Maine physician non-compete law
Maine sharply limits physician non-competes.
Maine treats physician non-competes with heavy skepticism and narrows or sets aside restrictions that reach too far. Terms up to about 12–24 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
- Enforceable but statutorily restricted (non-owner ban as of 7/13/2026)
- Last reviewed
- 2026-06-10
- Radius that tends to stand
- —
- Term that tends to stand
- 12–24 months
Governing law: 26 M.R.S. § 599-A
These are the general rules for Maine. 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
Maine does NOT ban physician non-competes outright. Under 26 M.R.S. § 599-A they are enforceable only if reasonable and no broader than necessary to protect trade secrets, confidential information, or goodwill (no statutory duration or radius cap; courts apply common-law reasonableness, with roughly 1-2 years the typical outer bound). Section 599-A(3) voids non-competes for employees earning at or below 400% of the federal poverty level, which does not reach physicians; allopathic (Title 32 ch. 48) and osteopathic (ch. 36) physicians are expressly exempted from the 1-year/6-month delayed-effectiveness rule in § 599-A(5), so their covenants take effect immediately. MAJOR CHANGE: L.D. 2200 (signed 4/15/2026, effective 7/13/2026) amends § 599-A so that, for agreements entered into or renewed on/after that date, a non-compete with a health care practitioner (including physicians) is PROHIBITED unless the practitioner holds an ownership interest in the employing entity; any enforceable covenant must also recognize a patient's right to choose their own practitioner and satisfy a 3-business-day advance-notice requirement. Net effect for the typical employed (non-owner) physician on/after 7/13/2026 is a ban, but the statute is structured as an ownership-conditioned restriction rather than a categorical bar, so "limited" is the correct bucket.
Common questions
Are physician non-competes enforceable in Maine?
Maine sharply limits physician non-competes. Governing law: 26 M.R.S. § 599-A.
How far and how long can a Maine physician non-compete reach?
Terms up to about 12–24 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.