Dental Non-Compete Laws in Nevada: What Dentists Need to Know (2026)
Dental Non-Compete Laws in Nevada: What Dentists Need to Know (2026)
> The short answer: Nevada enforces dental non-competes under Nev. Rev. Stat. § 613.195 but with strong employee protections. If your employer terminates you, the non-compete is voidable. Employers must compensate you during enforcement. Non-competes cannot restrict services to former patients who seek you out.
Nevada Changed Its Rules in 2017
Nevada was a relatively employer-friendly non-compete state for most of its history. That shifted in 2017 when the legislature overhauled Nev. Rev. Stat. § 613.195 with a series of employee-protective reforms that meaningfully changed the math for dentists.
Three changes matter most: employers must pay you during the non-compete period if they terminate you, you cannot be restricted from serving former patients who come to you on their own, and courts must narrowly construe restrictions rather than defaulting to enforcement.
If you're practicing in Las Vegas, Reno, or anywhere else in Nevada, these rules apply to you. A DSO that hands you a standard national-market non-compete contract without accounting for Nevada's specific requirements is handing you leverage.
Current Law: Nev. Rev. Stat. § 613.195
The 2017 reforms created several firm rules:
Reasonableness still required: Non-competes must be reasonable in geographic scope and duration. Courts apply a reasonableness test and may limit the agreement if it's overbroad.
Employer-termination rule: If your employer terminates your employment, the non-compete is voidable at your option. A practice that fires you for cost-cutting, restructuring, or practice sale cannot then use a non-compete to keep you from working nearby.
Compensation during enforcement: If the employer seeks to enforce a non-compete, they must continue compensating you at your base salary rate for the duration of the restriction. No free enforcement in Nevada — the employer has to pay for what they're imposing.
Former patient services: The agreement cannot restrict you from providing services to a former patient who, without any solicitation from you, contacts you and asks for care. If a patient finds you on their own, you can see them. This is a meaningful carve-out in a dental context.
Blue penciling available: Courts can modify overbroad agreements in Nevada rather than voiding them.
What "Enforceable" Means for Dentists in Nevada
For a voluntarily departing dental associate, a Nevada non-compete can be enforced, but only if the employer is willing to keep paying your base salary rate for the entire restriction period. For a 2-year non-compete at $200,000 base salary, that's $400,000 owed to you. This financial requirement makes extended non-competes economically irrational for most employers.
In practice, Nevada non-competes for dentists tend to be shorter and more narrowly drawn than in many other states, partly because employers know the compensation obligation is real.
For a terminated dentist, the situation is even cleaner. If the employer let you go — for any reason short of gross misconduct — the non-compete is voidable. You can void it by notifying the employer. The restriction disappears.
The former-patient carve-out matters practically for dentists. Patients who Google you, hear about your new practice from friends, or simply follow you because they prefer you cannot be kept from seeing you. The restriction only covers active solicitation on your part.
What to Watch for in Your Contract
Nevada's employer-compensation requirement creates specific things to review:
The "base salary" definition. Nevada's statute ties the compensation obligation to base salary, not total compensation including production bonuses. If you're primarily production-pay with a small base, the employer's obligation during enforcement is smaller. A salary-heavy compensation structure protects you more under this rule.
Termination definition. Some contracts define termination narrowly or include language about "voluntary" separation in ways that could blur when the employer-termination voidability applies. Make sure the definition of termination without cause is clear.
Patient solicitation vs. patient service. The statute bars restricting you from serving patients who contact you unsolicited. But it still allows a prohibition on you actively soliciting them. The contract language should reflect this distinction. If the agreement bars you from any contact with former patients regardless of who initiates it, that overreaches the statute.
Duration in light of compensation cost. A 2-year non-compete with a compensation obligation attached means the employer is committing to potentially paying two years of your base salary to enforce it. If the employer obviously cannot or would not pay that, the restriction is practically unenforceable even if technically valid.
What to Do If You Have a Non-Compete
If you were terminated by your employer, in the vast majority of circumstances your non-compete is voidable right now. Review your separation circumstances carefully. If the employer ended your employment — even if they framed it as "mutual separation" or "restructuring" — you may have grounds to void the restriction.
If you resigned and the employer wants to enforce, the question becomes whether they're actually going to pay your base salary for the full restriction period. That's a large financial commitment. Most will negotiate when confronted with that obligation.
For the former-patient carve-out: document any patient contacts carefully. If a patient calls you without any outreach on your part, you are allowed to see them in Nevada. That is the law.
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Related Reading
- Dental Non-Compete Clauses: Is Yours Actually Enforceable? (National Guide)
- Dental Associate Contract Red Flags
- Dental Non-Compete Laws in California
- Dental Non-Compete Laws in Utah
- Dental Non-Compete Laws in Arizona
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This page is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Non-compete enforceability is a complex, state-specific legal question. The information here reflects our understanding of current law as of March 2026. Consult with a qualified attorney licensed in Nevada for advice specific to your situation.
Published by the DentalUnlock Team. Last updated March 2026.
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