Wyoming Freelance Contract Review
Wyoming changed course in 2025. W.S. 1-23-108, enacted as Senate File 107, voids any covenant not to compete that restricts the right of any person to be paid for skilled or unskilled labor, for contracts entered into on or after July 1, 2025. The wording reaches "any person", not only employees, which matters for freelancers. Older agreements still fall under Wyoming's earlier reasonableness case law, so the signing date of your contract now decides which rule applies.
Non-compete / non-solicit in Wyoming
Non-competes limited
Non-competes and non-solicits for freelancers in Wyoming
Under W.S. 1-23-108, non-competes signed on or after July 1, 2025 are void for most workers, but remain possible for executive and management personnel and their professional staff, for trade secret protection, on the sale of a business, and for limited training-cost repayment. Physician non-competes are void; agreements signed earlier follow prior case law.
Client contracts often include a non-solicitation clause, sometimes an overbroad one that tries to bar you from an entire industry. Whatever Wyoming allows, narrow it to the client's own staff and named customers, for a short period, before you sign.
Freelancer payment protection in Wyoming
Wyoming does not yet have a dedicated freelance payment-protection law (New York, Illinois and California have statewide laws), so your contract is your main protection against late or non-payment. Insist on a deposit, milestone payments tied to dates, and a kill fee if the client cancels.
Who owns your work
Under the federal Copyright Act, work is not automatically “work for hire” for an independent contractor, it takes a written assignment. Read whether the contract assigns only the final deliverables or reaches your concepts, drafts, and pre-existing tools, and add a carve-out for the reusable methods you bring to every project.
Which Wyoming non-competes survive the 2025 law?
Four kinds remain. A covenant in a contract to buy or sell a business or its assets. A covenant to the extent it protects trade secrets as defined in W.S. 6-3-501(a)(xi). A clause recovering relocation, education and training costs on a sliding scale: up to 100 percent within two years of service, 66 percent between two and three years, and 33 percent between three and four. And covenants with executive and management personnel and their professional staff.
Physician non-competes are separately void. The statute does not define "executive and management personnel", so expect argument there.
What about Wyoming contracts signed before July 2025?
Section 2 of the Act says it applies only to contracts entered into on and after July 1, 2025, and does not impair earlier agreements. Those older covenants are judged under the reasonableness rules Wyoming courts applied before.
Wyoming has no freelance payment statute and no state income tax, so put payment dates and remedies in your contract.
How should Wyoming freelancers read a training-cost clause?
The 2025 law lets parties recover relocation, education and training costs only on a sliding scale tied to length of service, and the statute frames that scale around employees. If a client contract asks you to repay training costs, check that the amounts are documented and do not exceed the statutory percentages, and push back on any clause that works as a non-compete in disguise.
Wyoming sources checked 2026-10-09: Wyoming SF0107 (2025), Enrolled Act No. 87 · Fisher Phillips, new law voids most Wyoming non-compete agreements. Laws change; confirm the current rule before relying on it.
What ClauseAudit checks in a Wyoming freelance contract
- Non-compete / non-solicit enforceability under Wyoming law
- IP assignment and work-for-hire scope, with a pre-existing-tools carve-out
- Payment terms, deposit, milestones, and a kill fee
- Unlimited "reasonable" revisions with no cap
- Payment gated on subjective client approval
- Liability caps and indemnification
Wyoming freelance contract FAQ
Can a client make me sign a non-compete in Wyoming?
In Wyoming, non-competes are enforceable only in limited cases. Under W.S. 1-23-108, non-competes signed on or after July 1, 2025 are void for most workers, but remain possible for executive and management personnel and their professional staff, for trade secret protection, on the sale of a business, and for limited training-cost repayment. Physician non-competes are void; agreements signed earlier follow prior case law. As a freelancer, push to narrow any restriction to the client's actual customers and a short term.
Does Wyoming protect freelancers from late or non-payment?
As of October 2026, Wyoming does not have a dedicated "Freelance Isn't Free" style payment-protection law (New York, Illinois and California have statewide laws). So your contract's payment terms, milestones, deadlines, a kill fee, are your main protection. Make them specific.
Who owns the work I create for a Wyoming client?
Under US copyright law, work is not automatically "work for hire" for an independent contractor, it requires a written assignment. Read whether the contract assigns only the final deliverables or sweeps in your concepts and pre-existing tools, and add a carve-out for your reusable methods. This is federal law and applies in Wyoming.
Does a Wyoming non-compete apply to an independent contractor?
Wyoming is one of 13 jurisdictions allowing them only in restricted circumstances. Under W.S. 1-23-108, non-competes signed on or after July 1, 2025 are void for most workers, but remain possible for executive and management personnel and their professional staff, for trade secret protection, on the sale of a business, and for limited training-cost repayment. Physician non-competes are void; agreements signed earlier follow prior case law. Contractor restraints are often argued differently from employee ones, since the bargain and the bargaining power differ, so how you are actually engaged matters as much as the label on the agreement.
Does it matter which state's law the agreement names?
It can, because Wyoming's neighbours do not all agree: Idaho (generally enforceable), Montana (generally enforceable), Nebraska (generally enforceable), South Dakota (generally enforceable), Utah (generally enforceable). Which law applies turns on the governing-law and venue clauses and on where the work is actually done, so those two clauses are worth reading before signing a freelance contract.
My Wyoming client contract was signed in 2024. Does the new ban help me?
Not directly. The Act applies to contracts entered into on and after July 1, 2025, and expressly leaves earlier agreements alone. A 2024 covenant is judged under Wyoming's earlier case law on reasonableness of duration, area and scope. If you renew or sign a new agreement after July 1, 2025, the new rule governs that contract.
Can a Wyoming client still protect its confidential information?
Yes. The 2025 law keeps covenants to the extent they protect trade secrets as defined in W.S. 6-3-501(a)(xi), and confidentiality clauses are a separate tool altogether. Expect a client to rely on a strong NDA rather than a non-compete. Check that its definition of confidential information is specific and excludes your general skills and pre-existing tools.
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How neighbouring states treat restrictive covenants
Nationally: 4 jurisdictions treat employee non-competes as void, 13 allow them only in limited circumstances, 34 generally enforce them if reasonable.
Wyoming rules summarized as of October 2026; laws change and localities may add their own. This is automated educational information, not legal advice. ClauseAudit verifies current Wyoming law when you run your contract, and you should confirm anything critical with a qualified attorney.