Florida Physician Non-Competes: Why the CHOICE Act Doesn’t Apply
A Tampa cardiologist has spent six years building a practice inside a large hospital-affiliated group. A competing group across the bay offers her a better schedule and a partnership track. Then she rereads her employment contract: a two-year non-compete, fifteen miles, covering her entire specialty. She has heard that Florida passed a sweeping new non-compete law in 2025, and she assumes it must change her situation one way or another. It does not. The new law was written for executives and high earners, and it deliberately leaves doctors out.
That gap is where most Florida physicians get the law wrong. The CHOICE Act dominated legal headlines in 2025, but it does not govern a physician non-compete at all. A doctor’s covenant is still decided under the statute Florida has used for a quarter century, and the difference between the two regimes determines whether a physician can walk across town or has to sit out two years.
Southron Firm, P.A. is a Tampa, Florida commercial litigation firm that represents physicians and the practices that employ them in restrictive-covenant disputes.
Does the CHOICE Act apply to physicians?
No. The CHOICE Act expressly excludes licensed health care practitioners, so it does not govern a physician non-compete in Florida. Doctors, dentists, nurses, and other licensed practitioners fall outside the new law entirely, and their covenants remain subject to Florida’s older restrictive-covenant statute.
The exclusion is written into the statute itself. The CHOICE Act, codified at Fla. Stat. §§ 542.41–542.45 and effective July 1, 2025, applies only to a “covered employee,” and it carves out any “health care practitioner” as defined in Fla. Stat. § 456.001(4). That definition sweeps in physicians licensed under Chapters 458 and 459, along with dentists, nurses, pharmacists, chiropractors, and most other licensed providers.
The CHOICE Act: A 2025 Florida law (Fla. Stat. §§ 542.41–542.45) that makes non-compete and garden-leave agreements far easier to enforce against high-earning employees, allowing covenants up to four years and requiring courts to issue injunctions, but excluding licensed health care practitioners.
Health care practitioner: Any person licensed, certified, or registered to practice a health profession in Florida under Fla. Stat. § 456.001(4), including physicians, dentists, nurses, and pharmacists.
The exclusion is not a gift to doctors. It means a physician’s covenant does not get the CHOICE Act’s automatic four-year enforceability, but it also means the physician keeps the protections of the older statute that the CHOICE Act strips away for everyone else. For a doctor deciding whether to leave, that distinction is the whole game.
What law governs medical physician non-competes in Florida instead?
Physician non-competes in Florida are governed by Fla. Stat. § 542.335, the restrictive-covenant statute that has applied to most Florida employees since 1996. Unlike the CHOICE Act, § 542.335 does not presume a covenant is enforceable. It puts the burden on the party seeking enforcement to prove the covenant protects a legitimate business interest and is reasonable in time, area, and line of business.
That burden matters. Under the CHOICE Act, an employer can hold a high earner to a four-year covenant and obtain an injunction with little more than the signed agreement. Under § 542.335, the practice or hospital must justify the restriction, and a court can refuse to enforce a covenant that reaches further than the interest it protects.
| Question | CHOICE Act (does not apply to doctors) | § 542.335 (governs physicians) |
|---|---|---|
| Who does it cover? | High-earning “covered employees” | Most employees, including physicians |
| Maximum presumed-reasonable duration | Up to 4 years | More than 2 years presumed unreasonable for former employees |
| Burden of proof | Presumed enforceable | Employer must prove a legitimate business interest |
| Injunction | Court must enjoin the employee | Available, but the interest and reasonableness must be shown |
| Can a court narrow an overbroad covenant? | Limited | Yes; the court must modify and enforce only what is reasonable |
A Tampa commercial litigation attorney can read a specific covenant against § 542.335 and tell a physician whether it is likely to hold, narrow, or fail.
What makes a physician non-compete enforceable
A physician non-compete is enforceable under § 542.335 only if the practice proves four things, in writing and in fact:
- A legitimate business interest. The covenant must protect something real, such as substantial relationships with specific patients, confidential business information, or practice goodwill. A covenant that exists only to suppress ordinary competition is not enforceable.
- A reasonable time restriction. For a former employee, § 542.335 presumes a restraint of six months or less reasonable and a restraint of more than two years unreasonable. A two-year physician covenant sits at the outer edge.
- A reasonable geographic area. The restricted territory must match where the physician actually drew patients, not an entire region drawn to maximize the practice’s leverage.
- A reasonable line of business. The restriction should reach the physician’s actual specialty and practice, not every service the employer offers.
Legitimate business interest: Under Fla. Stat. § 542.335, a specific, identifiable business asset (such as substantial patient relationships, confidential information, or goodwill) that a restrictive covenant may lawfully protect; ordinary competition does not qualify.
If a covenant is broader than necessary, § 542.335 does not simply void it. The statute directs the court to modify the covenant and enforce only what is reasonably necessary to protect the proven interest. That power to narrow a covenant is often where a physician’s leverage lives.
Where a physician non-compete can be challenged
A physician non-compete can be challenged on any element the employer fails to prove, and Florida law gives doctors several specific openings:
- No genuine legitimate business interest. If the practice cannot tie the covenant to real patient relationships, confidential information, or goodwill, the covenant fails.
