Pennsylvania Non-Compete Laws (2026): Are Non-Competes Enforceable?

Pennsylvania has no general non-compete statute. For most workers, a non-compete is enforceable only if it is incident to the employment relationship, supported by adequate consideration, reasonably necessary to protect the employer, and reasonably limited in duration and geographic reach (Hess v. Gebhard & Co., 808 A.2d 912 (Pa. 2002); Socko v. Mid-Atlantic Systems of CPA, Inc., 126 A.3d 1266 (Pa. 2015)). Health care is the exception: the Fair Contracting for Health Care Practitioners Act (Act 74 of 2024) voids most non-competes that covered practitioners entered into after its January 1, 2025 effective date.

For how other states treat these agreements, see our non-compete laws by state guide.

Information last verified on 2026-10-08. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Pennsylvania's common-law test for employee non-competes and the Fair Contracting for Health Care Practitioners Act (Act of Jul. 17, 2024, P.L. 846, No. 74), with a short note on the federal FTC rule. It does not cover trade-secret claims (see Pennsylvania trade secret laws), severance pay (see Pennsylvania severance pay laws), or covenants made in the sale of a business.

Are non-competes enforceable in Pennsylvania?

Often, if they are reasonable. Pennsylvania courts enforce a non-compete that meets the reasonableness test and is supported by consideration, and decline to enforce one that does not. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court put the rule this way in Hess:

"In Pennsylvania, restrictive covenants are enforceable if they are incident to an employment relationship between the parties; the restrictions imposed by the covenant are reasonably necessary for the protection of the employer; and the restrictions imposed are reasonably limited in duration and geographic extent." Hess v. Gebhard & Co., 808 A.2d 912 (Pa. 2002)

In Socko (2015) the court listed adequate consideration as a further element, and a covenant signed after employment begins needs new consideration (see below).

The same opinion describes restrictive covenants as not favored in Pennsylvania.

No Pennsylvania statute sets a maximum length, a geographic limit or an income threshold for non-competes outside health care. Duration and territory are judged case by case under the reasonableness test. We found no enacted statute on non-competes for general employees; that conclusion rests on a review of enacted law and pending bills rather than an enumeration of every title of the Pennsylvania statutes.

What a court can do with an overbroad non-compete

Pennsylvania courts can trim. Hess states that when a covenant is broader than needed, "a court of equity may grant enforcement limited to those portions of the restrictions that are reasonably necessary for the protection of the employer." A court is not required to throw out the whole covenant because one term goes too far, and it is not required to enforce it as written either.

When the employer is sold

In Hess, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court also held that a non-compete in an employment agreement is not assignable to the buyer of the business, absent a specific assignability provision, where the covenant is included in a sale of assets. If your employer's assets are sold, whether the buyer can enforce your covenant can turn on the agreement's assignment language.

Health care practitioners: the Fair Contracting for Health Care Practitioners Act

Act 74 of 2024 took effect January 1, 2025. It sets a different rule for five kinds of practitioners: medical doctors licensed under the Medical Practice Act of 1985, doctors of osteopathy, certified registered nurse anesthetists, certified registered nurse practitioners and physician assistants.

The Act reaches an agreement between an employer and a practitioner in Pennsylvania that has the effect of impeding the practitioner's ability to continue treating patients or accepting new patients after the employment ends. Section 4(a) provides that such a covenant "entered into after the effective date of this subsection is deemed contrary to the public policy and is void and unenforceable by an employer."

The one-year exception, and why dismissal matters

The Act does not void every health care covenant. Section 4(b) reads: "An employer may enforce a noncompete covenant if the length of the noncompete covenant is no more than one year, provided that the health care practitioner was not dismissed by the employer." The text draws no line between a dismissal for cause and one without cause.

Expense recovery and ownership interests

Section 4(c)(1) lets an employer recover reasonable expenses directly attributable to the practitioner that relate to relocation, training and establishing a patient base, accrued within the prior three years, amortized over up to five years from separation. That recovery is not available when the practitioner was dismissed.

Under section 4(c)(2), covenants of practitioners who hold an ownership interest are not voided as a direct result of a sale of the ownership or assets, a change of control, or the practitioner's receipt of an ownership interest. A preexisting covenant may be voided if the practitioner is not a party to the sale or transfer.

Patient notice

After a covered practitioner leaves, the employer must notify the practitioner's patients seen within the past year of the departure, how to transfer their records, and that they may be assigned to another practitioner with the employer, within 90 days of the departure (Act 74, sec. 5). The duty applies where the practitioner had an ongoing outpatient relationship with the patient of two or more years.

Section 6 directs the Health Care Cost Containment Council to study the Act's effects within three years of its effective date.

What Act 74 does not do

Act 74 names no enforcement agency and contains no damages, fee-shifting or penalty provision; its remedy is that the covered covenant is void and unenforceable. It addresses only non-compete covenants and does not mention non-solicitation, no-poach or confidentiality clauses. Its voiding rule applies to covenants entered into after its effective date, so it does not by its terms reach a covenant a practitioner signed before January 1, 2025, other than the preexisting-covenant clause for sales described above.

Dentists, therapists and other health professionals are not among the practitioner types listed in the Act's text.

