New Hampshire medical records laws

How New Hampshire differs from federal HIPAA

• Patients' own requests follow HIPAA on timing and fees.
• Requestors (representatives, attorneys, POA holders) get a fixed fee schedule and a firm 30-day deadline; late records must be free.
• Provider-to-provider transfers must be made within 14 days at no cost (since Sept. 13, 2025).
• Electronically stored records must be provided electronically unless paper is requested.

How long a provider has to respond

For a patient's own request, New Hampshire law defers to HIPAA: 30 days, with one 30-day extension if you're told in writing. The state's own 30-day rule (records free if late) applies to requests by a patient's 'requestor' — a personal representative, power-of-attorney holder, attorney, or the patient's health care provider (who must get records within 14 days, free).(N.H. Rev. Stat. § 332-I:1 (as amended through 2025, ch. 233, eff. Sept. 13, 2025), 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

Since July 2024, RSA 332-I:1 caps charges to a patient's requestor (personal representative, POA holder, attorney or provider) at $5 for the first page, $0.41 per page for pages 2–50 and $0.30 per page after that, or up to $50 for electronic copies, plus up to $25/hour for requested redactions. Patients requesting their own records are governed by HIPAA's reasonable, cost-based fee.(N.H. Rev. Stat. § 332-I:1 (as amended through 2025, ch. 233, eff. Sept. 13, 2025), 45 CFR 164.524)

Paper copies

Requestor paper copies: $5 first page, $0.41/page (pp. 2–50), $0.30/page (51+); patient's own copies follow HIPAA

first-page charge (requestor paper copies)

Up to $5.00

Electronic copies

Requestor electronic copies: reasonable rate not to exceed $50; records stored electronically must be provided electronically unless paper is requested.

When copies are free

Free if not provided to a requestor within 30 days (absent force majeure); follow-up copies needed to complete an incomplete copy are free; transfers to the patient's health care provider are free.

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

• Hospitals: 7 years after discharge; for minors, at least 1 year after reaching 18, but never less than 7 years after discharge(N.H. Code Admin. R. He-P 802.20(g))
• Physician offices: At least 7 years from the patient's last contact with the physician (unless the file was transferred earlier at the patient's request)(N.H. Code Admin. R. Med 501.02(f)(8))

Minors and sensitive records

• Minors: Hospitals must keep a minor's records until at least one year after age 18, and never less than 7 years after discharge. Physician rules address releasing a minor's records to a legally responsible third party but set no separate retention period.(N.H. Code Admin. R. He-P 802.20(g), N.H. Code Admin. R. Med 501.02(f)(8))
• other: RSA 332-I:1 lets a requestor ask for redaction of sensitive information (such as HIV status, drug and alcohol use, mental health, or genetic testing), billed at up to $25 per hour.(N.H. Rev. Stat. § 332-I:1 (as amended through 2025, ch. 233, eff. Sept. 13, 2025))

If a provider doesn't comply

No state private right of action for denied access was found in RSA 332-I:1; the statute's remedy for late requestor copies is that they become free. HIPAA has none — file with HHS OCR or OPLC.(N.H. Rev. Stat. § 332-I:1 (as amended through 2025, ch. 233, eff. Sept. 13, 2025))

• NH Office of Professional Licensure and Certification (OPLC) — Board of Medicine

  physicians and other licensees

• HHS Office for Civil Rights

  HIPAA violations by any covered entity, within 180 days

How to request your records in New Hampshire

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. To find a specific hospital's records office, see hospitals in New Hampshire.

Common questions about New Hampshire medical records