Medical Record Retention by State: How Long Hospitals and Physicians Must Keep Patient Records

How long a hospital must keep a patient’s medical records depends on the state. Most require somewhere between five and eleven years after an adult patient’s last treatment or discharge, and longer for minors — but the range runs from Nevada’s 5-year floor to Washington’s new 26-year rule, and several states set no fixed period at all. The table below gives the adult and minor retention period plus the governing statute for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

For legal teams, retention windows aren’t trivia — they decide whether the records a case depends on still exist. Once you have the file, InQuery turns it into a source-linked medical chronology; before that, knowing the retention rule tells you what you can still request.

Not legal advice. This guide is general information, not legal advice, and retention rules change. Many states set different periods for hospitals versus private physician offices, and some set none at all — defaulting to the federal HIPAA six-year documentation floor or the Medicare Conditions of Participation. Facility type, record type (imaging, lab, mental-health), and recent amendments all matter. Verify the current statute for your jurisdiction — each row links to its source — before you rely on it.

How long do hospitals keep medical records?

For adult patients, most state hospital-retention periods fall between 6 and 10 years after discharge. A handful sit at the edges: Nevada requires only 5 years, while Massachusetts (20 years), North Carolina (11 years), and Washington (26 years from record creation, as of 2025) run far longer.

For minors, nearly every state extends retention — typically until the child reaches the age of majority plus a set number of years (commonly to age 21–25), or the standard adult period, whichever is longer. A newborn’s records can therefore be required to survive two to three decades.

Two things trip people up. First, hospitals and physicians often follow different rules in the same state — sometimes by many years (Massachusetts holds hospitals to 20 years but physicians to 7). Second, some states have no retention statute at all for general medical records; there, providers default to HIPAA’s six-year rule and Medicare’s five-year Conditions of Participation, plus whatever the malpractice statute of limitations makes prudent.

Medical record retention by state

Adult periods below lead with the hospital requirement (the most common question) and note the physician period where it differs materially. Every citation links to its source.

