Alabama physician non-compete law
Physician non-competes are generally not enforceable in Alabama.
If your contract is governed by Alabama law, a physician non-compete is generally void — the state does not let an employer restrict where you practice after you leave. The clause may still appear in your contract; that alone does not make it enforceable. Confirm the restriction is tied to employment (not the sale of a practice or an ownership stake), and don't let an unenforceable clause talk you out of a move it cannot actually block.
- Posture
- Banned — physicians are exempt "professionals"; non-competes void
- Last reviewed
- 2026-06-10
- Radius that tends to stand
- —
- Term that tends to stand
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Governing law: Ala. Code §§ 8-1-190 to 8-1-197 (esp. § 8-1-190(a) general voidance of contracts restraining a lawful profession; § 8-1-196 preserves common-law professional exemption)
These are the general rules for Alabama. Your contract's exact radius, term, and buyout decide how it actually lands. See how your own clause compares — free.
Check your contract — free →A case that shaped this
Friddle v. Raymond (1991, Supreme Court of Alabama (575 So. 2d 1038)) — Held licensed veterinarians are 'professionals' exempt from non-competes, applying the same professional-exemption analysis Alabama courts use for physicians; the covenant not to compete was unenforceable.
The detailed picture
Ala. Code § 8-1-190(a) provides that every contract by which anyone is restrained from exercising a lawful profession, trade, or business is to that extent void (subject only to enumerated business/employee/sale-of-goodwill exceptions). § 8-1-196 states nothing in the article shall eliminate any professional exemption recognized by Alabama law, preserving the common-law rule under which physicians/doctors are exempt "professionals." Alabama courts have repeatedly held medical practitioners are professionals (ENT in Odess, ophthalmologist in Salisbury, and by analogy the veterinarian framework in Friddle), so physician employment non-competes are void/unenforceable. The statute does not enumerate which occupations qualify, leaving "professional" status court-defined. No 2023-2026 amendment narrowed this; the exemption survived the 2016 (eff. Jan. 1, 2016) restrictive-covenant overhaul and persists in the 2025 Code. Caveat: non-solicitation covenants, sale-of-practice/goodwill covenants, and partnership-dissolution covenants are analyzed under § 8-1-190(b) and may be treated differently than an employment non-compete.
Common questions
Are physician non-competes enforceable in Alabama?
Physician non-competes are generally not enforceable in Alabama. Governing law: Ala. Code §§ 8-1-190 to 8-1-197 (esp. § 8-1-190(a) general voidance of contracts restraining a lawful profession; § 8-1-196 preserves common-law professional exemption).
My Alabama contract still has a non-compete — does that matter?
A clause can appear in a contract without being enforceable. Under Alabama law a physician employment non-compete is generally void, so confirm the restriction is not tied to a practice sale or ownership interest, and check your own contract's exact wording.
Other states
General legal information, not legal advice. Non-compete enforceability turns on the exact wording of your contract and your circumstances; this page describes the state's general posture as last reviewed 2026-06-10.