How to Get Medical Records from a Closed Practice

When a doctor’s office shuts down, your chart doesn’t disappear with it. To get medical records from a closed practice, find out who is now storing the files, then send that custodian a written request for access under federal privacy rules. The custodian has 30 days to respond, cannot refuse you over an unpaid bill, and can only charge a reasonable, cost-based copying fee.

Find Out Who Holds the Records Now

Start at the old office. Practices that close properly post a notice on the door naming the new records custodian and how to reach them. That may be a physician who bought the practice, a colleague who agreed to store the files, or a professional records-storage company.

If the door tells you nothing, work the edges. The former practice’s website and social media accounts often stay live longer than the office itself. The old phone line may carry a voicemail with forwarding instructions. If the physician moved to another practice or health system, that employer’s front desk can usually confirm whether the records came with them.

Local hospitals are a useful lead too. Doctors hold admitting privileges at hospitals, so the medical staff office or credentialing department may know where the physician went, and by extension where the records landed.

Check any patient portal you used. Some cloud-based portals stay accessible for a period after a practice closes, and you may be able to download lab results, visit notes, and medication lists directly. Anything you previously downloaded or printed is yours to keep and hand to a new provider.

When Direct Investigation Fails, Call the State Medical Board

Every state has a board that licenses physicians and sets rules for practice closures, including notifying patients and arranging secure storage of records. Some boards require departing physicians to report exactly where records will be kept, so the board may be able to tell you directly. Search online for your state’s medical licensing board and have your full name, date of birth, the physician’s name, and the last known office address ready when you contact them. If the doctor failed to follow closure rules, the board can investigate.

Where Closed-Practice Records Usually End Up

Closed-practice records land in one of a few places depending on how the physician handled the transition.

Another physician or practice that bought the practice or agreed to act as custodian. Your request goes to that office and follows their normal procedures.
A professional records-storage company hired to hold and release files. These companies handle requests directly, must comply with federal privacy rules, and usually publish their submission process on their website.
The physician personally, if they retired without transferring the practice. Reaching them often runs through the medical board, a former office manager, or professional contacts.
The physician’s estate, if the doctor has died. The executor or administrator becomes the temporary custodian and must handle record requests in compliance with privacy law. If you know which malpractice insurer covered the physician, that carrier may also know where the records went.¹

Submitting Your Request

Once you’ve identified the custodian, send a written request. You do not need to sign a HIPAA authorization form to get your own records. Authorization forms are for situations where someone else needs your records released to them. When you’re asking for your own file, you’re using your right of access under federal privacy regulations, and the custodian is required to comply.² An authorization permits a provider to release records; a right-of-access request requires them to.³

Your written request should include:

Your full legal name and date of birth
Current contact information and mailing address
The specific records you need, such as a date range or records tied to a particular condition
Your signature and the date

The custodian may ask you to use their own form and to verify your identity before releasing anything. Federal rules don’t dictate a particular verification method. It can be as simple as confirming personal details over the phone or providing a copy of your ID, and it cannot create unreasonable barriers to access.⁴

Format, Timing, and Fees

Electronic Copies

If the custodian keeps your records electronically, you can request an electronic copy in a specific format such as PDF. The custodian must provide it in the format you ask for if their systems can readily produce it. If they can’t, you and the custodian agree on an alternative electronic format. A paper printout is acceptable only if you decline every electronic option available.⁴ A custodian with the technical ability to produce an electronic copy cannot force you to accept paper instead.

The 30-Day Response Deadline

The custodian must act on your request within 30 calendar days of receiving it. They can take a single 30-day extension, but only if they notify you in writing within the original 30-day window, explain the delay, and give a specific date they’ll respond.⁵ The clock starts when they receive your request, regardless of whether a third-party storage company holds the physical files. If 30 days pass and you’ve received no records and no written extension, the custodian is out of compliance.

What the Custodian Can Charge

Fees have to be reasonable and cost-based. A custodian can charge for the labor of copying, supplies like a CD or USB drive, and postage if you want the records mailed. They cannot charge for searching, retrieving files from storage, or general overhead.⁴

For electronic copies of records kept electronically, custodians can skip the cost calculation and charge a flat fee of up to $6.50.⁶ That $6.50 is a convenience option, not a universal cap. Paper copies and cost-calculated fees may run higher. State laws also set per-page rates or caps that can affect what you pay. Ask about fees before the custodian starts working.

