South Dakota
Medical Records Custodian & Retention Laws
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South Dakota Medical Record Retention Law:
ARSD 44:75:09:06 (hospitals) and ARSD 44:73:09:06 (nursing facilities)
- Adult patients: South Dakota sets no separate PHYSICIAN-OFFICE period. Its 10-year rules are facility rules: hospitals under ARSD 44:75:09:06 and nursing facilities under ARSD 44:73:09:06.
- Patients who were minors: Under BOTH facility rules: until the minor reaches the age of majority PLUS 2 YEARS, but no less than 10 years.
- The retention period runs from: Hospitals: the actual visit date of service or patient care. Nursing facilities: the date of established resident care.
- Retention for 10 years is not affected by additional or future visit dates.
If you are closing, selling or relocating your practice South Dakota sets out what has to happen to patient records. The points below are taken from the source above.
- ARSD 44:73:09:09, 'Disposition of medical records on closure of facility or transfer of ownership' - if a facility ceases operation it must provide for SAFE STORAGE AND PROMPT RETRIEVAL of medical records and the resident indexes.
- It names four permitted options, and the fourth is a records custodian: storage with another facility of the same licensure classification; transfer to another provider at the resident's or representative's request; relinquish to the resident or representative; or 'ARRANGE STORAGE OF REMAINING MEDICAL RECORDS WITH A THIRD-PARTY VENDOR WHO PROVIDES SECURE STORAGE OF HEALTH CARE RECORDS'.
- AT LEAST SIXTY DAYS BEFORE CLOSURE the facility shall notify the department IN WRITING of the provisions for safe preservation of the records and the records' location, AND publish in the nearest legal newspaper or share on the facility's website the location and disposition arrangements.
- If ownership is transferred, the new owner must maintain the records in accordance with the chapter.
South 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 South Dakota checklist →
Cost
No state copying-fee schedule was located for South Dakota. Charges should be reasonable and cost-based.
Verified September 2026
Also referred to above
ARSD 44:73:09:09 (disposition of records on closure or transfer of ownership)
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.