Veterinary Non-Competes in Minnesota
Minnesota voids a veterinarian's non-compete outright.
Section 181.988, Subdivision 2(a) makes any covenant not to compete between an employer and employee void and unenforceable, effective for agreements entered into on or after July 1, 2023, and the ban reaches employees and independent contractors alike.
There is no healthcare-specific carve-out — veterinarians are covered only because the general ban is so broad.
Two narrow exceptions exist: a covenant tied to selling a business, or to anticipated dissolution among partners, members, or shareholders.
Mechanics, not a verdict on your contract
At a glance
Void — employee non-competes are voided by statute
State statute — Minn. Stat. § 181.988, Subd.
2(a) (voids a covenant not to compete between an employer and employee, effective for agreements entered into on or after July 1, 2023 under the statute's enacting session law, 2023 c 53 art 6 s 1), with Subd.
2(b)'s sale-of-business and partnership/LLC/corporation-dissolution exceptions.
Healthcare statute reaches veterinarians: No healthcare-specific non-compete statute.
Subdivision 2(a) makes a covenant not to compete between an employer and employee void and unenforceable, effective for agreements entered into on or after July 1, 2023 under the statute's 2023 enacting session law.
N/A — not via a healthcare-specific statute.
Minnesota has no separate healthcare or veterinary non-compete law; a veterinarian is covered only because § 181.988's general ban reaches essentially all employees and independent contractors.
Not stated in the sources read.
Not stated in the sources read — moot under a void rule with no duration or geography to measure.
Not stated in the sources read — moot under a void rule with nothing left to modify.
A narrow exception with two prongs: on the sale of a business, the seller and buyer may agree to a temporary, geographically-restricted covenant; on anticipated dissolution of a partnership, limited liability company, or corporation, the partners, members, or shareholders may agree not to carry on a similar business within a reasonable geographic area — the dissolution prong is stated as a geographic limit only, with no separate time limit named.
Excluded entirely from this statute.
A nonsolicitation agreement, or an agreement restricting the use of client or contact lists or soliciting customers, does not meet the definition of "covenant not to compete" in Subdivision 1(a), so it is not covered by the void rule.
Enacted 2023 c 53 art 6 s 1, applying to agreements entered into on or after July 1, 2023.
Re-verified 2026-09-16 — no change found.
What Minnesota’s text actually says
“Any covenant not to compete contained in a contract or agreement is void and unenforceable.”
Why a Minnesota veterinarian's non-compete is void
Subdivision 2(a) states the rule in one sentence: a covenant not to compete is void and unenforceable.
Subdivision 1(a) defines "covenant not to compete" narrowly — an agreement between an employer and an employee restricting the employee, after termination, from working for another employer, working in a specified area, or working in a similar capacity.
For an associate signing an employment contract, or a relief vet picking up a fill-in agreement, this means the non-compete clause itself carries no legal force for agreements entered into on or after July 1, 2023 — regardless of how the clause is worded, how long it runs, or how it defines the restricted area.
"Employee" is defined to include independent contractors, so the void rule is not limited to W-2 staff.
“Any covenant not to compete contained in a contract or agreement is void and unenforceable.”
Why there is no separate healthcare rule to check
Some states carve healthcare workers, or veterinarians specifically, out of a broader rule through a dedicated healthcare non-compete statute.
Minnesota does not — § 181.988 is a general-employment statute, and the research behind this page found no separate healthcare or veterinary non-compete law layered on top of it.
A veterinarian's covenant is void because the general ban covers essentially all employees and independent contractors, not because of any language naming veterinary medicine.
The sale-of-business and dissolution exception
This is the one place a Minnesota veterinary non-compete can still hold, and its two prongs are not identical.
On the sale of a business, the seller and the buyer may agree to a covenant that is both temporary and geographically restricted.
On anticipated dissolution of a partnership, LLC, or corporation, the partners, members, or shareholders may agree not to carry on a similar business within a reasonable geographic area — the statute's text states a geographic limit for this prong but does not separately state a time limit.
For a veterinarian buying into or selling out of a practice, that means the covenant most likely to survive is one attached to the ownership transaction itself, not to an ordinary associate employment agreement.
The sources read for this page do not state how "temporary" or "reasonable geographic area" are measured in practice.
When the current rule took effect
Section 181.988 was enacted by 2023 c 53 art 6 s 1 and, per the research behind this page, applies to agreements entered into on or after July 1, 2023 — the codified text of Subdivision 2(a) itself states the void rule but does not carry that date.
The research behind this page re-verified the statute's text on 2026-09-16 and found no change since.
A covenant an associate or relief vet signed before that date is not necessarily covered by this rule — the sources read for this page do not address how an agreement predating July 1, 2023 is treated, so that question is left open here.
What this page does not answer for Minnesota
The research behind this page reads the statute's text on the void rule, the excluded categories, and the sale-of-business exception; it does not cover how a court treats a covenant that does not fit either the general rule or the sale-of-business exception.
