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Usually not, if what it silences is the abuse itself. Since 1 September 2025, Chapter 129C makes a nondisclosure or confidentiality provision void and unenforceable as against the public policy of this state. It does so to the extent the provision prohibits a person from disclosing an act of sexual abuse or facts related to one.
The law applies to agreements entered into before, on or after that date. It is not limited to children, and it does not void the whole agreement. The money can still be kept confidential. What cannot wait is advice before you speak publicly, because the statute removes one risk and not all of them. Call 713-521-0059.
Section 129C.002 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code covers any provision of a nondisclosure or confidentiality agreement. It also covers any nondisclosure or confidentiality provision of an employment agreement, settlement agreement or any other agreement. Each is void and unenforceable as against the public policy of this state. That is so to the extent the provision prohibits a person, including a party, from disclosing an act of sexual abuse or facts related to an act of sexual abuse to any other person.
The same section then says what is preserved. Nothing in it may be construed to prohibit a person from agreeing to keep confidential any other provision of a settlement agreement. That includes the amount or payment terms of a settlement.
So the line is between the fact of the abuse and the terms of the deal, and you may still be bound as to the number. Under Section 129C.002, a clause cannot bind you to silence about what happened to you, to the extent it prohibits disclosing the abuse or facts related to it. An agreement governed by another state’s law can raise other questions.
It covers adults. Section 129C.001 defines an act of sexual abuse in two ways. One is by reference to conduct described in Section 261.001(1)(E), (F), (G), (H), (K) or (L) of the Family Code. The other is by reference to one or more of these penal laws:
Sexual assault and aggravated sexual assault appear on that list without any age limitation. If you signed an NDA as an adult after a sexual assault that meets one of these definitions, the statute can reach it. It does so to the extent the NDA bars you from disclosing the abuse.
Yes. Chapter 129C itself is silent on agreements signed before the effective date, but the session law that enacted it is not. The applicability provisions are in the session law rather than the code, at Section 3 of Senate Bill 835, 89th Legislature, Regular Session. Section 3(a) provides that the change in law applies to an agreement entered into before, on or after the effective date of the Act.
Section 3(b) goes further. A person may not enforce or attempt to enforce a pre-effective-date agreement or provision described by Section 129C.002 without first taking a step in court. That person must first obtain a declaratory judgment under Chapter 37 that is final and not subject to appeal and declares the agreement or provision enforceable.
That puts the burden of going to court on the party trying to enforce the silence, not on you. Someone holding a 2015 NDA cannot simply send a demand letter and threaten suit. To enforce it, they must obtain a final, unappealable declaratory judgment first. A demand letter threatening enforcement is not a court order.
It does not make the money public. The amount and payment terms of a settlement can still be kept confidential by agreement, and often will be.
It does not remove other risks of speaking. If you name a person publicly, you can be sued for defamation, whatever this statute says about the NDA. Truth is a defense, but a defense is something you assert after being sued.
It does not undo a release. If your settlement released legal claims, those claims remain released. Chapter 129C addresses the silence provision, not the release of liability.
It does not answer every question about a federal case or a non-Texas agreement. Choice of law, and the reach of a Texas public policy statute over an agreement governed by another state’s law, are real questions, and the answers are fact-specific.
They can. Two federal statutes may also apply, most often to agreements that arose from work. The Speak Out Act, 42 U.S.C. Sections 19401 to 19404, addresses pre-dispute nondisclosure and non-disparagement clauses covering sexual assault and sexual harassment disputes. The Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, 9 U.S.C. Sections 401 and 402, allows a person to elect not to be bound by a pre-dispute arbitration agreement or pre-dispute joint-action waiver in those disputes. It applies to disputes or claims that arise or accrue on or after 3 March 2022. Both are federal, and both are narrower than they are usually described.
Neither is a substitute for reading the agreement in front of you. Have someone read the actual document. The question is usually not whether NDAs are enforceable in general. It is what this document says, when it was signed, what law governs it, and which of its clauses Chapter 129C reaches.
Every statute and case linked above was read at its primary source. Texas statutes change every legislative session and case law is constantly changing.
This page is general information about Texas law. It is not legal advice about your situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Each clause marked void is void to the extent it prohibits you from disclosing the abuse or facts related to it. Do not destroy the agreement. Whatever it says, the document itself is evidence, including of who wanted the silence and what they knew when they asked for it. Get advice before speaking publicly, not after, because the sequence matters.
If you signed something after an assault and have felt unable to speak since, bring us the document. We will tell you what Chapter 129C does to it, what it leaves in place, and what the risks of speaking are, in plain terms. The first conversation is free, it is confidential, and it does not commit you to anything. That conversation is protected whether or not you ever hire anyone.
Schiffer Law Firm is a Houston personal injury firm with 50 plus years of combined experience representing injured people and survivors across Texas.
If you are an advocate or a counselor asking on someone’s behalf, you are welcome to call with a general question. We will not ask you for their name.
There is no charge to talk, and no attorney’s fee unless there is a recovery.
Written by Jacob Schiffer, Attorney, Schiffer Law Firm. State Bar of Texas No. 24105175.
Call 713-521-0059.
Not to the extent it prohibits you from disclosing an act of sexual abuse or facts related to one. Section 129C.002, effective 1 September 2025, makes such a provision void and unenforceable as against the public policy of Texas.
Yes. Section 3(a) of Senate Bill 835 applies the change in law to agreements entered into before, on or after the effective date. Under Section 3(b), no one may enforce or attempt to enforce such a pre-effective-date provision without first obtaining a final, unappealable declaratory judgment that it is enforceable.
No. The definition in Section 129C.001 includes sexual assault under Penal Code Section 22.011 and aggravated sexual assault under Section 22.021, neither of which is limited to children.
Not necessarily. Section 129C.002 expressly preserves an agreement to keep confidential any other provision of a settlement, including the amount and payment terms. The abuse is what cannot be silenced.
Chapter 129C addresses the NDA. It does not remove the risk of a defamation suit for naming someone publicly. Truth is a defense, but a defense is asserted after being sued, so get advice before speaking rather than after.
No. If you released legal claims, they remain released. The statute addresses the confidentiality provision, not the release of liability.