Custodian Of Medical Records Laws in North Carolina

North Carolina

Medical Records Custodian & Retention Laws

Are you planning to close your medical practice or retire?
Morgan Records Management (MRM) is the top choice for managing medical records in the US, and we’re here to help! Our team will guide you through every step of the process to ensure a smooth transition.

Morgan Records Management:

Has over 25 years of experience with Providers in ALL 50 States!
Handles 3,000-4,000 Patient Record Requests a month
Manages over 1,500 Physician Practices Nationwide
Assists in Notifying Patients of the Practice Closing - Via Email and Closing Practice Letters
Offers Secure Physical and or Digital Storage of Records
Is Fully HIPAA Compliant
Is Responsible for over 15 million Patient Records
Assumes Custody of Physician’s Website and Handles all Patient Communications

North Carolina Medical Record Retention Law:
NC Medical Board, 'The Doctor is Out: A Physician's Guide to Closing a Practice'

Adult patients: North Carolina has NO statutory retention requirement for physician office records - the Board says so itself. Its guidance figure is 11 years.
Patients who were minors: Guidance: the age of majority (18) plus 7 years, i.e. to age 25.
The retention period runs from: The last contact with the patient.
These are NCMS and Curi RECOMMENDATIONS that the Board publishes - the difference between guidance and law matters here.
Diagnostic images: 5 years from the procedure.
Deceased patients: 5 years after death.
Fetal heart monitor traces: 10 years after the infant reaches 18.
Retain PERMANENTLY: operative notes, the register of surgical procedures, chemotherapy records, immunization records, master patient indexes, and birth and death records.

If you are closing, selling or relocating your practice
North Carolina sets out what has to happen to patient records. The points below are taken from the source above.

A solo practitioner retiring or closing must send a letter to patients with sufficient time to seek alternative care - THIRTY DAYS AT A MINIMUM - and an opportunity to collect records or have them transferred.
Where patients cannot be reached, place a notice on the practice website and in the local newspaper saying how and where to collect records.
A departing solo physician may ask a fellow physician still practising in the community to serve as CUSTODIAN of the records.
N.C. Gen. Stat. 90-5.1 lets the NORTH CAROLINA MEDICAL BOARD ITSELF APPOINT A CUSTODIAN where no one comes forward - the Board says it is reluctant to, except in extenuating circumstances such as a physician abandoning a practice or the death of a solo practitioner.
A CONSTRAINT AS WELL AS AN AUTHORISATION, and it must be quoted accurately - NCMB Position Statement: 'Licensees should not relinquish control over their patients' medical records to third parties unless there is an enforceable agreement that includes adequate provisions to protect patient confidentiality and to ensure access to those records.'
On transferring originals to another physician, have a WRITTEN AGREEMENT preserving your own access for a reasonable period and requiring compliance with all federal and state requirements.

North Carolina closing-practice checklist
The same requirements as a checklist you can print and work through, with the retention periods, the notice each rule requires and what you may charge for copies.
Open the North Carolina checklist →

Cost

A fee may be charged under N.C. Gen. Stat. s.90-411.

Verified September 2026

This page summarises the source above and is not legal advice. Retention periods change and several states adjust their copying fees every year, so confirm the current text before you rely on a date or a figure.