Blog / Veterinary / DVM non-competes: the healthcare carve-out that doesn't include you

DVM non-competes: the healthcare carve-out that doesn't include you

Several states passed limits on non-competes for healthcare practitioners in 2025. Almost none of them name veterinarians. Physicians, dentists, nurses and PAs get the friendlier rules; DVMs mostly fall back to general contract law — and most associates do not know that.

Veterinary · August 26, 2026

Key takeaways

Four states void most employee non-competes by statute — California, Minnesota (for agreements from 1 July 2023), North Dakota and Oklahoma — with Montana and Wyoming barring them broadly.
Several states passed 2025 limits on healthcare practitioner non-competes, but those statutes define practitioner around physicians, dentists, nurses and PAs — and no state's provisions explicitly name veterinarians.
Maryland is the exception: it bans non-competes restricting both veterinarians and veterinary technicians by name.
Outside the outright-ban states, DVMs generally fall under the common-law reasonableness test, not the friendlier physician rules — so duration, geography and legitimate business interest decide enforceability.
Some states — Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Illinois, Virginia among them — only permit non-competes above a salary threshold, which matters for associates paid near the median.

This is general information about how these clauses are treated, not legal advice. Non-compete law is state-specific and changing quickly — several states amended theirs in 2025 and 2026. Before signing or relying on anything here, have the actual document reviewed by an employment lawyer in your state.

The gap most associates do not know about

Non-compete law has moved substantially in the last two years, mostly toward greater restriction on employers. Federal action stalled, and reform has happened state by state.[1]

A number of states passed limits specifically for healthcare practitioners in 2025, Pennsylvania and Texas among them. That sounds like good news for veterinarians. It generally is not, for a reason that is easy to miss: those statutes define "health care practitioner" around physicians, dentists, nurses and physician assistants, and veterinarians are not explicitly named in any state's provisions.[2][3]

Maryland is the exception, and worth knowing about because it is the model: it bans non-competes restricting veterinarians and veterinary technicians by name.[3]

Everywhere else, unless the state bans non-competes outright, a DVM generally falls back under the general common-law reasonableness regime rather than the friendlier physician-specific rules.[3] Same building, same patients-in-all-but-species, different legal treatment.

4States voiding most non-competes by statute

1State naming veterinarians specifically

0Healthcare carve-outs that name DVMs

Where you stand, by category of state

Broad categories rather than a state-by-state table, because the detail changes and a table would be out of date within months.

Category	States	What it means for a DVM
Void by statute	California, Minnesota (agreements from 1 July 2023), North Dakota, Oklahoma	Most employee non-competes are unenforceable regardless of drafting
Barred broadly	Montana, Wyoming	Very limited scope for enforcement
Salary threshold	Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Illinois, Virginia and others	Only permitted above an income floor, adjusted periodically
Named protection for vets	Maryland	Explicitly covers veterinarians and technicians
Common-law reasonableness	Most remaining states	Enforceable if narrowly tailored and supported by legitimate interest

Two practical notes.

The salary threshold category deserves a real check. The BLS median for veterinarians is $125,510, and thresholds in these states vary and move.[6] An associate near or below the median may fall under the line — which is not something to assume in either direction.

"Void by statute" does not mean "ignore the document." It means a court is unlikely to enforce the restriction. It does not stop a former employer sending a letter, and it does not mean other clauses in the same contract — non-solicits, confidentiality, training-cost repayment — fall away with it.

What courts actually weigh

In common-law states, enforceability turns on reasonableness across three axes:[4][5]

Duration. Twelve months is commonly defensible. Three years and up is frequently challenged successfully.

Geography. The test is whether the radius reflects the practice's genuine client catchment. In a dense urban market a two-mile radius may be reasonable and a twenty-five-mile one absurd, because twenty-five miles captures a population that was never going to be the practice's clientele. In a rural market the same twenty-five miles may be entirely reasonable. Radius alone tells you nothing — radius against catchment tells you a lot.

Legitimate business interest. Protecting client relationships and confidential business information generally qualifies. Preventing ordinary competition generally does not. This is why non-solicits often survive when non-competes attached to the same contract do not.

A fourth factor, undue hardship, is where the veterinary shortage becomes relevant. In a market with a documented shortage, an argument that a restriction denies the public access to care has more force than it would in an oversupplied profession — though how much weight a court gives that varies.

