District of Columbia physician non-compete law
District of Columbia sharply limits physician non-competes.
District of Columbia treats physician non-competes with heavy skepticism and narrows or sets aside restrictions that reach too far. Terms up to about 0–24 months tend to stand here; longer ones are the most vulnerable. Before you sign, pull the radius and term to the low end of what the state lets stand, and make sure the clause covers only the sites where you actually worked.
- Posture
- Limited — income-threshold ban + 2-year cap for physicians
- Last reviewed
- 2026-06-10
- Radius that tends to stand
- —
- Term that tends to stand
- 0–24 months
Governing law: D.C. Code §§ 32-581.01 to 32-581.05 (esp. § 32-581.02 prohibition; § 32-581.03(a)(1)(C)(ii) medical-specialist 730-day cap; § 32-581.01 "medical specialist" definition)
These are the general rules for District of Columbia. Your contract's exact radius, term, and buyout decide how it actually lands. See how your own clause compares — free.
Check your contract — free →The detailed picture
DC's Ban on Non-Compete Agreements Act (as amended by D.C. Law 24-175, eff. Oct. 1, 2022) voids non-competes for "covered employees" (§ 32-581.02) but permits them for a defined "medical specialist" — a licensed physician who completed residency, is primarily engaged in delivering medical services, and earns at/above a CPI-indexed threshold ($250k statutory base; $263,939 in 2025; $270,274 effective Jan. 1, 2026). A physician earning below that threshold cannot be bound at all; one at/above it can be, but the term cannot exceed 730 calendar days post-separation (§ 32-581.03(a)(1)(C)(ii)), the agreement must specify functional and geographic scope, and the employer must give 14 days' advance written notice (§ 32-581.03(b)). No radius cap is set by statute (scope must just be specified/reasonable); no continuity-of-care/patient-notice rule.
Common questions
Are physician non-competes enforceable in District of Columbia?
District of Columbia sharply limits physician non-competes. Governing law: D.C. Code §§ 32-581.01 to 32-581.05 (esp. § 32-581.02 prohibition; § 32-581.03(a)(1)(C)(ii) medical-specialist 730-day cap; § 32-581.01 "medical specialist" definition).
How far and how long can a District of Columbia physician non-compete reach?
Terms up to about 0–24 months tend to stand here; longer ones are the most vulnerable. The radius and term in your specific contract decide how it lands — check your own clause.
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.