Kansas Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) Review
Kansas adopted its Uniform Trade Secrets Act in 1981, at K.S.A. 60-3320 to 60-3330. For NDA signers, the bigger recent change is SB 241, signed April 9, 2025 and effective July 1, 2025, which amended the Kansas Restraint of Trade Act (K.S.A. 50-163) to conclusively presume many non-solicitation covenants enforceable and to require courts to modify overbroad covenants rather than void them.
Trade-secret law
Uniform Trade Secrets Act
Bundled non-compete
Enforceable if reasonable
Confidentiality & trade secrets in Kansas
Kansas protects trade secrets under its version of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, and the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act applies on top. A reasonable NDA is enforceable, but courts still look at scope, an over-broad definition of "confidential information" with no exclusions is the most common weakness.
Watch for a non-compete inside the NDA
Enforceable if reasonable and protecting a legitimate interest. Under K.S.A. 50-163 (amended 2025), employee non-solicits of material-contact customers up to 2 years and owner non-solicitation covenants up to 4 years are conclusively presumed enforceable; that act does not cover non-competes.
A confidentiality agreement should protect information, not restrict who you can work for. If an NDA in Kansas also tries to bar you from competitors or from soliciting contacts, treat that as a separate restrictive covenant and judge it by Kansas's non-compete rules above.
What did Kansas SB 241 change in 2025?
A written covenant not to solicit or recruit other employees is conclusively presumed enforceable if it either protects the employer's confidential or trade secret information, customer or supplier relationships, or goodwill, or lasts no more than two years after employment ends. Because those are alternatives, many employee non-solicits qualify.
A customer non-solicit is conclusively presumed enforceable if it is limited to 'material contact customers', those you solicited, serviced or had confidential information about, and lasts no more than two years. The law excludes non-competes from its scope and directs courts to modify overbroad covenants.
What does Kansas trade secret law add?
K.S.A. 60-3320 defines a trade secret using the uniform test: value from secrecy plus reasonable steps to keep it secret. Misappropriation includes disclosing or using information acquired under a duty of confidence, which is exactly the duty an NDA creates.
Kansas has no statute specifically limiting harassment NDAs as of 2026, so the federal Speak Out Act is the main limit on pre-dispute secrecy for sexual harassment claims.
Negotiation tips for a Kansas NDA
Because SB 241 makes many non-solicits presumptively enforceable, the time to negotiate is before you sign. Ask to limit customer restrictions to material contact customers and to one year rather than two. Confirm that confidentiality excludes public information and what you knew before the job. If you are a manager who recruits, ask whether casual referrals of former colleagues would count as soliciting.
Kansas sources checked 2026-10-09: K.S.A. 60-3320 (Kansas Revisor of Statutes) · Kansas law mandates reformation and strengthens non-solicitation covenants (Littler). Laws change; confirm the current rule before relying on it.
What ClauseAudit checks in a Kansas NDA
- Definition of "confidential information", narrow, or everything?
- The four standard exclusions (public, already known, independently developed, third-party)
- Duration, a defined term, or a perpetual obligation?
- A "residuals" clause allowing use of what is remembered
- Any bundled non-compete or non-solicitation, judged by Kansas law
- Return/destruction obligation and one-sided injunctive relief
Kansas NDA FAQ
Is an NDA enforceable in Kansas?
Yes, a reasonable confidentiality agreement is generally enforceable in Kansas, backed by the state’s Uniform Trade Secrets Act and, at the federal level, the Defend Trade Secrets Act. What matters is scope: an NDA with an over-broad definition of "confidential information," no standard exclusions, or a perpetual term is far weaker than it looks and worth narrowing.
Can an NDA include a non-compete in Kansas?
NDAs sometimes bundle in non-compete or non-solicitation language, and in Kansas a reasonable non-compete can be enforceable, Enforceable if reasonable and protecting a legitimate interest. Under K.S.A. 50-163 (amended 2025), employee non-solicits of material-contact customers up to 2 years and owner non-solicitation covenants up to 4 years are conclusively presumed enforceable; that act does not cover non-competes. A confidentiality agreement should not quietly restrict who you can work for, so flag any non-compete inside it.
What makes an NDA fair in Kansas?
A sound NDA defines confidential information narrowly, includes the standard exclusions (public information, what you already knew, what you independently develop, and what a third party gives you), has a defined term rather than a perpetual one, and does not include a broad "residuals" clause or a hidden non-compete. ClauseAudit checks each of these against Kansas law.
Can Kansas enforce a non-compete buried in an NDA?
Kansas is one of 34 jurisdictions where a non-compete is generally enforceable if reasonable in duration, geography and scope. Enforceable if reasonable and protecting a legitimate interest. Under K.S.A. 50-163 (amended 2025), employee non-solicits of material-contact customers up to 2 years and owner non-solicitation covenants up to 4 years are conclusively presumed enforceable; that act does not cover non-competes. Confidentiality obligations are a separate question and are not affected by any of that, which is why a restraint tucked into an NDA deserves reading on its own terms rather than as part of the secrecy clause.
If the restriction in my Kansas agreement is too broad, what happens?
Courts may rewrite an overbroad restriction to something reasonable. That cuts against you: an employer has little to lose by drafting wide, because a court can pare the clause back rather than discard it. Negotiating the wording before signing matters more here than in states where an overbroad clause simply fails.
Does it matter which state's law the agreement names?
It can, because Kansas's neighbours do not all agree: Colorado (limited), Oklahoma (void). 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 an NDA.
Is a two-year employee non-solicit in a Kansas NDA enforceable?
Under SB 241, effective July 1, 2025, it is conclusively presumed enforceable if it lasts two years or less, or if it protects confidential information, trade secrets, customer relationships or goodwill. A conclusive presumption is very hard to argue around, so negotiating scope before signing is far easier than litigating it.
What is a 'material contact customer' in Kansas?
Under the 2025 amendment, it is a customer or prospective customer you solicited, produced or serviced, directly or indirectly, or about whom you had confidential or trade secret information. A Kansas customer non-solicit that reaches beyond those customers loses the statutory presumption.
Asked to sign an NDA in Kansas?
Upload it and get every clause checked against Kansas law in about a minute, with a fix for each problem.
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.
Kansas rules summarized as of October 2026; laws change. This is automated educational information, not legal advice. ClauseAudit verifies current Kansas law when you run your NDA, and you should confirm anything critical with a qualified attorney.