiality exception; AG may enforce (5.5). Effective date derived (see applicability). Source
  • 2022-08-10. HB22-1317 (ch. 441, Laws 2022, approved 2022-06-08) took effect: rewrote § 8-2-113 (default void; highly compensated exception; notice; choice of law/venue; penalties). Effective date derived (see applicability). Source

Primary sources

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What the statute says for these facts

Four facts. The answer leads with what the statute does at that pay, then names any change already enacted, then quotes the details with their citations.

The person who would sign

Several statutes treat contractors differently.

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