Pennsylvania medical records laws

How Pennsylvania differs from federal HIPAA

• Publishes CPI-adjusted dollar maximums per page; HIPAA's cost-based limit still governs a patient's own request, so the lower amount applies.
• Bars the search and retrieval fee for a patient's own records (consistent with HIPAA).
• No faster deadline than HIPAA's 30 days.

How long a provider has to respond

Pennsylvania gives patients a right to copies (42 Pa.C.S. § 6155) but no state deadline was found, so HIPAA applies: 30 days, with one 30-day extension if you are told in writing.(42 Pa.C.S. § 6155(b), 45 CFR 164.524)

Under 45 CFR § 164.524, a provider may take one 30-day extension only if it tells you in writing, within the first 30 days, why and when you will get the records.

What a provider can charge

Pennsylvania's Department of Health adjusts maximum record charges each year by CPI; for 2026 they are $2.00 per page for pages 1–20, $1.48 for 21–60 and $0.52 for 61 onward, plus actual postage and delivery. The $29.61 search and retrieval fee cannot be charged to a patient requesting their own record, and the Department says HIPAA's reasonable, cost-based limit governs patient requests, so the lower amount applies.(42 Pa.C.S. § 6155(b), 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 6152, 6152.1; PA DOH notice (eff. Jan. 1, 2026), 45 CFR 164.524)

Paper copies

2026 maximums: $2.00/page (pages 1–20), $1.48/page (21–60), $0.52/page (61+); no search fee for your own records

Electronic copies

State per-page maximums apply to paper or electronic reproductions; for a patient's own electronic copy, HIPAA limits the fee to labor cost (no search/retrieval).

A provider cannot refuse to give you your records because you owe money for treatment. Compare every state on the medical records fees by state page.

How long records must be kept

• Physician offices: At least 7 years from the last medical service; for minors, until at least 1 year after reaching majority, whichever is longer(49 Pa. Code § 16.95(e))

Minors and sensitive records

• Minors: A minor who is 18 or older, has graduated high school, has married or has been pregnant may consent to their own medical care; any minor may consent to pregnancy and sexually transmitted/reportable disease care. Physicians keep minors' records until at least 1 year after majority.(49 Pa. Code § 16.95(e), Act of Feb. 13, 1970, P.L. 19, No. 10 (35 P.S. §§ 10101–10105))
• mental health: Psychotherapy notes are excluded from HIPAA's right of access.(45 CFR 164.524)

If a provider doesn't comply

HIPAA has no private right of action — file with HHS OCR or the relevant licensing board.(42 Pa.C.S. §§ 6152, 6152.1; PA DOH notice (eff. Jan. 1, 2026))

• Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs (State Board of Medicine and other boards)

  physicians and other licensed professionals

• HHS Office for Civil Rights

  HIPAA violations by any covered entity, within 180 days

How to request your records in Pennsylvania

1. Ask the provider's medical records (health information) department for its request form, or write your own request with your name, date of birth, dates of care, the records you want, and the format (paper or electronic).
2. Keep a copy and note the date — the 30 days (HIPAA) clock runs from when the provider receives it.
3. If the deadline passes or the bill exceeds the rules above, use the complaint routes on this page.

Templates and step-by-step help are on the records-access hub. Find a Pennsylvania hospital's records office, or browse hospitals in Pennsylvania.

Common questions about Pennsylvania medical records