For a practice that is closing, being sold, relocating or whose physician is retiring. Prepared 21 September 2026.
How long records must be kept
Adult patients
At least 6 years.
Patients who were minors
At least 3 years after the child's eighteenth birthday, or at least 6 years after the last date of service, whichever is later.
Clock starts
The last date the patient received medical or health care services from that provider.
Before you close — what this state requires
A.R.S. 12-2297(B), PRIMARY-CONFIRMED at azleg.gov: 'When a health care provider retires or sells the provider's practice the provider shall take reasonable measures to ensure that the provider's records are retained pursuant to this section.' Short, but it is a statutory duty - and 'reasonable measures' is what a written custodianship agreement evidences.
The retention periods it points back to, also primary-confirmed: SIX YEARS after the last date an ADULT patient received services; for a CHILD, three years after the child's eighteenth birthday OR six years after the last date of service, WHICHEVER IS LATER.
Where a records custodian fits
Arizona law addresses a records custodian directly in the items above. Morgan Records Management performs this role; the duties below are the ones that transfer to, or must be evidenced by, whoever holds the records.
A.R.S. 12-2297(B), PRIMARY-CONFIRMED at azleg.gov: 'When a health care provider retires or sells the provider's practice the provider shall take reasonable measures to ensure that the provider's records are retained pursuant to this section.' Short, but it is a statutory duty - and 'reasonable measures' is what a written custodianship agreement evidences.
What Arizona does not require
Stated so nobody infers a duty that is not there.
12-2297 says nothing about a provider who DIES, and imposes no patient-notice or board-notice duty. Do not imply otherwise.
What you may charge for copies
Set by A.R.S. s.12-2295.
Where this comes from
A.R.S. s.12-2297 (Retention of records) https://www.azleg.gov/ars/12/02297.htm
Read this before you act on it. Every statement above was taken from the state's own published rule or statute and is quoted or closely paraphrased from it. It is a working checklist, not legal advice, and it is a snapshot: retention periods change, and several states adjust their copying fees every year. Confirm the current text with the source listed above, or with your attorney, before you rely on a date or a dollar figure.
Figures stated as of: Verified September 2026
Prepared by Morgan Records Management for Arizona. Checklist built 21 September 2026.