Rhode Island
Medical Records Custodian & Retention Laws
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Rhode Island Medical Record Retention Law:
216-RICR-40-05-1
- Adult patients: At least 7 years - and the regulation says the records may be stored by physicians OR THEIR AUTHORIZED AGENTS.
- Patients who were minors: No separate minors period in this regulation.
- The retention period runs from: The most recent patient encounter.
- It applies whether the patient is living or dead.
- A closing practice must additionally create a way for patients to obtain records for at least the next 7 years.
If you are closing, selling or relocating your practice Rhode Island sets out what has to happen to patient records. The points below are taken from the source above.
- PUBLISH A NOTICE 90 DAYS BEFORE CLOSING in a newspaper with STATEWIDE circulation, including how patients can get their medical records. Ninety days is the longest advance-notice period found in any state.
- Send a letter to patients seen within the past YEAR notifying them of the closure.
- NOTIFY BOTH the Rhode Island Medical Society AND the Rhode Island Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline OF THE LOCATION OF THE MEDICAL RECORDS.
- Create a way for patients to obtain their records for at least the next SEVEN YEARS. A fee may be charged for copying, but transfer of the record may NOT be delayed for lack of payment.
- 216-RICR-40-05-1: records may be stored by physicians OR THEIR AUTHORIZED AGENTS - explicit statutory room for a custodian.
- A custodian receiving a retired or deceased physician's records is itself subject to the Confidentiality of Health Care Information Act, ch. 5-37.3 - an obligation that falls on the custodian, not on the closing practice.
- Underlying statute: R.I. Gen. Laws 5-37-30.
Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island checklist →
Cost
- A fee may be charged for copying, but the transfer of a record may NOT be delayed for lack of payment.
Verified September 2026
Also referred to above
R.I. Dept. of Health, closing practices guidance (R.I. Gen. Laws s.5-37-30)
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.