How to Transfer Medical and Dental Records

Switching doctors and dentists is one of the parts of moving people put off until they need it: a new prescription runs low, a kid needs a sports physical, or a dentist asks for old X-rays you don’t have. By then, your records are sitting in a system back in your old town, and the office that holds them is a few states away. Getting those records moved before you need them keeps your care continuous and saves you from repeating tests, re-explaining your history, or guessing at dates. This guide walks through your right to your records, how to request them, what they should contain, and what to expect on fees and timing.

This is general information about the records-transfer process, not medical or legal advice. It does not cover how to find or choose new doctors and dentists in your area (see our guide on finding providers in a new town), updating your health-insurance coverage, or moving your pet’s veterinary and microchip records (see our guide on updating pet records).

Why You Should Move Your Health Records, Not Just Your Doctor

Finding new providers is the visible half of a medical move. The quieter half is making sure your history travels with you. A new physician who can see your past lab results, medication list, allergies, imaging, and immunizations starts from a real baseline instead of a blank page. That matters most for anything ongoing: a chronic condition, a medication you take daily, a recent surgery, or a treatment plan that depends on knowing what was already tried.

Records also protect you from duplication. Without your prior imaging or bloodwork, a new provider may reasonably order the same scans and tests again, which costs you time, money, and in the case of imaging, avoidable exposure. The same logic applies to your dentist: a new office that has your charting and recent dental X-rays can pick up where the last one left off instead of starting your dental history over.

Think of the records as the part of the move that has to happen even though no box gets packed. You are not just choosing a new office; you are relocating the documentation that makes the new office useful from day one.

Your Right to Request Copies of Your Records

You do not have to ask permission to get your own health information. Under the HIPAA Privacy Rule, you have a legal, enforceable right to see and receive a copy of the health information your providers and health plans keep about you in what’s called the “designated record set.” That federal right of access applies to most doctors, hospitals, clinics, and dental practices, and it generally lets you get the information in the form and format you ask for when they can readily produce it that way, including electronically.

A provider cannot put up unreasonable barriers or unreasonably delay your access. They also cannot withhold your records because you have an unpaid bill. The American Dental Association notes the same for dentists: a dental practice’s obligation to furnish records or copies, including dental X-rays, exists whether or not your account is paid in full. So if a former office tells you that an outstanding balance is the reason you can’t have your records, that is not a valid reason to deny you copies under your right of access.

Your right also covers sending records on your behalf. You can ask your current provider to transmit a copy of your information directly to another person or entity you name, such as your new doctor or dentist. The request to do that generally needs to be in writing, signed by you, and clear about who should receive the records and where to send them.

Federal enforcement backs this up. The HHS Office for Civil Rights, which enforces the Privacy Rule, has run a Right of Access Initiative since 2019 and has settled dozens of cases with providers, including dental practices, that failed to give patients timely copies of their records. The takeaway for you is not the penalties; it’s that the right is real and you are entitled to use it.

How to Submit a Records-Release Request to a Current Provider

Start by deciding what you actually need. You can request your complete file, or just specific pieces such as your medication list, allergies, recent test results, immunization history, or imaging. Asking for what you need keeps the request focused and can keep copying simpler.

From there, the path depends on the office:

Patient portal. Many practices use a secure online portal where you can view, download, and sometimes directly share your records. If your old office has one, that is usually the fastest and cheapest route, and portal access to your information is often free. Download what you can before you lose your login, and check whether the portal lets you send records straight to another provider.
Records-release or authorization form. If there’s no portal option, most offices have a medical (or dental) records release form. You complete it, sign it, and specify whether the records go to you or directly to your new provider. Some offices also accept a signed letter, an email, or a faxed request.
Direct provider-to-provider transfer. You can authorize your old office to send records electronically into a new provider’s system, hand off on a CD or USB drive, or mail them. New providers will often hand you their own release form to start this for you once you’re a patient, which can be a convenient way to trigger the request.

Put your request in writing even when you start it by phone, keep a copy, and confirm the destination details are exactly right. If you’re sending records to a new office, ask that office the best way to receive them so the file doesn’t sit in a fax tray or an inbox no one checks.

What Medical and Dental Records Usually Include (and Don’t Forget the Kids)

Your medical record is broader than a single visit summary. Depending on your care, it can include your problem and diagnosis history, visit notes, your medication list, allergies, lab and test results, imaging such as X-rays, MRIs, and CT scans, and your immunization history. On the dental side, expect charting and treatment history plus dental radiographs and any clinical photos, which a new dentist will want before doing significant work.

Immunization records deserve a separate note because they live in more than one place. Beyond your provider’s file, your shots may be recorded in your state’s Immunization Information System, a confidential database that combines vaccination information from participating providers. The CDC itself does not hold your records, but it points you to your state’s IIS and your provider to track down an official immunization history. Those official immunization records are the ones commonly accepted for school, daycare, and camp entry, so they’re worth gathering.

