Non-compete laws · TN

Tennessee physician non-compete law

As of October 21, 2026, Tennessee law allows physician non-competes only within limits; a pay threshold also applies.

Allowed with physician-specific limitsChecked 2026-10-21

Statute deems healthcare-provider noncompetes reasonable if written, two years or less, and limited to the greater of 10 miles or the county (or to the employer's facilities). Emergency physicians excluded. A 2026 general law adds time presumptions and bans noncompetes for employees earning under $70,000. (Tenn. Code Ann. § 63-1-148 (2025 Code, via Justia))

Changed recently. The current rule took effect 2026-07-01. Pages and guides written before then may describe the old rule.

Limits in the law

  • Pay threshold: General law (Pub. Ch. 934, Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-1-211): employers may not require, request, or enforce a noncompete against an employee whose annualized compensation is under $70,000; applies to agreements entered, renewed, or amended on or after 2026-07-01
  • § 63-1-148(a): restriction must be in an employment agreement or other writing signed by the provider and the employing/contracting entity
  • Deemed reasonable (§ 63-1-148(a)): duration of two years or less, and an area no larger than the greater of a 10-mile radius from the primary practice site or that site's county; alternatively, no geographic limit but a bar on practicing at any facility where the employer provided services
  • These terms define when a covenant is 'deemed reasonable'; a June 2026 federal district court ruling (Upperline Healthcare v. Hoover, M.D. Tenn.) held the statute sets no upper limit and upheld a 15-mile radius as reasonable
  • Pub. Ch. 934 (§ 50-1-210): for employees/independent contractors, restraints of two years or less presumed reasonable in time and longer restraints presumed unreasonable; courts may modify covenants

Who it covers

§ 63-1-148: health care providers licensed under Tenn. Code Ann. Title 63, chapters 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 11 (podiatrists, chiropractors, dentists, physicians, optometrists, osteopathic physicians and psychologists); excludes emergency-medicine physicians. Pub. Ch. 934 applies to employees and independent contractors generally, including health care workers.

Exceptions

  • Sale of a provider's practice or substantially all of its assets: restriction allowed if reasonable in duration and area; agreed terms rebuttably presumed reasonable (§ 63-1-148(b))
  • § 63-1-148 does not apply to physicians who specialize in emergency medicine (§ 63-1-148(d))
  • Pub. Ch. 934 does not prohibit confidentiality/nondisclosure, client or customer nonsolicitation, or employee nonsolicitation agreements (§ 50-1-210(c))

Effective date

The current rule took effect 2026-07-01.

Notes

§ 63-1-148 (last amended 2011) describes when a covenant is 'deemed reasonable'; a June 2026 federal district court ruling (Upperline Healthcare v. Hoover, M.D. Tenn., unpublished) held that it is not an upper limit. Pub. Ch. 934 (2026) does not amend § 63-1-148, and how its $70,000 floor interacts with the physician statute is unresolved. Emergency physicians fall outside § 63-1-148.

Bills that have not become law

Non-compete bills from the 2025 and 2026 sessions that had not become law as of 2026-10-21, furthest along first. A bill that died has to be filed again to move in 2027. The 2027 session starts 2027-01-12 and ends no fixed date (usually April or May).

  • SB 852 / HB 1206 (2025–2026) · Physicians

    Would lengthen from 10 to 30 business days a fair-market-value timing term required in physician noncompete agreements under existing law.

    Introduced · Died. SB 852 assigned to General Subcommittee of Senate Health and Welfare 2025-03-26; HB 1206 assigned to House Health Subcommittee 2025-03-19; no further action; died when 114th GA adjourned in 2026

Sources

Questions to ask about your contract

  • Is the radius measured from your practice site or from every location the employer owns?
  • Does the restriction apply if the employer terminates you without cause?
  • Is there a buyout, and how is the amount calculated?
  • What does your state's law say about physician non-competes?
Check a contract against Tennessee lawAll states

Not legal advice. This page summarizes the law as written. Whether a particular agreement is enforceable depends on its wording, when it was signed and court decisions. Ask an attorney licensed in Tennessee.