Kentucky physician non-compete law
Kentucky enforces physician non-competes within defined limits.
Kentucky 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 5–50 miles and 12–36 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, physician/employee-favorable
- Last reviewed
- 2026-06-10
- Radius that tends to stand
- 5–50 miles
- Term that tends to stand
- 12–36 months
These are the general rules for Kentucky. 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
Charles T. Creech, Inc. v. Brown (2014, Supreme Court of Kentucky) — Held continued at-will employment alone is not adequate consideration for a non-compete and that Kentucky courts will not blue-pencil/reform overbroad covenants, voiding the agreement. Citation confirmed 433 S.W.3d 345 (Ky. 2014).
The detailed picture
Kentucky has NO general or physician-specific non-compete statute; physician covenants are governed by common-law reasonableness (reasonable duration, geography, and purpose; no undue hardship; not contrary to public interest), and Lareau v. O'Nan confirms there is no public-policy bar to physician non-competes. Courts lean employee/physician-favorable: under Charles T. Creech, Inc. v. Brown (Ky. 2014), continued at-will employment alone is NOT adequate consideration and Kentucky does not allow judicial blue-penciling/reformation of overbroad covenants. The only healthcare statute, KRS 216.724, reaches only health care services (staffing) agencies and their TEMPORARY direct-care staff (barring buyouts/non-competes); KRS 216.725 expressly excludes PERMANENT direct-care staff, so it does not apply to employed physicians. SB234 (2025), which would have restricted most non-competes, never left the Senate Judiciary Committee and died when the session adjourned sine die on 3/28/2025; it is not law. The $350k/1-yr/10-mi physician cap reported by some trackers is Maryland law, not Kentucky.
Common questions
Are physician non-competes enforceable in Kentucky?
Kentucky enforces physician non-competes within defined limits.
How far and how long can a Kentucky physician non-compete reach?
Restrictions that tend to stand here run about 5–50 miles and 12–36 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.