Non-Compete Clauses for Dentists in Virginia

Most associate agreements include some form of restrictive covenant: a non-compete, a patient non-solicitation clause, or both. Associates often assume these clauses are either “never enforced” or “ironclad.” Neither is a safe assumption. Virginia has a statute that limits non-competes for some workers, and it has changed three times since 2020. This guide explains what the statute says today and where dentists fit.

This is general information, not legal advice. Whether a specific covenant is enforceable depends on its exact wording and your facts. Before you sign, or before you leave a job with a covenant in place, talk to a Virginia employment attorney.

The statute: Va. Code § 40.1-28.7:8

Virginia first restricted non-competes in 2020. The statute, Va. Code § 40.1-28.7:8, bars employers from entering into, enforcing or threatening to enforce a covenant not to compete with a low-wage employee. It was amended in 2025 and again in 2026. In its current form it includes:

• A ban on non-competes for low-wage employees and for certain “health care professionals.”
• A rule that a non-compete is unenforceable if the employer discharges the employee without cause and without severance or other monetary payment (with the payment disclosed when the covenant is signed).
• A private right to sue, with remedies that can include voiding the covenant, damages and attorney fees, and a $10,000 civil penalty per violation enforced by the Commissioner of Labor and Industry.
• A requirement that employers post a copy or approved summary of the law where other employee notices are posted.

Who counts as a “low-wage employee”?

Under the current text, an employee is low-wage if either test applies:

1. Their average weekly earnings over the prior 52 weeks are less than the Virginia average weekly wage set under § 65.2-500, or
2. Regardless of earnings, they are entitled to overtime under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (29 U.S.C. § 207). This second test came from the 2025 amendment, effective July 1, 2025.

The definition also reaches interns, students, apprentices and trainees, and some hourly independent contractors. It excludes employees paid mainly through commissions, incentives or bonuses.

Where associates fit

A licensed dentist paid as a professional is usually exempt from FLSA overtime, and most associates earn above the state average weekly wage. That means most associates are not low-wage employees, and the outright ban will not apply to them. The low-wage rules matter more for your future staff: hygienists, assistants and front-desk employees who are paid hourly and overtime-eligible are protected, which is worth knowing once you hire.

An associate who earns a modest guarantee for part of a year, or a student or resident working in a practice, should ask an attorney whether the earnings test could apply.

The 2026 health care professional ban does not name dentists

Effective July 1, 2026, the statute also bans non-competes with “health care professionals.” The definition is tied to licensing boards: people licensed, registered or certified by the Boards of Medicine, Nursing, Counseling, Optometry, Psychology or Social Work. The Board of Dentistry is not on that list, so a dentist licensed only by the Board of Dentistry does not appear to be covered. Published summaries of the 2026 law also describe it as applying to agreements entered into on or after July 1, 2026. Confirm both points with counsel for your situation.

New in 2026: severance if you are let go without cause

This change does reach dentists. For covenants entered into on or after July 1, 2026, a non-compete is unenforceable if the employer discharges the employee without cause and without providing severance benefits or other monetary payment. The severance or payment has to be disclosed when the covenant is signed, not offered after the fact. The statute applies this to employees generally, not only low-wage workers.

In practice, that means a 2026 or later contract that contains a non-compete should also say what you receive if you are let go without cause. If it is silent, ask about it.

Everyone else: the reasonableness test

Where the statute’s bans do not apply, Virginia courts look at whether a covenant is reasonable. Broadly, the employer has to show the restriction protects a legitimate business interest and is not more restrictive than needed in three dimensions:

Virginia courts have historically been strict with covenants that are broader than needed and generally decline to rewrite an overbroad clause to make it enforceable. That cuts both ways: a poorly drafted clause may fail, but you should not plan your career around that possibility. Get advice before you rely on it.

What dental covenants commonly look like

There is no standard dental non-compete. Terms vary with the market, and what is reasonable in a rural county may be far too broad in Fairfax or Arlington, where a few miles can contain dozens of practices. As a rough picture of what associates are offered:

Also check how distance is measured. A straight-line radius and a driving distance can produce very different maps, and a clause that does not say which invites a dispute.

Non-solicitation and confidentiality clauses

Many associate contracts pair the non-compete with a clause barring you from soliciting patients or staff. The statute itself says a covenant cannot stop an employee from serving a former employer’s customer or client if the employee does not initiate contact or solicit them. Confidentiality agreements protecting patient lists and business information are treated separately and remain allowed.

Telling patients where you went

Patients often ask where their dentist went. The 2026 amendments added protections that let departing health care professionals tell patients about a new practice, but those protections are tied to the same list of boards that leaves out dentistry. For a dentist, what you may say depends on your contract. A mass email, a postcard to former patients or a targeted social media post may count as solicitation; answering a patient who calls you usually does not. Ask your attorney before you announce a move, and do not take patient lists or contact data with you.

