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
Nebraska sets NO retention period. The Medical Records Act covers access and charges only.
Patients who were minors
None set by Nebraska law.
Clock starts
Not applicable - no state clock exists.
Also
The operative floors are HIPAA's 6 years and the malpractice limitation period.
Also
Because Nebraska sets no endpoint, a closing practice has no statutory date to work back from - which makes naming a custodian the whole answer rather than a supplement to one.
Before you close — what this state requires
Because Nebraska sets NO retention floor for physicians, a closing practice has no statutory endpoint - which makes naming a custodian the whole answer, not a supplement to one.
Where a records custodian fits
Nebraska 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.
Because Nebraska sets NO retention floor for physicians, a closing practice has no statutory endpoint - which makes naming a custodian the whole answer, not a supplement to one.
What Nebraska does not require
Stated so nobody infers a duty that is not there.
None located in the Medical Records Act - it is an access-and-fees statute.
What you may charge for copies
A handling fee of no more than $20.00 and a copying fee of no more than 50 cents per page (Neb. Rev. Stat. s.71-8404).
No fee at all where the patient needs the records to support a disability or benefits application under the listed federal and state programs (s.71-8405).
Where this comes from
Neb. Rev. Stat. ss.71-8401 to 71-8407 (Medical Records Act) https://dhhs.ne.gov/licensure/Documents/Medical%20Records.pdf
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 Nebraska. Checklist built 21 September 2026.