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A release of non-compete agreement is a document in which the party holding the benefit of a non-compete confirms that the restricted person is no longer bound by it.
Only the beneficiary can grant it. An employee cannot release themselves, a new employer cannot release them, and a verbal assurance from a former manager is not a release.
The document is short but consequential. It removes a restriction on someone’s ability to work, and it gives them something they can show a prospective employer who is understandably cautious.
It is also useful to the releasing party. Confirming in writing that a restriction is waived avoids later argument about what was agreed and closes the matter cleanly.
Releases come up whenever a restriction has outlived the reason for it.
Prospective employers increasingly ask for written confirmation before hiring someone known to be restricted. A release is often what unblocks an offer that has otherwise stalled.
How the request is made affects the answer more than people expect.
Ask early and directly. Raising it during an exit conversation, while goodwill still exists, is far easier than approaching a former employer months later through a solicitor.
Explain why it is reasonable. Where the new role does not compete, or the restriction covers a market the business has left, saying so plainly gives the employer a basis for agreeing.
Offer something if it helps. A confirmation that you will not approach former clients, or that you will honour a confidentiality obligation, may be enough to secure a release from the wider restriction.
Get it from someone with authority. A release signed by a former line manager who cannot bind the company may not help you.
Tip: If the employer will not release you fully, ask for a narrower one — release for a specific role, a specific employer, or a shorter period. A partial release in writing is worth considerably more than an informal assurance that nobody minds.
A release of non-compete agreement should identify precisely what is being released and leave nothing to inference.
The releasing party and the restricted individual, with full legal names.
Its date, title, and the specific clauses being released.
Whether the whole restriction is lifted or only part of it.
Restrictions that continue, such as confidentiality or non-solicitation.
Where the release is limited, the specific employer, role, or territory permitted.
When the release takes effect.
An express statement of which obligations remain in force.
Signed by someone authorised to bind them, with name, title, and date.
Most disputes after a release of non-compete agreement come from ambiguity about what was actually lifted.
Separate the covenants. A restrictive covenants clause often contains several distinct obligations — non-compete, non-solicitation of customers, non-solicitation of staff, and confidentiality — and releasing one does not release the others. Say which are going and which remain.
Confidentiality almost always survives. A release from a non-compete rarely means an employee may use confidential information, and the document should confirm that expressly rather than leaving the point open.
State whether the release is conditional. If it depends on something — not approaching named clients, or a defined start date — write that in rather than agreeing it verbally.
Tip: If you are the employee, read what remains as carefully as what is lifted. A release that frees you to join a competitor while leaving a broad customer non-solicitation in place may still constrain the job you are actually taking.
A release of non-compete agreement is short but should be checked before it is relied on. Document Genius walks you through each section with simple questions.
You cannot release a clause precisely without reading it.
Full release, or limited to a role, employer, territory, or period.
Confidentiality, non-solicitation, and anything else continuing.
Write them in rather than agreeing them by email.
Someone who can bind the releasing party.
The restricted person should keep their own copy indefinitely. Start yours now and have a draft ready for review.
Granting a release is often the commercially sensible choice, and a few points make it cleaner for both sides.
Decide what you actually need to protect. If the concern is customers rather than competition generally, release the non-compete and keep the non-solicitation.
Do it in writing even where you are relaxed about it. An informal assurance leaves the position uncertain for both sides and can resurface awkwardly.
Be consistent. Releasing one departing employee while enforcing an identical restriction against another invites questions about why, and consistency is easier to defend.
Take advice where the departure is contentious or the person is senior. A release given in the middle of a dispute may interact with settlement terms, notice arrangements, or other obligations in ways that are not obvious at the time.
Nothing on this page is legal advice, and no rule on enforceability, waiver, or the effect of a release is stated anywhere on it. Have an employment lawyer review any release before it is signed or relied on.
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