Veterinary Non-Competes in Maryland
Maryland's non-compete statute names veterinarians directly.
Md.
Lab. & Empl. § 3-716(a)(3) voids a noncompete or conflict-of-interest provision, against public policy, for any employee licensed as a veterinary practitioner or veterinary technician — with no income condition on that category.
A separate category voids the covenant for Health Occupations Article licensees in direct-patient-care roles earning at or below $350,000/yr; above that, subsection (b) permits a capped covenant instead.
Client and patient list restrictions are excluded.
The veterinary category took effect June 1, 2024.
Mechanics, not a verdict on your contract
At a glance
Limited by a healthcare statute that names veterinarians
State statute — Md. Lab. & Empl. § 3-716 — Maryland's noncompete and conflict-of-interest statute.
Healthcare statute reaches veterinarians: Yes — the statute names veterinarians.
Section 3-716(a)(3) makes a noncompete or conflict-of-interest provision in an employment contract null and void, against the public policy of the State, for the three employee categories (a)(1)(i) lists — including, at (a)(1)(i)(3), any employee licensed as a veterinary practitioner or veterinary technician, with no income condition on that category.
Yes. Section 3-716(a)(1)(i)(3) names veterinary practitioners and veterinary technicians directly, as its own category separate from the Health Occupations Article category in (a)(1)(i)(2) and without that category's $350,000/yr income split.
No income condition on the veterinary category. The statute's separate low-wage tier caps at 150% of the State minimum wage under § 3-413 — currently $15.00/hour, so about $46,800/yr assuming a 2,080-hour work year, a calculation from that formula and rate rather than a published figure — and its Health Occupations Article tier splits at $350,000/yr; neither describes the veterinary category.
Not applicable to the veterinary category: § 3-716(a)(3) voids the covenant outright rather than limiting its duration or area. A stated 1-year, 10-mile limit exists in subsection (b), but only for the higher-earning Health Occupations Article category.
Not applicable. The covenant is void under (a)(3) rather than narrowed, so there is nothing for a court to reform, blue-pencil or red-pencil.
Not stated in the sources read.
Section 3-716(a)(2) excludes restrictions on taking or using a client or patient list, or other proprietary client- or patient-related information, from the void rule in (a)(3).
The veterinary category was added by Acts 2024, c. 378, § 1 (HB 1388), effective June 1, 2024.
What Maryland’s text actually says
“A noncompete or conflict of interest provision in an employment contract or a similar document or agreement that restricts the ability of an employee to enter into employment with a new employer or to become self-employed in the same or similar business or trade shall be null and void as being against the public policy of the State.”
Maryland voids a veterinarian's non-compete outright
Section 3-716(a)(3) makes a noncompete or conflict-of-interest provision in an employment contract or similar document null and void, as against the public policy of the State.
Subsection (a)(1)(i) applies that rule to three categories of employee, and the third is "an employee licensed as a veterinary practitioner or veterinary technician under Title 2, Subtitle 3 of the Agriculture Article" — named directly, with no earnings condition attached to that category.
For an associate, relief veterinarian or veterinary technician reading an offer letter, a standard non-compete or conflict-of-interest clause tied to ordinary employment falls under this void rule regardless of salary.
The same subsection carves client and patient list restrictions out of the void rule at (a)(2), so not every restrictive clause in an employment contract is treated the same way.
“A noncompete or conflict of interest provision in an employment contract or a similar document or agreement that restricts the ability of an employee to enter into employment with a new employer or to become self-employed in the same or similar business or trade shall be null and void as being against the public policy of the State.”
Maryland's healthcare non-compete statute names veterinarians directly
Section 3-716(a)(1)(i) lists three categories reached by the void rule: employees earning at or below 150% of the State minimum wage, Health Occupations Article licensees in direct-patient-care roles earning at or below $350,000/yr, and, as its own category, an employee licensed as a veterinary practitioner or veterinary technician.
The veterinary category carries no income condition, unlike the $350,000/yr split written into the Health Occupations Article category next to it.
Maryland licenses veterinary medicine under the Agriculture Article rather than the Health Occupations Article, and the statute reaches it anyway by naming it as a separate category rather than folding it into the Health Occupations Article definition.
For a veterinarian or veterinary technician, that means the void rule applies to an ordinary employment non-compete without needing to qualify under the Health Occupations Article's direct-patient-care or income conditions at all.
“(3) an employee licensed as a veterinary practitioner or veterinary technician under Title 2, Subtitle 3 of the Agriculture Article”
No wage threshold for veterinarians — only for the other two categories
The veterinary category in (a)(1)(i)(3) carries no earnings condition: the void rule reaches a veterinarian or veterinary technician regardless of salary.
The statute's separate low-wage tier, (a)(1)(i)(1), voids the covenant for any employee earning at or below 150% of the State minimum wage rate set by § 3-413 — currently $15.00/hour, so 150% works out to $22.50/hour, or about $46,800/yr assuming a full-time, 2,080-hour work year.
That $46,800 figure is a calculation from those two statutes' formula and rate, not a number either section states outright, and it describes the low-wage tier, not the veterinary category.