Don’t treat the move as a single-person task. Each family member has their own records and, under HIPAA, their own right of access, so plan a separate request for every person whose care you’re moving. For your children, you’ll typically request their records as their personal representative. If you’re also moving a school-age child, note that a child’s immunization proof shows up both here and in the school-enrollment process; this guide covers the medical-record side, while transferring a child’s school file and meeting enrollment requirements is covered in our guide on transferring school records.

Timelines, Formats, and Reasonable Copying Fees

Under HIPAA, a provider generally has to act on your access request within 30 calendar days. If they can’t meet that, they’re allowed one extension of no more than an additional 30 days, and they must tell you in writing within the first 30 days why there’s a delay and when you’ll get the records. Only one extension is permitted per request, so the outer limit is 60 days, and in practice many offices are much faster, especially through a portal.

On format, you can ask for the records electronically, and if the provider can readily produce them that way, they generally should. That’s useful when you’re moving across the country and don’t want to wait on mailed paper or a shipped disc.

Fees are where people get surprised, so here’s the framework. A provider may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee for copies, but that fee can only cover certain costs: the labor for copying, supplies like paper or a USB drive, and postage if you ask for the copies to be mailed. HHS has clarified the fee may not be a simple per-page charge when your information is stored electronically. For electronic copies of records that are maintained electronically, a provider can opt to charge a flat fee of no more than $6.50, inclusive of labor, supplies, and any postage, though HHS is clear that $6.50 is an option, not a mandatory cap on every request. Portal access to your own records is frequently free. Dental practices follow the same cost-based fee rules under HIPAA.

State law can add another layer, since some states set their own fee schedules or record-retention periods, and rules for minors’ records often run longer. Because these specifics vary, confirm your state’s rules with your state medical or dental board, or your state health department, rather than assuming one state’s numbers apply where you’re moving.

Transferring Prescriptions and Keeping Care Going During the Gap

Records moving in the background don’t help if your medication runs out mid-move. The simplest approach is to ask your prescriber or your pharmacy to forward your prescriptions to a pharmacy near your new home, since pharmacies routinely transfer prescriptions between locations. National pharmacy chains can often move a prescription between their own stores quickly, and an independent pharmacy can usually coordinate with another pharmacy when you give them the details. Some medications, particularly certain controlled substances, have stricter transfer rules, so ask your pharmacist what applies to yours rather than assuming it works the same as a routine refill. This is a logistics pointer, not medical advice; your prescriber and pharmacist are the right people to handle the specifics.

A few practical moves keep care from lapsing in the window between providers:

Refill maintenance medications before moving day so you have a cushion while everything transfers.
Carry a current list of your medications, doses, allergies, and key diagnoses with you, separate from the boxes, so you have your essentials even if a record request is still pending.
Keep your old providers’ contact information until your records have landed and your new providers confirm they received a complete file.
Once you’ve chosen new providers, let them request what they need; their release form can be the cleanest way to pull your history forward.

Handle the records and the prescriptions early, and the medical side of your move becomes a series of small, finished tasks instead of a scramble the first time you need care in a new place.

This article is general information about transferring health records, not medical, legal, or insurance advice. Your access rights and copying fees are set by federal HIPAA rules and can be supplemented by your state’s laws, which change and vary by state; verify current specifics with the official sources below, your state health department, or your state medical or dental board.

Sources

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights, “Your Health Information, Your Rights! (Right to Access)”: https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-individuals/right-to-access/index.html
HHS, “Individuals’ Right under HIPAA to Access their Health Information (45 CFR § 164.524)”: https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/privacy/guidance/access/index.html
HHS, “Clarification of Permissible Fees for HIPAA Right of Access – Flat Rate Option of Up to $6.50 is Not a Cap on All Fees”: https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/privacy/guidance/access/clarification-flat-rate-copy-fee/index.html
HHS, “OCR Settles Three Cases with Dental Practices for Patient Right of Access under HIPAA”: https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/compliance-enforcement/agreements/september-2022-right-of-access-initiative/index.html
HealthIT.gov (Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT), “Get It: How to Get Your Health Records”: https://www.healthit.gov/get-it-check-it-use-it/get-it/
HealthIT.gov, “How can Digital Tools Help Me Manage My Health Information?”: https://www.healthit.gov/faq/how-can-digital-tools-help-me-manage-my-health-information
American Dental Association, “Releasing Dental Records”: https://www.ada.org/resources/practice/practice-management/releasing-dental-records
American Dental Association, “Copying and/or Transferring Records”: https://www.ada.org/resources/practice/practice-management/copying-transferring-records
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Contacts for IIS Immunization Records”: https://www.cdc.gov/iis/contacts-locate-records/index.html
CDC, “Staying Up to Date with Your Vaccine Records”: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines-adults/recommended-vaccines/keeping-vaccine-records-up-to-date.html