Pennsylvania physician non-compete law
Pennsylvania sharply limits physician non-competes.
Pennsylvania treats physician non-competes with heavy skepticism and narrows or sets aside restrictions that reach too far. Restrictions that tend to stand here run about 5–25 miles and 12 months; terms beyond that 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
- Limited — statutory 1-year cap; void if dismissed
- Last reviewed
- 2026-06-10
- Radius that tends to stand
- 5–25 miles
- Term that tends to stand
- 12 months
Governing law: Fair Contracting for Health Care Practitioners Act, Act of Jul. 17, 2024, P.L. 846, No. 74 (Act 74 of 2024), eff. Jan. 1, 2025 (HB 1633)
These are the general rules for Pennsylvania. 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
WellSpan Health v. Bayliss (2005, Pa. Super. Ct.) — Pre-Act 74 decision: court declined to enforce a 2-year physician (perinatologist) non-compete in Lancaster County because the public interest in access to specialty care outweighed the employer's protectable interest, and the covenant reached an area where the employer did not compete; reflects the common-law reasonableness/patient-access balancing test.
The detailed picture
Under Act 74 of 2024 (eff. Jan. 1, 2025), physician/DO/CRNA/CRNP/PA non-competes entered after Dec. 31, 2024 are void as against public policy UNLESS the term is no more than one year AND the practitioner was not dismissed by the employer (any non-compete is unenforceable if the employer terminated the practitioner, even for cause; only a practitioner-initiated departure preserves the 1-year covenant). The statute imposes no radius cap (geographic scope still governed by common-law reasonableness, typically tied to the employer's service area), and adds a continuity-of-care duty requiring the employer to notify patients seen within the prior year (with an ongoing outpatient relationship of 2+ years) within 90 days of a practitioner's departure. Exceptions cover business-sale/ownership-transfer transactions (where the practitioner is a party to the sale) and recovery of reasonable expenses (relocation, training, patient-base) accrued within 3 years pre-separation and amortized over no more than 5 years; pre-2025 agreements are unaffected. No 2025-2026 amendments; a Health Care Cost Containment Council study is due by Dec. 31, 2027.
Common questions
Are physician non-competes enforceable in Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania sharply limits physician non-competes. Governing law: Fair Contracting for Health Care Practitioners Act, Act of Jul. 17, 2024, P.L. 846, No. 74 (Act 74 of 2024), eff. Jan. 1, 2025 (HB 1633).
How far and how long can a Pennsylvania physician non-compete reach?
Restrictions that tend to stand here run about 5–25 miles and 12 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.