State	Adults	Minors	Governing rule
Alabama	5 yrs (hospitals); 7 yrs (physicians)	Physicians: 2 yrs past majority or 7 yrs, whichever longer	Ala. Admin. Code r. 540-X-9-.10 / 420-5-7-.13
Alaska	7 yrs (hospitals)	To age 21 or 7 yrs, whichever longer	AS 18.20.085 / 7 AAC 12.770
Arizona	6 yrs (all providers, incl. physicians)	3 yrs past 18 or 6 yrs, whichever later	A.R.S. § 12-2297
Arkansas	10 yrs (hospitals)	2 yrs past majority	20 CAR § 41-113
California	7 yrs (licensed facilities)	1 yr past age 18, minimum 7 yrs	22 CCR § 70751(c) (licensed facilities); Cal. Health & Safety Code § 123145 (on closure)
Colorado	10 yrs (hospitals)	Minority + 10 yrs (~to age 28)	6 CCR 1011-1
Connecticut	10 yrs (hospitals); 7 yrs (practitioners)	No explicit extension (best practice: run from majority)	Conn. Agencies Regs. § 19-13-D3 (hospitals); § 19a-14-42 (practitioners)
Delaware	Medicare 5 yrs (hospitals — no state statute); 7 yrs (physicians)	Physicians: 7 yrs	Del. Code tit. 24 § 1761
District of Columbia	10 yrs (hospitals); 5 yrs (physicians)	Hospitals: 3 yrs past age 21; physicians: 5 yrs past majority	D.C. Code § 3-1210.11 / 22-B DCMR § 2030
Florida	~5–7 yrs (hospitals, via Medicare); 5 yrs (physicians)	5 yrs (longer advised for young children)	Fla. Admin. Code r. 64B8-10.002
Georgia	10 yrs (hospitals, from discharge/death)	Hospitals: 5 yrs past majority	O.C.G.A. § 31-33-2 / r. 511-7-1-.10
Hawaii	7 yrs full record (25 yrs basic info)	Minority + 7 yrs (~to age 25)	Haw. Rev. Stat. § 622-58
Idaho	Medicare 5 yrs (no general statute)	X-rays: majority + 5 yrs	Idaho Code § 39-1394 (limited scope)
Illinois	10 yrs (hospitals); physicians: none (SOL-driven)	Hospitals: 10 yrs	210 ILCS 85/6.17
Indiana	7 yrs (hospitals and physicians)	7 yrs (no age extension)	Ind. Code § 16-39-7-1
Iowa	Per statute of limitations (hospitals); 7 yrs (physicians)	Per Iowa Code § 614.8	Iowa Admin. Code r. 653-13.7(8)
Kansas	10 yrs (hospitals)	Hospitals: 10 yrs or 1 yr past majority, whichever longer	K.A.R. 28-34-9a
Kentucky	6 yrs (hospitals); physicians: none	Hospitals: 6 yrs or 3 yrs past majority, whichever longest	902 KAR 20:016
Louisiana	10 yrs (hospitals); 6 yrs (physicians)	Hospitals: no separate extension	La. R.S. 40:2144 (hospitals); La. R.S. 40:1165.1 (physicians)
Maine	7 yrs (hospitals); physicians: none	Hospitals: 6 yrs past majority	10-144 C.M.R. ch. 112 § 3.5.5
Maryland	7 yrs (hospitals and physicians)	Majority + 7 yrs (~to age 25)	Md. Health-General § 4-403
Massachusetts	20 yrs (hospitals/clinics); 7 yrs (physicians)	Physicians: 7 yrs or to age 18, whichever longer	M.G.L. c. 111 § 70 / 243 CMR 2.07
Michigan	7 yrs (health professionals, incl. physicians)	7 yrs (no age extension)	MCL 333.16213
Minnesota	7 yrs (hospitals; some records kept permanently)	7 yrs or to age of majority, whichever later	Minn. Stat. § 145.32
Mississippi	10 yrs (hospitals, 2024 change); 10 yrs (physicians, eff. 2026)	None (statute grants parental access only)	Miss. Code § 41-9-69 (hospitals, as amended by 2024 S.B. 2873); 30 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 2635, Ch. 10 (physicians)
Missouri	10 yrs (hospitals); 7 yrs (physicians)	Hospitals: to 20th birthday or 10 yrs, whichever later	19 CSR 30-20.015 / § 334.097
Montana	10 yrs (hospitals; physicians: none verified)	Hospitals: 10 yrs past age 18	Mont. Admin. R. 37.106.402
Nebraska	No period in current hospital licensure reg (2023 revision); Medicare 5-yr floor applies	None in current reg	42 CFR § 482.24 (Medicare floor); 175 NAC ch. 9 (2023, sets no period)
Nevada	5 yrs (all custodians)	To age 23	Nev. Rev. Stat. § 629.051
New Hampshire	7 yrs (hospitals and physicians)	Hospitals: 1 yr past age 18, minimum 7 yrs	He-P 802.20(g) (hospitals); Med 501.02(f) (physicians)
New Jersey	10 yrs (hospitals); 7 yrs (physicians)	Hospitals: to age 23 or 10 yrs, whichever longer	N.J.S.A. 26:8-5 (hospitals); N.J.A.C. 13:35-6.5 (physicians)
New Mexico	10 yrs (hospitals and physicians)	To age 21	N.M. Admin. Code 16.10.17.10 / § 14-6-2
New York	6 yrs (hospitals and physicians)	6 yrs or 3 yrs past age 18, whichever longer	10 NYCRR 405.10 (hospitals); 8 NYCRR 29.2 (physicians)
North Carolina	11 yrs (hospitals)	To 30th birthday	10A NCAC 13B .3903
North Dakota	10 yrs (hospitals)	To age 21 or 10 yrs, whichever later	N.D. Admin. Code § 33-07-01.1-20
Ohio	6 yrs (hospitals)	6 yrs (no age extension)	Ohio Admin. Code 3701-83-11
Oklahoma	5 yrs (hospitals)	To age 21	Okla. Admin. Code § 310:667-19-14
Oregon	10 yrs (hospitals)	10 yrs (no age extension)	OAR 333-505-0050
Pennsylvania	7 yrs (hospitals and physicians)	To ~age 25	28 Pa. Code § 115.23
Rhode Island	5 yrs (hospitals); 7 yrs (physicians)	To age 23	216-RICR-40-10-4 § 4.6.10
South Carolina	10 yrs (hospitals); 10 yrs (physicians)	Physicians: 13 yrs	S.C. Code Regs. § 61-16.1107 (hospitals); S.C. Code § 44-115-120 (physicians)
South Dakota	10 yrs (licensed facilities)	Majority + 2 yrs, minimum 10 yrs	S.D. Admin. R. 44:75:09:06
Tennessee	10 yrs (hospitals and physicians)	Minority + 1 yr or 10 yrs, whichever longer	Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1050-02-.18 / § 68-11-305
Texas	10 yrs (hospitals); 7 yrs (physicians)	Physicians: to age 21 or 7 yrs, whichever longer	22 Tex. Admin. Code § 163.2 / Health & Safety § 241.103
Utah	7 yrs (hospitals)	To age 18 + 4 yrs, minimum 7 yrs	Utah Admin. Code R432-100-35
Vermont	10 yrs (hospitals); 7 yrs (physicians)	No statutory minor extension	18 V.S.A. § 1905 (hospitals); 3 V.S.A. § 129a (physicians)
Virginia	6 yrs (physicians); 5 yrs (hospitals)	Physicians: to age 18, min 6 yrs; hospitals: 5 yrs past age 18	18VAC85-20-26 (physicians); 12VAC5-410-370 (hospitals)
Washington	26 yrs from record creation (hospitals, as of 2025)	26 yrs (rule applies uniformly)	RCW 70.41.190
West Virginia	No general statute — HIPAA 6-yr floor / board guidance ~3 yrs	No general statute	W. Va. Board of Medicine guidance
Wisconsin	5 yrs (hospitals); 5 yrs (physicians)	No general minor rule	42 CFR § 482.24 (hospitals); Wis. Admin. Code MED 21.03(1) (physicians)
Wyoming	No state statute (repealed 2019); Medicare 5-yr floor for participating hospitals	None (no state minor rule)	42 CFR § 482.24

