Utah physician non-compete law
Physician non-competes are generally not enforceable in Utah.
If your contract is governed by Utah law, a physician non-compete is generally void — the state does not let an employer restrict where you practice after you leave. The clause may still appear in your contract; that alone does not make it enforceable. Confirm the restriction is tied to employment (not the sale of a practice or an ownership stake), and don't let an unenforceable clause talk you out of a move it cannot actually block.
- Posture
- Physician non-competes banned (healthcare-worker ban, eff. 5/6/2026)
- Last reviewed
- 2026-06-10
- Radius that tends to stand
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- Term that tends to stand
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Governing law: Utah Code § 34-51-201(1)(b)-(c) (healthcare non-compete void) with definitions at § 34-51-102 ("healthcare non-compete agreement"; "healthcare worker" expressly includes physician per § 58-68-102); exceptions at § 34-51-202; non-solicit/patient-notice at § 34-51-203; remedies at § 34-51-301 — all as enacted/amended by H.B. 270 (2026 Gen. Sess.), signed Mar. 24, 2026, eff. May 6, 2026
These are the general rules for Utah. 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
Robbins v. Finlay (1982, Utah Supreme Court) — Set the pre-2026 Utah common-law test: a non-compete is enforceable only if carefully drawn to protect a legitimate employer interest and reasonable in duration, geography, and scope (framework now displaced for healthcare workers by the H.B. 270 statutory ban). Verified real (645 P.2d 623) and accurately described.
The detailed picture
As of June 2026, Utah bans physician employment non-competes prospectively. H.B. 270 (signed 3/24/2026, eff. 5/6/2026) makes any "healthcare non-compete agreement" between a person and a "healthcare worker" — a category that expressly includes physicians, plus PAs, APRNs, dentists, podiatrists, etc. — void; no duration or radius is enforceable in the employment context for agreements entered on or after the effective date. Carve-outs: a reasonable severance agreement and a non-compete arising from the sale of a business where the restricted individual receives value (§ 34-51-202). A separate provision voids non-solicits that bar a departing provider from telling patients their current/future workplace (§ 34-51-203), and an employer who tries to enforce a void agreement is liable for arbitration costs, attorney fees/court costs, and actual damages (§ 34-51-301). The ban is PROSPECTIVE: it applies only to agreements entered on or after May 6, 2026, so pre-existing covenants remain governed by the prior common-law-reasonableness regime plus the general one-year cap (§ 34-51-201(1)(a)). For a physician signing today, the answer is "banned."
Common questions
Are physician non-competes enforceable in Utah?
Physician non-competes are generally not enforceable in Utah. Governing law: Utah Code § 34-51-201(1)(b)-(c) (healthcare non-compete void) with definitions at § 34-51-102 ("healthcare non-compete agreement"; "healthcare worker" expressly includes physician per § 58-68-102); exceptions at § 34-51-202; non-solicit/patient-notice at § 34-51-203; remedies at § 34-51-301 — all as enacted/amended by H.B. 270 (2026 Gen. Sess.), signed Mar. 24, 2026, eff. May 6, 2026.
My Utah contract still has a non-compete — does that matter?
A clause can appear in a contract without being enforceable. Under Utah law a physician employment non-compete is generally void, so confirm the restriction is not tied to a practice sale or ownership interest, and check your own contract's exact wording.
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.