← Wisconsin medical records custodian and retention laws

Wisconsin — Medical Records Checklist

For a practice that is closing, being sold, relocating or whose physician is retiring. Prepared 21 September 2026.

How long records must be kept

Adult patients: See the note below - Wisconsin's headline duty for a closing practice is not a retention period at all.
Patients who were minors: No general physician minors period located.
Clock starts: Not established for a general physician office.
Also: The '7 years after treatment / minors until 19' figures in circulation come from Wis. Admin. Code ch. DHS 92, which implements Wis. Stat. ch. 51 - the MENTAL HEALTH act - and governs confidentiality of treatment records.
Also: Wis. Stat. s.146.83 is patient access and fees and sets no retention period.
Also: What Wisconsin does set, squarely, is what a provider CEASING PRACTICE must do with the records - see the closure section.

Before you close — what this state requires

WIS. STAT. 146.819 APPLIES DIRECTLY HERE. A health care provider who CEASES PRACTICE must do one of the following with patient health care records: provide for their maintenance BY A PERSON WHO STATES IN WRITING that the records will be maintained in compliance with ss. 146.81 to 146.835; arrange for their deletion or destruction; or divide the records between maintenance and destruction.
That written statement is what a records custodian gives you.
If the records are to be MAINTAINED, the provider must either send written notice by FIRST-CLASS MAIL describing where the records will be kept, or publish a CLASS 3 NEWSPAPER NOTICE in the county where the practice was located.
Before DESTRUCTION, at least 35 DAYS' written notice to the patient's last-known address.

Where a records custodian fits

Wisconsin 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.

That written statement is what a records custodian gives you.

What you may charge for copies

$1.00 per page for the first 25 pages; 75 cents per page for pages 26-50; 50 cents per page for pages 51-100; 30 cents per page for page 101 and above.
$1.50 per page for microfiche or microfilm; $10.00 per X-ray image.
$8.00 certification and a $20.00 retrieval fee for non-patient requesters.
Patients eligible for medical assistance are charged 25% of the applicable fees for one set of copies.

Where this comes from

Wis. Stat. s.146.819 (preservation or destruction of patient health care records)
https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/146/819
Wis. Stat. s.146.83 (access and fees)
https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/146/83

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: Verified September 2026

Prepared by Morgan Records Management for Wisconsin. Checklist built 21 September 2026.