Why hospital and physician periods differ

In many states the licensing rule for hospitals is separate from the board rule for individual physicians, and the numbers don’t match. Massachusetts is the sharpest example — 20 years for hospitals, 7 for physicians — but the pattern repeats: Louisiana (10 vs. 6), New Jersey (10 vs. 7), Missouri (10 vs. 7). In a few states the physician period is actually longer (South Carolina: 10 years for physicians, 6 for hospitals).

Several states — Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Kentucky, Maine, Nebraska, North Dakota, West Virginia, Wyoming — set no specific retention period for private physician offices at all, or none for either. There, providers fall back on HIPAA’s six-year documentation requirement and the Medicare Conditions of Participation (five years after discharge), with the malpractice statute of limitations driving how long is actually prudent.

Recent and unusual rules worth flagging

• Washington switched to a flat 26 years from record creation in 2025 (RCW 70.41.190), replacing the old age-based minor calculation — the longest fixed period in the country.
• Massachusetts holds hospitals to 20 years (30 for certain public facilities).
• North Carolina requires 11 years for adults and retention until a minor’s 30th birthday.
• Mississippi rewrote its statute in 2024 to a flat 10 years, apparently removing its old minor-specific extension — many secondary sources still cite the repealed version.
• Nevada’s 5-year floor is shorter than what HIPAA and Medicare practically require, so many Nevada providers keep records longer anyway.

What this means for a personal injury case

Retention windows are the first thing to check when a case turns on older treatment. If an injury dates back several years, the governing period tells you whether the hospital or provider is still required to hold the records you need — and whether a “we no longer have them” response is defensible or challengeable.

That’s also where record work gets slow. Once you request and receive a file, the volume and the gaps are the problem: pages referenced but never produced, treatment periods missing, pre-existing conditions buried. InQuery’s medical records gap analysis surfaces exactly what’s missing, and its record retrieval and source-linked chronologies turn a raw production into an attorney-ready timeline where every entry links back to its page and Bates number. For the mechanics of reviewing a full production, see our document review guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do hospitals keep medical records?

It varies by state, but most hospitals must keep adult patient records for 6 to 10 years after discharge. The extremes run from Nevada’s 5-year minimum to Washington’s 26-year rule. Records for minors are almost always kept longer — typically until the patient reaches adulthood plus several years. Check your state’s row above for the exact period and statute.

Do the retention rules differ for children’s records?

Yes. Nearly every state extends retention for minors, usually until the child reaches the age of majority (18) plus a set number of years — often to age 21, 23, or 25 — or the standard adult period, whichever is longer. A newborn’s records can be required to survive two to three decades.

What if my state has no medical record retention law?

Some states (for example West Virginia and Wyoming) set no general retention statute. Providers there default to the federal HIPAA six-year documentation rule and the Medicare Conditions of Participation (five years after discharge), and typically keep records longer to cover the malpractice statute of limitations.

Do doctors’ offices keep records as long as hospitals?

Often not. Many states set separate, shorter periods for private physician offices than for hospitals, and some set none at all for physicians. If you need older records, request them from the hospital or facility as well as the treating physician — the hospital is frequently required to hold them longer.

Can I still get medical records from 8 or 10 years ago?

Frequently, yes — if the provider was required to retain them. Match the treatment date against your state’s period above. If the records still exist, the slow part is turning a large production into a usable timeline. InQuery builds source-linked medical chronologies from raw records so every fact traces back to a specific page, and flags the gaps where records are missing. You can start here.