The Health Occupations Article tier is split at $350,000/yr total annual compensation, and that split applies only to Health Occupations Article licensees, a category veterinary medicine is not part of.
“Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, the State minimum wage rate is: (i) for the 12-month period beginning January 1, 2023, $13.25 per hour; and (ii) beginning January 1, 2024, $15.00 per hour.”
No modification question — the covenant is void, not narrowed
Some states let a court blue-pencil or reform an overbroad non-compete down to a reasonable scope instead of striking it.
Maryland's veterinary category does not reach that question: (a)(3) makes the covenant null and void outright, so there is no narrower version left for a court to enforce in its place.
The sources read for this page describe no reformation, blue-pencil or red-pencil doctrine for the categories § 3-716(a) voids, which is consistent with a void rule leaving nothing behind to modify.
Client and patient list restrictions are excluded from the void rule
Subsection (a)(2) excludes an employment contract's restrictions on taking or using a client or patient list, or other proprietary client-related or patient-related information, from the void rule in (a)(3).
For a veterinary practice, that means a clause restricting a departing associate, relief veterinarian or technician from taking a client or patient list, or other proprietary client- or patient-related information, is not automatically voided the way an ordinary non-compete or conflict-of-interest provision is.
The statute does not otherwise define how broadly a client or patient list, or proprietary information, reaches, and the sources read for this page do not address a general employee non-solicitation clause — one restricting a former employee from soliciting clients or coworkers — beyond that list-and-information carve-out.
When the veterinary category took effect
The veterinary practitioner and veterinary technician category was added by Acts 2024, c. 378, § 1 — House Bill 1388 — effective June 1, 2024, following an earlier 2023 amendment to the surrounding section.
That is the most recent change to § 3-716 reaching veterinarians recorded in the sources read for this page.
A veterinarian checking whether the statute is current should confirm no later amendment has been enacted since this page was last verified.
“Added by Acts 2019, c. 753, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2019. Amended by Acts 2023, c. 266, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2023; Acts 2024, c. 378, § 1, eff. June 1, 2024.”
Have the agreement itself reviewed
Start with the mechanics
The reasonableness test, what a radius is measured from, the access-to-care argument, and the difference between a non-compete and a non-solicitation clause are covered in the national guide to veterinary non-competes. This page covers only what is specific to Maryland.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Maryland's healthcare non-compete law cover veterinarians?
Yes.
Md.
Lab. & Empl. § 3-716(a)(1)(i)(3) names an employee licensed as a veterinary practitioner or veterinary technician as its own category under the void rule, separate from — and without the income cap written into — the Health Occupations Article category next to it.
That is a direct statutory reference to veterinary licensure, not a cross-reference to a human-medicine license list.
A Maryland attorney who handles veterinary employment agreements can confirm how the statute reads against your own contract.
Is there a salary level below which a Maryland veterinarian's non-compete is void?
No income level applies to the veterinary category itself: § 3-716(a)(1)(i)(3) voids the covenant for a veterinary practitioner or veterinary technician regardless of salary.
The statute's separate low-wage tier — capped around $46,800/yr, a calculation from the 150% minimum-wage formula in (a)(1)(i)(1) and the current $15.00/hour rate in § 3-413(c)(1), not a number the statute states outright — governs a different category of employee.
Ask a Maryland attorney how the statute applies to your position.
How long or how far can a Maryland veterinarian's non-compete run?
The statute does not reach that question for a veterinarian, because § 3-716(a)(3) voids the covenant outright rather than limiting its duration or geography.
A one-year, ten-mile limit does appear in subsection (b), but only for Health Occupations Article licensees earning above $350,000/yr in direct-patient-care roles — a category veterinary medicine, licensed under the Agriculture Article, is not part of.
Confirm how this reads against your own agreement with a Maryland attorney.
Does selling my share of a Maryland veterinary practice change how a non-compete is treated?
The sources read for this page do not address how Maryland treats a covenant tied to selling a practice or an ownership interest, so this page does not answer that question.
A buy-in or buy-out agreement may carry its own covenant, drafted alongside the purchase terms rather than the employment terms.
Have a Maryland attorney who handles veterinary practice transactions review the covenant and the purchase agreement together before you sign.
Does a client or patient list restriction get voided the same way a non-compete does?
No. Section 3-716(a)(2) excludes restrictions on taking or using a client or patient list, or other proprietary client- or patient-related information, from the void rule in (a)(3).
A clause restricting a departing veterinarian or technician from taking a client or patient list is not automatically voided the way an ordinary non-compete is.
A Maryland attorney can review how broadly your own clause's list-and-information language reaches.
More Maryland Non-Compete Resources
Sources
- Md. Lab. & Empl. § 3-716 — Maryland General Assembly (official statutes site) (retrieved 2026-09-16)
- Md. Lab. & Empl. § 3-413(c)(1) — Midpage (retrieved 2026-09-16)
- HB 1388 (2024) — Maryland General Assembly bill page (retrieved 2026-09-16)
Sourced from Maryland’s own statute or leading court decisions (see the citations above). Verified September 2026; the governing provision was last amended The veterinary category was added by Acts 2024, c. 378, § 1 (HB 1388), effective June 1, 2024. This page is general information, not legal advice.