Illinois physician non-compete law
Illinois enforces reasonable physician non-competes.
Illinois 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 2–25 miles and 24–60 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 — common-law reasonableness
- Last reviewed
- 2026-06-10
- Radius that tends to stand
- 2–25 miles
- Term that tends to stand
- 24–60 months
Governing law: 820 ILCS 90 (Illinois Freedom to Work Act)
These are the general rules for Illinois. 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
Prairie Rheumatology Associates, S.C. v. Francis (2014, Illinois Appellate Court, Third District) — Physician's non-compete unenforceable for inadequate consideration where she resigned after roughly 19 months, short of the two-year continued-employment threshold and with little additional benefit conferred.
The detailed picture
No physician-specific ban, mandatory buyout, or statutory radius/duration cap; physician non-competes are enforced under common-law reasonableness (legitimate business interest, reasonable time/territory) per Reliable Fire/Mohanty. The Freedom to Work Act (820 ILCS 90) imposes generally applicable conditions — a $75,000 income floor (rising to $80k on 1/1/2027, $85k on 1/1/2032, $90k on 1/1/2037), a mandatory 14-day review period, and written advice to consult an attorney (90/20) — but physicians easily clear the income threshold so it does not restrain them; the only healthcare-specific carve-out (90/10(f)) is narrow, voiding covenants entered after 1/1/2025 only as to mental-health services to veterans/first responders by licensed mental-health professionals. The proposed total ban (HB 3213, effective 1/1/2026) did NOT pass — it remains stalled in House Rules Committee (re-referred 4/17/2026 under Rule 19(a)/(c)), never passed either chamber; non-competes remain enforceable in 2026. Illinois is not among the states with a healthcare-worker-specific ban. Courts may judicially reform/blue-pencil unreasonable terms (90/35), and Illinois requires adequate consideration (two-plus years' continued employment as a safe harbor under the Fifield/Prairie Rheumatology line).
Common questions
Are physician non-competes enforceable in Illinois?
Illinois enforces reasonable physician non-competes. Governing law: 820 ILCS 90 (Illinois Freedom to Work Act).
How far and how long can a Illinois physician non-compete reach?
Restrictions that tend to stand here run about 2–25 miles and 24–60 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.