Subdivision 3 gives an employee who primarily resides and works in Minnesota a choice-of-law and venue protection against being required to litigate a Minnesota-arising claim outside the state or lose Minnesota law's protection.
Subdivisions 2(d) and 3(c) each let a court award reasonable attorney fees to an employee enforcing rights under the section — the award is discretionary ("may award"), and the statute's text does not condition it on the employee having already succeeded.
This page names those mechanics rather than analyzing how they'd apply to a specific agreement.
Take a specific agreement to a Minnesota attorney.
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 Minnesota, which voids employee non-competes by statute, a combination shared with North Dakota, Utah, Wyoming and 1 other state in this series. If you plan to use Minnesota Rural Veterinarian Loan Repayment Program (Minnesota’s loan-repayment program), read any non-compete’s radius against where the qualifying practice would be. The program describes qualifying practice as “Large animal/food animal practice: a practice at least 50 percent involved with the care of food animals (cattle, goats, pigs, poultry and sheep) in a designated rural area of Minnesota.”
What Veterinarian Job Listings in Minnesota Show Right Now
From the 106 active veterinarian listings on VeterinaryHires as of November 1, 2026.
Employers with the most openings
Pay employers post
- Median $122,500 a year; the middle half of posted pay runs $122,500–$130,000 (25 listings that state a salary)
- 24% of veterinarian listings in Minnesota state any pay at all.
Benefits listings name
- Dental & Visionnamed in 81%
- Health Insurancenamed in 76%
- 401k Matchnamed in 75%
- PTO / Paid Time Offnamed in 75%
- Flexible Schedulenamed in 63%
Source: active veterinarian listings on VeterinaryHires, updated daily. Pay figures use only listings that state pay (midpoint of each posted range). Benefits count listings that name the benefit; a listing that doesn’t mention one may still offer it.
Browse 106 jobs →Frequently Asked Questions
Is a non-compete clause enforceable against a veterinarian in Minnesota?
For agreements entered into on or after July 1, 2023, § 181.988, Subdivision 2(a) makes any covenant not to compete void and unenforceable, and that general rule applies to employees and independent contractors alike — it is not limited to veterinary medicine specifically.
The main exception covers a covenant tied to selling a business or to dissolving a partnership, LLC, or corporation among its owners.
An attorney who handles Minnesota veterinary employment contracts can tell you whether your specific agreement falls under the general rule or the exception.
Does Minnesota have a healthcare-specific non-compete law for veterinarians?
No. Minnesota has no separate healthcare or veterinary non-compete statute.
Veterinarians are covered by § 181.988's general ban on covenants not to compete, the same statute that reaches most other employees and independent contractors in the state.
Because there is no healthcare-specific text to interpret, an attorney reviewing your contract would look to the general statute rather than a carve-out.
What happens to a non-compete in a Minnesota practice buy-in or buy-out agreement?
Section 181.988, Subdivision 2(b) has two prongs.
Selling a business lets the seller and buyer agree to a covenant that is temporary and geographically restricted, both measured against a "reasonable" length of time and area.
Dissolving a partnership, LLC, or corporation among its own partners, members, or shareholders instead names only a reasonable geographic area, with no separate time element stated.
Have a Minnesota attorney who handles veterinary practice transactions review the purchase or dissolution agreement and any attached covenant together.
Does it matter when I signed my Minnesota non-compete?
It can.
The void rule is stated to apply to agreements entered into on or after July 1, 2023, under the statute's 2023 enacting session law — that date is not written into Subdivision 2(a)'s own text.
The research behind this page does not address how a covenant signed before that date is treated, so that question is left open here.
If your agreement predates July 2023, ask a Minnesota employment attorney how it is handled.
Can I recover attorney's fees if I challenge a Minnesota non-compete as an employee?
The statute lets a court award reasonable attorney fees to an employee enforcing rights under the section, in addition to injunctive relief and other remedies.
That award is discretionary — the text says a court "may" award fees, and it is tied to enforcing rights rather than to a stated requirement that the challenge already succeeded.
Whether a court would award fees in your case is a question for an attorney who handles Minnesota veterinary employment disputes — this page does not offer that analysis.
Is a Veterinary Non-Compete Enforceable in Minnesota? For Employers
Minnesota voids employee non-competes by statute, veterinarians included, so a non-compete in an associate contract is unlikely to hold up.
A client non-solicitation or confidentiality clause is the narrower restraint to consider. Candidates read the covenant before they sign, and a broad one can cost you the hire.
More Minnesota Non-Compete Resources
Sources
- Minn. Stat. § 181.988 — Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes (retrieved 2026-09-16)
Sourced from Minnesota’s own statute or leading court decisions (see the citations above).
Verified September 2026; the governing provision was last amended Enacted 2023 c 53 art 6 s 1, applying to agreements entered into on or after July 1, 2023.
Re-verified 2026-09-16 — no change found.
This page is general information, not legal advice.