Non-competes when you buy or sell a practice

A covenant given by the seller of a practice is a different animal from an employee covenant. The buyer is paying for goodwill, and goodwill is worth little if the seller can reopen across the street. Virginia’s statute expressly preserves sale-of-business covenants for listed health care professionals if they are reasonable in scope, duration and area. For dentists, who are not on that list, these covenants are judged under general Virginia law, and courts have generally been more willing to enforce reasonable restrictions given as part of a sale than those imposed on employees.

This matters to associates in two ways. If you later buy into a practice, your partnership agreement will likely include a covenant tied to your ownership interest. And if your employer sells to a DSO, the selling owner signs one covenant and you may be asked to sign a new employee agreement with another. Read both.

What happens if you breach a covenant

If a former employer believes you violated an enforceable covenant, the usual remedies are:

• An injunction: a court order to stop practicing in the restricted area or soliciting patients. This is often what employers seek first.
• Damages: lost profits the employer can prove, or a liquidated damages amount stated in the contract.
• Attorney fees, if the contract shifts them to the losing side.

The statute also works in the other direction. An employee who is asked to sign or is threatened with an unlawful covenant can sue, generally within two years of the latest of signing, learning of the covenant, termination or the employer’s first enforcement step, and a court can void the covenant and award damages and attorney fees. Whether that applies to you depends on whether the low-wage or severance rules reach your situation.

The FTC rule is not in effect

The Federal Trade Commission’s 2024 rule banning most non-competes was set aside by a federal court, and in September 2025 the FTC dropped its appeals. The agency can still pursue individual cases, but Virginia law is what governs a Virginia associate’s covenant.

Negotiating a covenant: practical options

• Shrink the radius (for example, from 15 miles to 5) or tie it to the office you work in, not every affiliated location.
• Shorten the duration, or have it apply only if you leave voluntarily.
• Ask for a buy-out amount that releases the covenant.
• Exclude specialty work or non-clinical roles such as teaching.
• Make sure the severance terms required for a without-cause discharge are written in.

Read these alongside the other exit terms in your associate contract checklist, especially termination notice and tail coverage. If you are considering an offer from a group, our DSO vs. private practice comparison explains why multi-location covenants deserve extra attention.

Worked example: pricing a release

Illustrative numbers. An associate in Reston collects $700,000 a year and is paid 30%, or $210,000. The covenant bars practicing within 10 miles of any of the employer’s four offices for two years, which covers most of the area within a reasonable commute of home. Two ways to frame a negotiation:

• Narrow the map. Ask that the radius run 5 miles from the one office where the associate works. The employer keeps protection around the patients the associate actually treated.
• Price a release. Agree on a buy-out in advance, for example a share of one year’s collections from patients the associate treated who follow them. Both sides know the cost of leaving before anyone is upset.

Either option is easier to win before you sign than after you resign, and the second can fit neatly into a plan to open your own practice later.

If you already signed a non-compete

Many associates reading this signed their agreement before July 1, 2026. Published summaries of the 2026 amendments describe them as applying to agreements entered into on or after that date, so an older contract is generally judged under the law that applied when it was signed. Some law firm summaries of the severance amendment (SB 170) also describe it as reaching covenants amended or renewed on or after July 1, 2026. If your contract renews automatically each year, or you sign an amendment for a raise or new schedule, ask your attorney whether that brings the covenant under the newer rules. Before you resign, or before you accept a new job nearby:

1. Find the exact covenant language, including definitions of “competing practice” and how distance is measured.
2. Note the date you signed it and whether it was later amended or renewed.
3. Check whether your new role actually falls inside the restriction (for example, a specialty role or a different county).
4. Ask whether the practice will agree to a written release or a buy-out.
5. Get an attorney’s view before you rely on the covenant being unenforceable.

Questions to bring to your attorney

• Is this covenant likely to be treated as reasonable in function, geography and duration?
• Do the low-wage or severance provisions of § 40.1-28.7:8 apply to my situation?
• If the practice is sold, can the buyer enforce this covenant against me?
• What does the non-solicitation clause allow if former patients contact me on their own?
• What is my exposure if I breach it, and what would a negotiated release typically look like?

Bringing the contract, your pay history and a short timeline of your employment to that meeting will make it faster and less expensive.

How Cisor can help

Restrictive covenants are a legal question, and we will always point you to an attorney for that. What we do through Dental Associate Careers consulting is help you weigh the business side: what a radius means for where you can live and build a patient base, and how the covenant fits with a future buy-in or startup. Call (703) 345-0606 to talk it through.