South Carolina
Medical Records Custodian & Retention Laws
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South Carolina Medical Record Retention Law:
S.C. Code s.44-115-120 (Physicians' Patient Records Act)
- Adult patients: At least 10 years.
- Patients who were minors: At least 13 years.
- The retention period runs from: The last date of treatment; after that the records may be destroyed.
If you are closing, selling or relocating your practice South Carolina sets out what has to happen to patient records. The points below are taken from the source above.
- S.C. Code 44-115-130, 'Sale of medical records by physician restricted; notice of intent to sell': 'Before a physician may sell medical records, he must cause to be published a public notice of his intention to sell the records in a newspaper of general circulation in the area of his practice at least three times in the ninety days preceding the sale.'
- 'The notice shall advise patients that they may retrieve their records if they prefer that their records not be included in the sale.'
- There is no provision in the Act for a physician who retires, closes, or dies without a sale - no patient-notification duty, no transfer procedure, no custodian arrangement. The Act addresses the sale of records only. A South Carolina practice that simply closes has no statutory roadmap, which is a reason to have one contractually.
South Carolina closing-practice checklist
The same requirements as a checklist you can print and work through, with the retention periods and the notice each rule requires.
Open the South Carolina checklist →
Also referred to above
S.C. Code s.44-115-130 (sale of records; notice of intent to sell)
Verified September 2026
This page summarises the source above and is not legal advice. Retention periods change, so confirm the current text before you rely on a date or a period.