Mississippi physician non-compete law
Mississippi enforces reasonable physician non-competes.
Mississippi 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 50–100 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
- 50–100 miles
- Term that tends to stand
- 24–60 months
These are the general rules for Mississippi. 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
Empiregas, Inc. of Kosciusko v. Bain (1992, Miss. Supreme Court) — Articulated the multi-factor reasonableness test (employer/employee/public interests) and held that a bad-faith / without-cause termination defeats an otherwise valid covenant; covenant NOT enforced and a 50-mile restraint deemed unreasonably oppressive to the employee. (Verifier note: employer lost here - prior 'employer-modified' label was imprecise.)
The detailed picture
Mississippi has NO non-compete statute - enforceability is purely common-law. Physician non-competes are enforceable if reasonable in duration and geography; there is no physician-specific statute, mandatory buyout, radius/duration cap, or continuity-of-care/notice rule. Courts disfavor restraints, place the burden on the party seeking enforcement, balance employer/employee/public interests (public interest weighs more heavily for physicians), apply the blue-pencil doctrine, and refuse enforcement where the employer terminated in bad faith (Empiregas). Five years is the longest term ever upheld (per Business Communications v. Banks); 2 years is routinely treated as reasonable. Physician/healthcare-specific ban bills (SB2685 in 2018, HB889 in 2024) were introduced but died in committee; nothing was enacted in the 2025 or 2026 sessions, and Mississippi was not among the 2025 wave of healthcare non-compete reform states (AR, CO, IL, IN, MT, OR, TX, UT).
Common questions
Are physician non-competes enforceable in Mississippi?
Mississippi enforces reasonable physician non-competes.
How far and how long can a Mississippi physician non-compete reach?
Restrictions that tend to stand here run about 50–100 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.