← New Jersey medical records custodian and retention laws

New Jersey — 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: Seven years.
Patients who were minors: No separate period for minors is set by this rule.
Clock starts: The date of the MOST RECENT ENTRY in the record - not the last date of treatment. The two differ whenever anything is added to a chart after the final visit.
Also: The same rule governs preparation, computerised records, confidentiality and the transfer or disposal of records when a practice ends.
Also: Records may be kept on computer only under specific conditions, including a confidential personal code used to sign each entry, a permanent date and time stamp, automatic backup, and no alteration of an entry once signed.

Before you close — what this state requires

N.J.A.C. 13:35-6.5(h) TRIGGERS EARLIER THAN CLOSURE. It applies 'if a licensee ceases to engage in practice OR IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT HE OR SHE WILL REMAIN OUT OF PRACTICE FOR MORE THAN THREE MONTHS' - so a long illness, a sabbatical or an extended leave brings the whole regime into play, not just a permanent closure.
The duty falls on 'the licensee OR DESIGNEE', so a records custodian can discharge it on the practice's behalf.
(h)1: establish a procedure by which patients can obtain a copy of their treatment records, or acquiesce in transfer to another licensee or health care professional assuming the practice. Where the records are for CONTINUING TREATMENT OR CARE, the licensee SHALL NOT CHARGE the patient for the copy.
(h)2: PUBLISH A NOTICE of the cessation, of the procedure for retrieving records, AND OF THE LOCATION AT WHICH THE RECORDS WILL BE PERMANENTLY MAINTAINED, in a newspaper of general circulation in the geographic location of the practice, AT LEAST ONCE EACH MONTH FOR THE FIRST THREE MONTHS after the cessation. That is three separate publications, not one.
(h)2, and it is easy to miss: 'Such notice SHALL BE SUBMITTED TO THE BOARD after the first publication.' The Board has to receive it.
(h)3: make reasonable efforts to DIRECTLY notify any patient treated during the SIX MONTHS preceding the cessation, telling them how to retrieve records.
(c)5: no charge at all for a copy where the licensee has terminated a patient from the practice under N.J.A.C. 13:35-6.22, or where the licensee LEAVES a practice and the patient asks to continue care with that licensee.

Where a records custodian fits

New Jersey 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.

The duty falls on 'the licensee OR DESIGNEE', so a records custodian can discharge it on the practice's behalf.

What you may charge for copies

Reproduction: no greater than $1.00 per page or $100.00 for the entire record, whichever is LESS.
If the record is under 10 pages, up to $10.00 may be charged for postage and retrieval.
X-rays and anything that cannot be copied on a commercial photocopier: actual duplication cost, plus an administrative fee of the lesser of $10.00 or 10 per cent of that cost.
A summary may be supplied in lieu of the record, and may not cost more than the record itself would.
No charge at all where the licensee has terminated the patient from the practice, or has left a practice and the patient wishes to continue care with them, or where the records are for continuing treatment after a cessation.
An illegible record, or one written in a language other than English, must be transcribed at no cost to the patient.
A record may not be withheld over an unpaid balance where another health care professional needs it to render care. Copies must be provided within 30 days.

Where this comes from

N.J.A.C. 13:35-6.5 (Board of Medical Examiners) - New Jersey Administrative Code, free public access
https://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/njcode/
New Jersey Office of Administrative Law - public access to the Administrative Code and the New Jersey Register
https://www.nj.gov/oal/rules/accessp/

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: Rule text current through the New Jersey Register, Vol. 58 No. 18, 21 September 2026. New Jersey does not publish an authoritative free version of its Code, so confirm against the official Code before relying on this for anything formal.

Prepared by Morgan Records Management for New Jersey. Checklist built 21 September 2026.