Medical records request deadlines and fees by state, 2026

Reference only. This information may be incomplete or out of date. Deadlines and fees change often, some figures could not be confirmed from a primary source, and how a rule applies depends on the provider, the type of request and the facts. Do your own due diligence: confirm every deadline and fee against the current statute or agency notice for your state before you rely on it. This is not legal advice.

How long a provider has to answer a medical records request depends on who is asking. A patient requesting their own records is covered by federal law. An attorney or other third party holding the patient's authorization is covered mostly by state law, and the states disagree widely: some set a firm number of days, some say only "timely," and many set nothing at all.

This page is a reference table of the response deadlines and maximum fees found for all 50 states and the District of Columbia, with a short summary of the federal rules and the states where timing affects the price.

The federal baseline

• Patient requests. Under the HIPAA right of access (45 CFR 164.524), a provider must act on a patient's request within 30 days and may take one 30-day extension. Fees are limited to a reasonable, cost-based amount.
• Attorney and third-party requests under an authorization. The federal authorization rule (45 CFR 164.508) contains no response deadline. The access-right deadline and fee limits above are written for the patient's own request, and how they apply to a request from an attorney has been the subject of litigation and agency guidance. In practice, state law and provider policy usually set the terms.

So for a firm requesting records for a client, the deadline that matters is usually the state's, and in many states there is no statutory deadline to point to.

Where timing can change the price

Utah is an example of a state that ties the fee to how fast the records arrive. Under Utah Code 78B-5-618, records for a patient's attorney are to be provided within 30 days. If they are late, the fee is cut by half, and after 60 days the records are to be provided free. An expedite fee applies only if the request asks for it in writing and the records are delivered within 15 days.

The statute has exceptions. Deadlines are extended for force-majeure events, and the reductions do not apply when a records vendor lawfully required prepayment from a requester with a history of late payment. Other states may have their own rules about late delivery, fast-delivery charges or court-awarded costs, so check the law for your state.

Response deadlines by state

"None identified" means no statutory day count was identified for attorney or authorization-based requests. It does not mean no rule applies. A regulation, court rule, licensing rule, provider policy or contract may set a timeline, and a rule may exist that was not identified.

* The statute or rule is written for the patient's own request. Applying it to an attorney's request is a reasonable reading, not the express text of the law.

How to read this table

• Check the type of request. A rule that applies to a patient's own request, a subpoena, or a benefit claim may not apply to a firm's authorization-based request. California, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Texas, for example, set different timelines depending on who asks and what kind of provider receives the request.
• Check the provider type. Several states set one timeline for physicians and another for hospitals, or regulate only one of them.
• Watch the start of the clock. Many deadlines run from the provider's receipt of a complete request. Texas hospitals count from the request and payment. Keep the date each provider received your request.
• Rules change. Several states changed their rules in 2025 and 2026, and other bills have been introduced.

Fees by state

The table shows the maximum a provider may generally charge an attorney or other authorized third party for paper copies, plus actual postage, unless noted. These figures are as of October 2026. About a dozen jurisdictions, including Utah, Missouri, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia, South Carolina, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia, adjust their fees for inflation each year (in January for most, July for Georgia, South Carolina and Wisconsin, and February for Missouri), so check the current schedule with your state agency or court before paying or disputing an invoice. Many states also waive or reduce fees for Social Security or veterans' benefit claims.

* The statute or rule is written for the patient's own request, or is unclear about attorney requests. Applying it to an attorney is a reasonable reading, not the express text of the law.

"Unconfirmed" means the figure could not be verified against a primary source. Maryland, Massachusetts, Texas hospitals and West Virginia allow cost-of-living increases, but no agency publishes the adjusted number, so the amounts above are the statutory figures and may be adjusted for inflation.

Compiled in October 2026 from statutes, regulations, agency notices and, where an official site could not be read directly, reproductions of them. General information, not legal advice. Confirm the current rule before relying on any figure.