If you are fired or laid off

Outside health care, no statute addresses firing, but courts can weigh it. In Insulation Corp. of America v. Brobston, 667 A.2d 729 (Pa. Super. 1995), the Superior Court held it was error to enforce a two-year, 300-mile non-compete against an employee terminated for poor performance, reasoning that a salesman "discharged for poor sales performance cannot reasonably be perceived to pose the same competitive threat" as one who resigns to join a competitor. That is a factor in the reasonableness test, not an automatic release. For covered health care practitioners, Act 74 is explicit: the one-year exception is available only if the practitioner was not dismissed. For how Pennsylvania employment ends in general, see Pennsylvania at-will employment laws.

Signing a non-compete after you start work

A non-compete signed after you start work must be supported by new and valuable consideration, meaning a benefit or a change in your employment status, according to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Socko v. Mid-Atlantic Systems of CPA, Inc., 126 A.3d 1266 (Pa. 2015). The court also held that an employee can challenge such a covenant for lack of consideration even if the agreement says the parties "intend to be legally bound." Whether a particular raise, bonus or promotion is enough is decided case by case, and a lawyer licensed in Pennsylvania can explain how the courts treat a specific agreement.

Non-solicits, confidentiality agreements and trade secrets

Act 74 covers only non-compete covenants. This page does not state how Pennsylvania courts treat non-solicitation agreements, because we did not verify that case law. Confidentiality and trade-secret obligations are a separate body of law; see Pennsylvania trade secret laws.

Choice of law and venue

Act 74 contains no choice-of-law or venue provision. This page does not cover how Pennsylvania courts handle an out-of-state choice-of-law or forum clause in a non-compete.

Pending Pennsylvania non-compete bills

None of these bills was law as of October 8, 2026.

• HB 2558 (broadcast employees): would prohibit enforcement of covenants not to compete in broadcast employment agreements. It passed the House 103-99 on July 1, 2026 and was referred to the Senate Labor and Industry Committee on July 9, 2026.
• SB 142 (broadcast employees): a Senate bill on the same subject, reported as committed on June 2, 2026 and laid on the table on June 30, 2026.
• SB 680: would amend Act 74's definitions. It was referred to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on May 13, 2025, with no later action shown.

The FTC rule and Pennsylvania non-competes

The FTC's nationwide non-compete rule never took effect. A federal court in Texas set it aside on August 20, 2024 (Ryan, LLC v. FTC, No. 3:24-CV-00986-E, N.D. Tex.), the FTC voted on September 5, 2025 to dismiss its appeals, and the FTC removed the rule from the Code of Federal Regulations on February 12, 2026. The FTC still acts case by case, for example approving a final order on June 22, 2026 that required a pest-control company to stop enforcing non-competes. Pennsylvania law governs Pennsylvania agreements. More detail: FTC non-compete ban struck down and our non-compete laws by state guide.

If you have been asked to sign

Because Pennsylvania's general rule turns on reasonableness, whether a particular covenant holds up depends on its length, its territory, the activity it restricts and the employer interest it protects. A lawyer licensed in Pennsylvania can review a specific agreement against the Hess test and, for health care practitioners, Act 74.

Related

• Non-compete laws by state
• Pennsylvania trade secret laws
• Pennsylvania severance pay laws
• Pennsylvania at-will employment laws
• FTC non-compete ban struck down

Disclaimer: This article provides general legal information about Pennsylvania non-compete law, including the common-law test in Hess v. Gebhard & Co. and the Fair Contracting for Health Care Practitioners Act (Act 74 of 2024), not legal advice. The information was last verified on 2026-10-08. Act 74 names no enforcement agency; for advice about a specific agreement, contact a legal aid office or a lawyer licensed in Pennsylvania.

Last updated: 2026-10-08.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are non-competes enforceable in Pennsylvania?

Yes, if reasonable. A covenant must be incident to employment, supported by adequate consideration, reasonably necessary to protect the employer, and reasonably limited in duration and geography (Hess v. Gebhard & Co., 808 A.2d 912 (Pa. 2002); Socko v. Mid-Atlantic Systems of CPA, Inc., 126 A.3d 1266 (Pa. 2015)). Covered health care practitioners have extra protection under Act 74 of 2024.

Is there a salary threshold for non-competes in Pennsylvania?

No. Pennsylvania has no wage or salary floor for non-competes; general employee covenants are judged under the common-law reasonableness test.

Did Pennsylvania ban non-competes for doctors?

Largely, for covenants entered into after the Act took effect on January 1, 2025. Act 74 voids non-competes for physicians, osteopathic physicians, nurse anesthetists, nurse practitioners and physician assistants, except a covenant of one year or less where the practitioner was not dismissed (Act 74, sec. 4).

Does Act 74 apply to dentists or therapists?

They are not among the five practitioner types the Act lists. SB 680, which would amend the Act's definitions, was referred to committee on May 13, 2025 with no later action shown.

Can a Pennsylvania court rewrite an overbroad non-compete?

A court of equity may enforce only the portions of the restrictions that are reasonably necessary to protect the employer (Hess v. Gebhard & Co.).

Can a new owner enforce my non-compete if my employer is sold?

In Hess, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that a non-compete in an employment agreement is not assignable to the buyer of the business, absent a specific assignability provision, where the covenant is included in a sale of assets.

Are broadcast non-competes banned in Pennsylvania?

Not yet. HB 2558 passed the House on July 1, 2026 and was referred to the Senate Labor and Industry Committee on July 9, 2026; it was not law as of October 8, 2026.

Does the FTC non-compete ban apply in Pennsylvania?

No. A federal court set the FTC rule aside in August 2024 and the FTC removed it from the Code of Federal Regulations on February 12, 2026, so Pennsylvania law governs.