- Overbroad time, area, or scope. A covenant covering more geography, more time, or more services than the physician’s actual practice invites a court to narrow it.
- The § 542.336 specialty exception. Fla. Stat. § 542.336 bars enforcement of a non-compete where a single entity employs or contracts with every physician practicing a given specialty in a county. The restriction stays unenforceable until three years after a second, unrelated entity employs a physician in that specialty in that county. This exception targets the rural and consolidated-market situations where one health system controls an entire specialty.
- Failure to follow the contract’s own terms. A practice that breached the physician’s agreement first, or never provided the consideration the covenant required, may lose the right to enforce it.
The right challenge depends on the covenant’s language and the physician’s actual practice footprint. If you are weighing an offer from a competing group or have already given notice, the time to test the covenant is before you move, not after the practice files for an injunction. A breach of contract claim or defense often runs alongside the non-compete fight, especially where compensation or partnership promises were broken.
When to contact a Florida non-compete attorney
Contact a Florida non-compete attorney before you sign a physician employment agreement, before you give notice, and immediately if a former employer threatens to enforce a covenant. Each of those moments carries leverage that disappears once it passes.
A physician should have counsel review the covenant when an offer arrives, because narrow edits at signing are far cheaper than litigation later. A departing physician should consult counsel before resigning, because a well-timed move and a clear read of the covenant’s weaknesses can prevent an injunction. And a doctor served with a demand letter or a lawsuit should respond with counsel quickly, because § 542.335 cases move fast and often turn on early evidence about patient relationships and territory.
The specific outcome depends on your facts; an attorney should review your situation. Practices on the other side face the mirror image: a covenant that was never tailored to a legitimate interest is a liability, not an asset, and partnership and practice disputes frequently surface the same drafting failures.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Does the CHOICE Act apply to physicians in Florida? A: No. The CHOICE Act (Fla. Stat. §§ 542.41–542.45) expressly excludes licensed health care practitioners as defined in Fla. Stat. § 456.001(4), which includes physicians. A physician non-compete is governed by Florida’s older restrictive-covenant statute, § 542.335, not the CHOICE Act’s pro-employer regime.
Q: Are physician non-competes enforceable in Florida? A: Yes, but only if the practice proves the covenant protects a legitimate business interest and is reasonable in time, area, and line of business under Fla. Stat. § 542.335. Unlike the CHOICE Act, this statute does not presume enforceability and places the burden on the employer.
Q: How long can a physician non-compete last in Florida? A: Under § 542.335, a restraint against a former employee of six months or less is presumed reasonable, and one longer than two years is presumed unreasonable. Many physician covenants run two years, which is the outer edge of what courts treat as reasonable.
Q: Can a hospital stop a doctor from working at a nearby practice? A: Only if its non-compete satisfies § 542.335 and the physician’s new role falls within the covenant’s reasonable scope. If the covenant is overbroad or protects no real business interest, a court can narrow or refuse to enforce it.
Q: What is a legitimate business interest in a physician non-compete? A: It is a specific, protectable asset under § 542.335, such as substantial relationships with existing patients, confidential business information, or practice goodwill. A covenant aimed only at preventing ordinary competition does not qualify and is unenforceable.
Q: Is there an exception for physicians in rural Florida counties? A: Yes. Fla. Stat. § 542.336 bars enforcing a non-compete where one entity employs every physician in a given specialty in a county, and keeps it unenforceable until three years after a second, unrelated entity employs a physician in that specialty there.
Q: Can a Florida court rewrite an overbroad physician non-compete? A: Yes. Section 542.335 directs courts to modify an overbroad covenant and enforce only what is reasonably necessary to protect a proven legitimate business interest, rather than voiding it entirely. That modification power is often a physician’s strongest source of leverage.
Key Takeaways
- The CHOICE Act does not apply to physicians; it excludes licensed health care practitioners under Fla. Stat. § 456.001(4).
- A Florida physician non-compete is governed by Fla. Stat. § 542.335, which requires the employer to prove a legitimate business interest and reasonableness.
- Under § 542.335, more than two years is presumed unreasonable for a former employee, and courts can narrow overbroad covenants.
- Fla. Stat. § 542.336 makes a physician non-compete unenforceable where one entity controls an entire specialty in a county.
- The leverage in a physician non-compete dispute is highest before signing and before giving notice.
- A practice’s covenant that was never tailored to a legitimate interest is a liability, not protection.
Ready to test your physician non-compete?
Whether you are a doctor weighing a move or a practice deciding whether your covenant will hold, the answer turns on the language of the agreement and the law in Fla. Stat. § 542.335, not the CHOICE Act. Southron Firm, P.A. evaluates physician non-competes for both sides and litigates them when enforcement is on the line.
Legal Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The information contained herein is based on Florida law as of the publication date and may not reflect recent changes. Laws vary by jurisdiction and circumstance, and no single article can address every situation. Do not rely on this article as a substitute for professional legal counsel. If you face a legal matter related to the topics discussed, contact an attorney licensed in Florida to review your specific facts and circumstances. Southron Firm, P.A., is a Florida law firm based in Tampa. For a consultation regarding your litigation or estate planning matter, contact our office.