Download Washington Non-Disclosure Agreement Template [PDF]

The Washington non-disclosure agreement (NDA), or confidential disclosure agreement, is a legal document that defines the confidential information of the parties signing the agreement and creates an obligation for the parties not to share confidential information and trade secrets with the public.

What is a Trade Secret in Washington?

In Washington, a trade secret is proprietary information that is crucial for the operation or success of a certain business entity, is not publicly known, and is kept confidential as a competitive advantage of that business entity on the market.

Types of Non-Disclosure Agreements

The two main types of non-disclosure agreement forms are unilateral and mutual NDAs. The main difference between these two types is who takes on the obligation of keeping the shared information confidential.

With the unilateral NDA, only one party has the obligation of confidentiality, while the mutual NDA forms such an obligation for all parties.

Legal Requirements for Washington Non-Disclosure Agreement

In this section, you can find the state regulations for the Washington non-disclosure agreement template:

Mandatory Requirements

Statutes: § 19.108.010 to 19.108.930
Definitions: § 19.108.010
Actions for misappropriation—Time limitation: An action for misappropriation must be brought within three years after the misappropriation is discovered. (§ 19.108.060)

What Can a Non-Disclosure Agreement Be Used For in Washington?

The Washington non-disclosure agreement can be used in numerous situations based on the type of confidential information, the level of confidentiality, and more.

Here, you can see the most common situations in which the NDA can be used:

NDA Uses and Scopes

Protection of business and trade secrets: The NDA can be used by businesses that want to protect the confidential information they are sharing with their business partners, vendors, suppliers, and other third parties during their business interactions.
Protection of information after litigation: The parties choose to create the NDA to protect the details of their litigation settlement agreement.
Protection of intellectual property: Parties use it for protecting the software, creative work, inventions, and other types of intellectual property the third parties have access to during their interaction with the party issuing the NDA.
Protection of information during employment: This type of NDA is usually signed along with the employment agreement with the goal of protecting the confidential information the employee gains access to during their employment.

Washington Non-Disclosure Agreement FAQ

Yes, the NDA is a legally binding document in Washington. However, for the document to be fully legally binding for all the parties, each one of them must have the full legal capacity to sign it.
No, the NDA doesn’t need to be signed in front of a witness in Washington. However, if the parties want to provide an additional level of authentication for the document, they can include the witness signatures.
Yes, you can decline to sign the NDA in Washington. However, before declining to sign, you should keep in mind that this action might have a potential negative effect on the relationship between you and the party issuing the NDA.