Texas medical records laws

How Texas differs from federal HIPAA

• Fixed dollar caps instead of HIPAA's reasonable cost-based standard; Texas caps include a base fee that HIPAA would not permit for search/retrieval when a patient requests their own records, and HIPAA's cost-based limit still governs patient requests to HIPAA covered entities.
• Physicians may not refuse a records request because of an unpaid bill.
• Hospitals may withhold records until the fee is paid unless there is a medical emergency.

How long a provider has to respond

A Texas physician must provide your records within 15 business days of your written request; a hospital must do so within 15 days after it receives your request and any allowed fee.(22 Tex. Admin. Code § 163.3, Texas Medical Board — Patient Information and Medical Records, Tex. Health & Safety Code § 241.154)

What a provider can charge

Physicians may charge at most $25 for the first 20 paper pages and $0.50 per page after that, or $25/$50 for electronic copies, plus postage; affidavits up to $15 and narratives up to $20. Hospital fees are capped in statute (e.g., $30 base for paper, $75 for electronic) and adjusted each year by the consumer price index, so current hospital dollar amounts are higher than the statutory base figures.(22 Tex. Admin. Code § 163.3, Texas Medical Board — Patient Information and Medical Records, Tex. Health & Safety Code § 241.154, Tex. Health & Safety Code § 241.154)

Paper copies

Physicians: $25 for first 20 pages, then $0.50/page; hospitals: up to $30 base (includes first 10 pages) + $1/page (11-60), $0.50/page (61-400), $0.25/page after, CPI-adjusted

physician maximum for the first 20 paper pages

Up to $25.00

Electronic copies

Physicians: max $25 for 500 pages or less, $50 for more than 500 pages. Hospitals: retrieval/processing fee up to $75 (statutory base amount, CPI-adjusted) plus actual delivery cost.

When copies are free

Hospitals may not charge a patient to examine their own records, for an itemized bill (with a limited exception), or for workers' compensation information except as the Labor Code allows.

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 treatment; for patients under 18, until age 21 or 7 years from last treatment, whichever is longer(22 Tex. Admin. Code § 163.2)
• Hospitals: May be disposed of 10 years after the patient was last treated; for patients under 18 at last treatment, the later of the patient's 20th birthday or 10 years after last treatment(Tex. Health & Safety Code § 241.103)

Minors and sensitive records

• Minors: Texas Medical Board guidance applies the same 15-business-day deadline when a minor's parent or guardian requests the records. Physicians must keep a minor's records until the patient turns 21 or for 7 years after last treatment, whichever is longer.(Texas Medical Board — Patient Information and Medical Records, 22 Tex. Admin. Code § 163.2)

If a provider doesn't comply

• Texas Medical Board

  physicians · (512) 305-7030

• HHS Office for Civil Rights

  HIPAA violations by any covered entity, within 180 days

How to request your records in Texas

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 15 business days 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 Texas hospital's records office, or browse hospitals in Texas.

Common questions about Texas medical records