Florida physician non-compete law
Florida enforces physician non-competes broadly.
Florida treats a reasonable physician non-compete as binding, so assume yours will apply and negotiate the scope down before you sign. Restrictions that tend to stand here run about 5–15 miles and 6–24 months; terms beyond that are the most vulnerable. Narrow the radius to the specific sites where you practiced, shorten the term, and ask for a defined buyout as a release valve.
- Posture
- Enforceable — strongly employer-favorable statute
- Last reviewed
- 2026-06-10
- Radius that tends to stand
- 5–15 miles
- Term that tends to stand
- 6–24 months
Governing law: Fla. Stat. § 542.335 (general); Fla. Stat. § 542.336 (physician specialty-monopoly void rule)
These are the general rules for Florida. 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
21st Century Oncology, Inc. v. Moody (2019, N.D. Fla.) — Upheld constitutionality of § 542.336 against Contracts/Due Process/Equal Protection challenges; employer (which had all 9 radiation oncologists in Lee County) failed to show likelihood of success and was denied a preliminary injunction. A government/statute win rather than a clean employer or physician outcome — the specialty-monopoly void rule survived.
The detailed picture
Physician non-competes remain enforceable under Fla. Stat. § 542.335, a notably employer-favorable statute: § 542.335(1)(h) bars courts from construing restraints narrowly, against the restraint, or against the drafter; (1)(c) mandates modification/blue-penciling of overbroad terms; (1)(d)(1) presumes restraints of 6 months or less reasonable and those over 2 years unreasonable (former-employee, non-sale context, rebuttable); and (1)(j) presumes irreparable injury on breach. The 2025 CHOICE Act (eff. July 1, 2025) created up-to-4-year non-competes/garden-leave for high earners but EXPRESSLY EXCLUDES health care practitioners as defined in § 456.001 (incl. physicians), so physicians are NOT covered and stay under § 542.335. The only physician-specific carve-out is § 542.336 (2019), which voids non-competes for a medical specialty in a county where a single entity employs/contracts all physicians in that specialty, dissolving 3 years after a second entity enters the county — a narrow, largely rural exception, upheld as constitutional. The vacated FTC national non-compete rule (vacated Aug. 2024; FTC dropped the categorical rule in early 2026) does not preempt Florida law.
Common questions
Are physician non-competes enforceable in Florida?
Florida enforces physician non-competes broadly. Governing law: Fla. Stat. § 542.335 (general); Fla. Stat. § 542.336 (physician specialty-monopoly void rule).
How far and how long can a Florida physician non-compete reach?
Restrictions that tend to stand here run about 5–15 miles and 6–24 months; terms beyond that 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.