Unpaid Bills Cannot Block Access

A custodian cannot withhold your records because you owe money for past treatment. Federal rules are explicit that an outstanding balance is not a valid reason to deny a records request.⁷ Even applying your copying-fee payment toward an old bill instead of processing your request doesn’t justify refusing access. If someone tells you otherwise, they’re wrong, and you can file a complaint.

Requesting Records for a Child or a Deceased Family Member

Minor Children

In most cases a parent or legal guardian acts as the personal representative for an unemancipated minor and can exercise the child’s right of access using the same request process. Narrow exceptions apply if the minor lawfully consented to the care on their own, the care was court-ordered, or the parent agreed to a confidential relationship between the child and the provider. State law fills in the details, including the age at which a minor can independently consent to certain types of care.⁸

Deceased Patients

If the patient has died, the executor or administrator of the estate, or anyone with legal authority under state law to act on the deceased’s behalf, is the personal representative and can request the records. You’ll need documentation of that authority, such as letters testamentary or a court appointment.⁹

Move Quickly: Records Don’t Have to Be Kept Forever

HIPAA itself sets no minimum retention period. Retention requirements come from state law and vary widely.¹⁰ Most states require physicians to keep adult patient records somewhere between five and ten years after the last date of treatment. For minors, the clock usually runs until the child reaches the age of majority plus an additional period, often leaving records in place until the patient is in their early twenties. Federal programs stack their own rules on top; Medicare-related records may need to be kept for six to ten years. The longer you wait after a closure, the higher the odds that records have been lawfully destroyed.

If the Records Are Gone

Sometimes files have been destroyed, either lawfully after the retention period or because something went wrong. Piece together your history from other sources:

Pharmacy dispensing records list drug names, dosages, dates, and prescribers. Pharmacy benefit managers and prescription-tracking networks keep centralized data as well.
Your health insurer’s Explanation of Benefits or claims summary documents every billed service, diagnosis codes, treatment dates, and payments. No clinical notes, but it rebuilds a timeline.
Hospitals and labs keep their own copies of any imaging, lab work, or inpatient care you were referred for.
Specialists you were referred to hold their own records, including the referral information from the original doctor.
Your own papers count too: discharge summaries, printed portal documents, test-result letters, appointment notes.

None of this fully replaces a complete chart, but together it gives a new provider enough to work with. Bring everything you have to the next appointment and explain the context.

Filing a Complaint

If a custodian ignores your request, charges prohibited fees, refuses to provide an electronic copy, or withholds records over an unpaid balance, you can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights, which enforces federal privacy rules.¹¹ File within 180 days of when you knew or should have known about the violation. The Office for Civil Rights can extend that deadline if you show good cause.¹²

You can submit through the online portal on the HHS website, by email to OCRComplaint@hhs.gov, or by mailing a printed complaint form to the Office for Civil Rights in Washington, D.C.¹² Include the custodian’s name and contact information, a description of what happened, and the dates involved. The Office for Civil Rights investigates complaints against any entity covered by federal privacy rules, including physicians, storage companies, and health systems acting as custodians.

1
National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). Continuing Obligations Following the Unexpected Death of a Physician: Things to Keep in Mind
2
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Why Depend on the Individuals Right of Access
3
eCFR. 45 CFR 164.524 – Access of Individuals to Protected Health Information
4
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Individuals Right under HIPAA to Access their Health Information
5
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. How Timely Must a Covered Entity Be in Responding to Individuals Requests for Access to Their PHI
6
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Clarification of Permissible Fees for HIPAA Right of Access – Flat Rate Option of Up to $6.50 is Not a Cap on All Fees for Copies of PHI
7
HHS.gov. May a Health Care Provider Withhold a Copy of an Individuals PHI
8
Department of Health & Human Services – Office for Civil Rights. The HIPAA Privacy Rule and Parental Access to Minor Childrens Medical Records
9
HHS.gov. Health Information of Deceased Individuals
10
HHS.gov. Does the HIPAA Privacy Rule Require Covered Entities to Keep Medical Records for Any Period
11
HHS.gov. Filing a Health Information Privacy Complaint
12
HHS.gov. How to File a Health Information Privacy or Security Complaint