Wisconsin physician non-compete law
Wisconsin enforces physician non-competes within defined limits.
Wisconsin 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 20–50 miles and 12–24 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, but strictly construed (employee-favorable; no blue-pencil)
- Last reviewed
- 2026-06-10
- Radius that tends to stand
- 20–50 miles
- Term that tends to stand
- 12–24 months
Governing law: Wis. Stat. § 103.465
These are the general rules for Wisconsin. 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
Fields Foundation, Ltd. v. Christensen (1981, Wis. Ct. App.) — Upheld a physician/specialty-clinic non-compete barring practice within 50 miles for 2 years, where ~62% of the Center's business came from within that radius; covenant reasonable and not overbroad.
The detailed picture
No physician-specific statute; physician non-competes are governed by the general restrictive-covenant statute, Wis. Stat. § 103.465 (single paragraph, no physician subsection; last amended 2015 Wis. Act 197, s. 51), and are valid only if reasonably necessary to protect the employer in time, territory, and scope. Wisconsin is notably employee-protective: courts strictly construe these covenants and DO NOT blue-pencil — by the statute's express terms an unreasonable restraint is "illegal, void and unenforceable even as to any part" that would be a reasonable restraint. Physician non-competes are not void on public-policy grounds (Oudenhoven, 1971), and reasonable ones (e.g., 20-50 mi / 1-2 yr) have been enforced (Fields Foundation; Pollack). 2025 SB 657 (and companion AB 675), which would have renumbered/amended § 103.465 to impose physician/medical-practitioner-specific limits, FAILED to pass on 3/23/2026, so no statutory cap, buyout, or radius requirement exists.
Common questions
Are physician non-competes enforceable in Wisconsin?
Wisconsin enforces physician non-competes within defined limits. Governing law: Wis. Stat. § 103.465.
How far and how long can a Wisconsin physician non-compete reach?
Restrictions that tend to stand here run about 20–50 miles and 12–24 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.