Arkansas non-compete law: Ark. Code 4-75-101 for recruiters

Arkansas is one of the more employer-friendly non-compete states. Arkansas Code section 4-75-101, first enacted by Act 921 of 2015, enforces a covenant tied to employment when the employer has a protectable business interest and the covenant's time and scope go no further than needed; two years is presumptively reasonable, no geographic limit is strictly required, continued employment counts as consideration, and a court that finds a clause too broad must reform it and enforce the narrower version. The major exception is new: since August 5, 2025, Act 232 of 2025 makes any covenant that restricts a physician's practice void. That is the law as of October 2026.

For a recruiter, the Arkansas default is that a candidate's covenant will usually be enforced in some form, so the question is how far, not whether. Your job is to collect the facts and pass them on. The general screen is in non-compete questions for candidates, and the agency and client clauses are in non-solicitation clauses for recruiters.

What does Arkansas law say about non-competes?

Act 921 of 2015 (SB 998, approved April 1, 2015) created the statute, then numbered section 4-70-207 and now codified at section 4-75-101, as Act 232 of 2025 confirms by amending it under that number. Its core rule: a covenant not to compete "is enforceable if the agreement is ancillary to an employment relationship or part of an otherwise enforceable employment agreement or contract" to the extent that the employer has a protectable business interest and the covenant "is limited with respect to time and scope in a manner that is not greater than necessary to defend the protectable business interest of the employer."

The protectable business interests the Act lists are the employer's:

• trade secrets, intellectual property and customer lists;
• goodwill with customers;
• knowledge of its business practices, methods, profit margins and costs;
• other confidential business information that is "confidential, proprietary, and increases in value from not being known by a competitor";
• training and education of its employees; and
• other valuable employer data provided to an employee that an employer "would reasonably seek to protect or safeguard from a competitor in the interest of fairness."

How does Arkansas judge whether a covenant is reasonable?

• Two years is presumed reasonable. A post-termination restriction of two years "is presumptively reasonable as to length of time" unless the facts "clearly demonstrate" otherwise.
• No map required. The lack of a specific geographic restriction does not by itself make a covenant overbroad if it is limited in time and scope. Courts consider the nature of the protectable interest, the geographic scope of the business and whether a geographic limit is feasible, whether the restriction is limited to specific customers or other people or entities, and the nature of the business.
• Continued employment is enough. "An employee's continued employment is sufficient consideration" for a covenant, so a non-compete signed mid-employment with no raise or bonus can still be supported.
• Irreparable harm is presumed. For a preliminary injunction, the immediate harm from a breach "shall be considered irreparable." That makes a fast court order more realistic in Arkansas than in many states.

What happens if an Arkansas non-compete is too broad?

The court fixes it. If the restrictions are unreasonable and greater than necessary, "the court shall reform the covenant not to compete agreement" to make its limits reasonable, and "shall enforce the covenant not to compete agreement under the reformed terms and conditions." Reformation is mandatory, not a matter of the court's discretion.

Example only: a Little Rock pharmaceutical sales representative signed a three-year covenant barring work for any competitor, with no area named. Three years is past the presumption and the scope is wide, so a court might reform it to two years and to the accounts or territory the representative actually handled, then enforce that. The candidate is still bound, more narrowly. "It has no geography, so it's void" is not something to tell a client or a candidate in Arkansas.

Which agreements and workers fall outside the statute?

The physician rule is the one healthcare recruiters need. Act 232 defines "physician" as a person authorized or licensed to practice medicine under the Arkansas Medical Practices Act and a person authorized to practice osteopathy. It was approved March 4, 2025 and has no emergency clause. Under Attorney General Opinion 2025-032, acts of the 2025 regular session without an emergency clause or a specified effective date became effective August 5, 2025. The Act does not say whether it reaches covenants signed before that date, so record the signing date and let counsel decide.

