How long do NDAs usually last?

NDAs usually last 2 to 5 years. That range covers most business conversations, where the information goes stale on its own. Employment-related NDAs often run longer, and trade-secret clauses can last indefinitely, because a secret recipe does not expire on a calendar.

An NDA can last 10 years, and courts have enforced longer, but an unreasonably long term over ordinary information invites a judge to trim or void it. The duration should match how long the information actually stays sensitive.

Some NDAs never formally expire; the confidentiality obligation simply survives. If you sign one, know which kind you are signing. If you send one, pick the shortest term that protects you. It reads as fair and it enforces better.

This plain-language boilerplate NDA lets you set the term in one field.