For a practice that is closing, being sold, relocating or whose physician is retiring. Prepared 21 September 2026.
Texas law addresses a records custodian directly in the items above. Morgan Records Management performs this role; the duties below are the ones that transfer to, or must be evidenced by, whoever holds the records.
- S.163.4(b) - the notice must include the date of termination/retirement/departure; instructions on how patients may obtain or transfer records; the name and location of any new practice; and THE NAME OF ANOTHER LICENSED PHYSICIAN, PRACTICE, OR CUSTODIAN IF OWNERSHIP OF RECORDS IS CHANGING.
- 22 TAC s.163.5, APPOINTMENT OF RECORD CUSTODIAN OF A PHYSICIAN'S RECORDS. Under s.159.0061 of the Act the custodian is: on PHYSICIAN DEATH, the administrator, executor of the estate or other court-appointed individual, unless part of a group practice or pre-existing appointments or instructions are in place; on MENTAL OR PHYSICAL INCAPACITY, the individual with Power of Attorney, a court-appointed individual, or a legally appointed representative; in OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES OR ABANDONMENT OF RECORDS, determined case by case.
- S.163.5(b) - A RECORDS CUSTODIAN MUST: (1) maintain the confidentiality of the medical records; (2) WITHIN 30 DAYS OF APPOINTMENT give notice of the custodianship TO THE BOARD AND TO PATIENTS by posting visible notice in the practice office if accessible, posting notice on a physician or practice website if accessible, or publishing in the NEWSPAPER OF GREATEST GENERAL CIRCULATION IN THE COUNTY where the practice was located; (3) RETAIN THE RECORDS FOR AT LEAST 90 DAYS BEFORE DESTROYING ANY, INCLUDING THE 30-DAY NOTICE PERIOD; and (4) include in the notice the NAME OF THE CUSTODIAN AND CONTACT INFORMATION, instructions for obtaining or transferring records, ALL APPLICABLE FEES INCLUDING AN ADDITIONAL $25.00 CUSTODIAL FEE AS APPLICABLE, and a statement that records may be destroyed after 90 days WITH THE DESTRUCTION DATE STATED.
- Texas therefore does three things no other state does together: it names the custodian role in its own rule, it puts duties directly on the custodian rather than only on the physician, and it authorises a specific $25.00 custodial fee.
Read this before you act on it. Every statement above was taken from the state's own published rule or statute and is quoted or closely paraphrased from it. It is a working checklist, not legal advice, and it is a snapshot: retention periods change, and several states adjust their copying fees every year. Confirm the current text with the source listed above, or with your attorney, before you rely on a date or a dollar figure.
Figures stated as of: Reflects Chapter 163 as adopted 9 January 2025 (50 TexReg 333). Verified September 2026
Prepared by Morgan Records Management for Texas. Checklist built 21 September 2026.