The clause people should worry about more

Most associates read the non-compete and skim the non-solicit. That is usually the wrong way round.

A non-compete restricts where you can work. A non-solicit restricts who you can approach — and it comes in two forms that are worth separating:

Client non-solicit — you cannot approach the practice's clients. Narrow, generally enforceable, and often reasonable.
Staff non-solicit — you cannot recruit former colleagues. Also generally enforceable, and the one that quietly matters most if you ever open your own practice or move somewhere hiring.

Because non-solicits are narrower, they survive scrutiny more often. An associate who successfully argues their way out of a non-compete may still be bound by the non-solicit in the same document.

Worth also checking: whether the clause is triggered by any departure or only by resignation. A restriction that binds you after being made redundant is a materially worse deal and is not unusual.

What to negotiate, and how

Removal is rarely achievable. Narrowing very often is, and it is the more productive ask.

1. Shorten the term. Twelve months or less. Ask directly what the practice believes the longer term protects, and whether twelve months achieves it.

2. Reduce the radius to the real catchment. Ask where their clients actually come from. If 90% live within four miles, a twenty-mile radius is not protecting a client base — and framing the ask that way is more persuasive than arguing fairness.

3. Carve out emergency and relief work. A common and reasonable request: the restriction should not prevent you covering an emergency shift twelve miles away. Most practices concede this because they can see it does not threaten them.

4. Define the trigger. Resignation only, not redundancy or termination without cause.

5. Get the non-solicit separated and read properly. Understand whether it covers clients, staff, or both, and for how long.

6. Ask what happens if they are acquired. Corporate consolidation is active in veterinary practice. A restriction drafted for a single independent clinic can travel to a group with fifty locations, and a radius measured from "any practice owned by the employer" is a very different restriction after an acquisition than before it.

That last one is the question fewest associates ask and the one most likely to matter in five years.

Know the terms before the third interview — Talent Partners on PayRecruiter have worked in veterinary practice, so restrictive covenants come up early rather than at contract stage. Discovering a fifty-mile radius after you have accepted is an expensive way to find out.

Before you sign

Find out which category your state falls into.
Read the non-solicit as carefully as the non-compete.
Measure the radius against where clients actually live.
Check the trigger — resignation only, or any departure.
Ask about acquisition.
Have it reviewed by an employment lawyer in your state. It is a small cost against a restriction that could shape where you live.

The one-line version

The 2025 healthcare non-compete reforms were written for physicians and nurses, and veterinarians were left out of almost all of them. Unless you are in a state that voids these clauses outright — or in Maryland, which names DVMs specifically — assume yours is enforceable if it is narrowly drawn, and negotiate the scope before you sign rather than after.

Common questions

Are veterinary non-competes enforceable?

It depends entirely on the state. Four states void most employee non-competes by statute — California, Minnesota, North Dakota and Oklahoma — and Montana and Wyoming bar them broadly. Elsewhere they are generally enforceable if narrowly drawn and supported by a legitimate business interest.

Do the new healthcare non-compete laws cover veterinarians?

Mostly no. States that passed 2025 limits for healthcare practitioners, including Pennsylvania and Texas, define the term around physicians, dentists, nurses and physician assistants. Veterinarians are not explicitly named in any state's provisions. Maryland is the exception and bans them for veterinarians and technicians by name.

What makes a veterinary non-compete unenforceable?

Usually scope. Courts assess whether the duration and geographic radius are reasonable and whether they protect a legitimate business interest without imposing undue hardship. A two-mile, one-year restriction is far more defensible than a fifty-mile, five-year one.

Is a non-solicit different from a non-compete?

Yes, and it is often the more meaningful clause. A non-compete restricts where you can work; a non-solicit restricts who you can approach — clients, staff, or both. Non-solicits are generally easier to enforce because they are narrower.

Does a salary threshold protect me?

In some states. Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Illinois and Virginia among others only permit non-competes above an income threshold, adjusted periodically. An associate paid near the profession median may fall below the line in some of those states — which is worth checking rather than assuming.

Can I negotiate it out before signing?

Frequently, and it is far easier before signing than after. The most commonly successful negotiation is not removal but narrowing — reducing the radius to something that reflects the actual client catchment, and the term to twelve months or less.

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