← Illinois medical records custodian and retention laws

Illinois — Medical Records Checklist

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
Not less than 10 years - but note this is the HOSPITAL Licensing Act, which binds hospitals, not physician offices.
Patients who were minors
No separate minors period in this section.
Clock starts
Set by hospital policy, subject to the 10-year floor.
Also
A litigation hold applies where an attorney gives written notice before the 10 years expire: the record is then kept until the case concludes or for 12 years from when the record was produced, whichever comes FIRST. The 12 years is the outer bound of that hold - it is not a general retention period and it is not a maximum.
Also
No Illinois physician-office retention rule was located.

Before you close — what this state requires

What Illinois does not require

Stated so nobody infers a duty that is not there.

Where this comes from

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 Illinois. Checklist built 21 September 2026.