← Minnesota medical records custodian and retention laws

Minnesota — 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
The Minnesota Board of Medical Practice sets NO retention period for physicians. Minn. R. chapter 5600 was read in full and contains no records provision at all.
Patients who were minors
None set by the Board of Medical Practice.
Clock starts
Not applicable - no board clock exists.
Also
The widely quoted 'seven years after the provider's last professional service to the client' is Minn. R. 2150.7535, a LICENSED PROFESSIONAL COUNSELOR rule of the Behavioral Health and Therapy Board. Its wording says 'client', not 'patient'.
Also
If that counsellor rule applies to you, note its second sentence: where the client is a minor, the seven-year period DOES NOT BEGIN until the client reaches 18.
Also
The operative floors for a physician are HIPAA's 6 years and the malpractice limitation period.

Before you close — what this state requires

What Minnesota 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 Minnesota. Checklist built 21 September 2026.