Because the Act 921 exclusion for Title 17, Subtitle 3 licensees still stands for professions other than physicians, a covenant signed by another licensed health professional is judged under Arkansas common law rather than the statute's two-year presumption and mandatory reformation. That is a different analysis, not a free pass.

Arkansas non-compete rules at a glance

What should a recruiter ask an Arkansas candidate?

Ask the same restrictive-agreement question of every candidate for the role, early in the phone screen, and record facts only. You do not need pay to analyze an Arkansas covenant, so leave it out of the conversation.

ARKANSAS CANDIDATE — restrictive agreements

1. "Have you signed a non-compete, a customer or employee non-solicit,
    or a confidentiality agreement with your current or a past employer?"
2. "How long does it last after you leave, and does it name an area,
    specific customers, or kinds of work?"
3. "When did you sign it, and was it at hiring or later on?"
4. "What was it part of: the offer, a promotion, a bonus or equity
    plan, the sale of a business?"
5. Health care roles: "Which license do you hold? If you are a
    physician, was it signed before or after August 5, 2025?"
6. "Does it name which state's law applies or where disputes go?"
Always: "We don't want any confidential information, documents or
customer lists from your current employer."

• Do not say "it was signed after you started, so it doesn't count." Continued employment is sufficient consideration under the statute.
• Do not say "it has no geography, so it's void." The statute says otherwise.
• Do record "24-month non-compete, no area, competitors in medical devices, signed 2021 mid-employment" rather than "probably too broad."

What is the risk to the hiring company?

Arkansas gives a former employer three advantages at once: a two-year presumption, mandatory reformation of an overbroad clause, and a statutory presumption of irreparable harm for a preliminary injunction. The realistic outcome of a dispute is often an early court order keeping the new hire away from certain customers or work for a period, which can strand a placement shortly after the start date. Former employers also sometimes name the new employer, claiming it interfered with the contract or received confidential information; how that plays out depends on what the new employer knew and did, which is a question for its counsel.

Practical steps: tell the client about the covenant before final interviews, let its counsel review the agreement before the offer, scope the first months of the role away from restricted customers where possible, and say again at the offer that the company wants no confidential information. The offer call script is the place to confirm it.

What changed recently, and what is next?

The most recent change is Act 232 of 2025, which voided physician covenants and changed subsection (h) so that the whole section, not just one subsection, excludes sale-of-business, franchise and other non-employment agreements. Arkansas's next regular session meets in 2027. Check the Acts search on arkleg.state.ar.us before relying on this summary next year.

Where does the federal FTC rule stand?

It does not apply. A federal court set aside the FTC's 2024 rule; on September 5, 2025 the Commission voted 3-1 to dismiss its appeals and accede to the vacatur, and a February 12, 2026 Federal Register notice removed it from the Code of Federal Regulations. Arkansas law governs Arkansas covenants.

Staffing agencies and their own agreements

If your agency asks its recruiters to sign a non-compete, section 4-75-101 applies to you as the employer, with the same presumptions. A clause stopping a departing recruiter from recruiting your staff, or a confidentiality clause, is outside the statute and judged under common law, so draft it narrowly. Client no-hire clauses raise separate questions, covered in no-poach agreements and antitrust law.

Arkansas repealed its private employment agency license in 2025; see the Arkansas staffing agency license guide for what remains, hiring employees in Arkansas for registrations, employer of record in Arkansas for out-of-state hiring, and E-Verify requirements in Arkansas for the 2026 rule for state entities. If you record screening calls, read the Arkansas recording consent guide first.

An Arkansas checklist

• Restrictive-agreement question asked of every candidate, in the same words.
• Facts recorded: type, length, area or customers, signing date, what it was tied to, governing-law clause.
• Physicians flagged with signing date relative to August 5, 2025; other licensed health professionals flagged as outside the statute.
• No opinion on enforceability given; candidate pointed to their own lawyer.
• Hiring company told before final interviews, with the injunction risk explained.
• "No confidential information" said at the screen and again at the offer.
• Acts of the 2027 session checked for changes to section 4-75-101.