North Dakota
Medical Records Custodian & Retention Laws
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North Dakota Medical Record Retention Law:
NDAC ch. 50-01-03 (North Dakota Board of Medicine, Record Retention)
- Adult patients: At least 7 years - unless the records are appropriately transferred to another licensee or entity.
- Patients who were minors: No separate minors period in this rule.
- The retention period runs from: The LAST DATE OF SERVICE for each patient - not the date the record was created.
- Effective 1 April 2024. The custodian-appointment duty has applied since 1 January 2024.
- Authority NDCC 43-17-07.1(10); implements NDCC 43-17-27.2.
If you are closing, selling or relocating your practice North Dakota sets out what has to happen to patient records. The points below are taken from the source above.
- NDAC 50-01-03-01(2), IN FORCE SINCE 1 JANUARY 2024: 'a licensee shall APPOINT another North Dakota licensee or other representative or entity, to ensure that all requirements of this section are met in the event of the licensee's death or incapacitation. UPON REQUEST BY THE BOARD, THE LICENSEE SHALL SHOW PROOF OF APPOINTMENT of a representative.' It carries a proof-on-demand element: North Dakota physicians must have a custodian arranged BEFORE anything happens.
- NDAC 50-01-03-01(3)(a): on death, retirement, sale of a practice, or departure, all medical records shall be transferred to another licensee or entity 'that is held to the same standards of confidentiality AND AGREES TO ACT AS CUSTODIAN OF THE RECORDS'.
- NDAC 50-01-03-01(3)(b): notify ALL ACTIVE PATIENTS that their records will be transferred to another licensee or entity that will retain custody, and that at the patient's written request the records will be sent to the patient, licensee or entity of the patient's choice.
- NDAC 50-01-03-01(3)(c): NOTIFY THE BOARD of the LOCATION AND CONTACT INFORMATION OF THE CUSTODIAN, which the Board may give to a patient who asks.
- Authority NDCC 43-17-07.1(10); implements NDCC 43-17-27.2.
North Dakota 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 Dakota checklist →
Cost
No state copying-fee schedule was located for North Dakota. Charges should be reasonable and cost-based.
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.