How to get your medical records, and your baby's
The short answer
You have a federal right to your own medical records and to your child's. A provider generally has 30 days to respond, and may take one 30 day extension if they tell you why. 1 2
The mistake most families make is asking for "the records." That gets you a summary. The documents that matter are stored in separate systems and you have to name them.
The numbers, up front
- Your right of access
- Federal rules give you the right to inspect and get a copy of your own protected health information held in the designated record set 2
- The deadline
- A provider must act on the request within 30 days. One 30 day extension is allowed if they tell you the reason and the new date 1
- What they can charge
- A reasonable, cost-based fee. Labor for copying, supplies, postage, and preparing an explanation if you asked for one 1
- What they cannot charge
- A search or retrieval fee. Federal guidance is explicit that costs associated with searching for and retrieving records may not be charged 1
- Electronic form
- If the record is held electronically and you ask for an electronic copy, the provider must give it to you in that form if it is readily producible 2
- Parents and children
- A parent is generally the personal representative of their minor child, which gives the same right of access to the child's records 1
Ask for two separate sets
The mother's records and the baby's records are separate charts, often in separate systems, sometimes at separate facilities.
Request both. Name them separately. If a baby was transferred, request from both hospitals.
If you gave birth at one hospital and had prenatal care at a clinic, those are two more requests. Prenatal records are not usually part of the hospital chart.
The records request builder writes both letters. It runs in your browser and nothing you type is sent anywhere.
The documents to name, one by one
These are the documents that get left out unless you ask for them specifically. Each one is stored somewhere other than the main chart.
For the mother
- Complete prenatal record, including every visit, every ultrasound report, and all laboratory results.
- Group B strep screening result, with the date.
- Glucose screening results.
- Labor and delivery record and nursing notes.
- Labor flow sheet or partogram, showing dilation, station and contractions over time.
- Electronic fetal monitoring strips for the entire labor, paper and digital archive. This is the most commonly omitted document. Say "including the complete digital archive from the central monitoring system."
- Medication administration record and all infusion records, including oxytocin, magnesium and antibiotics with times.
- Anesthesia record. Almost always filed separately.
- Operative report, for any cesarean or assisted delivery.
- Shoulder dystocia note, if one occurred. Many units use a separate form.
- Estimated blood loss and any quantified blood loss record.
- Discharge summary and discharge instructions.
For the baby
- Delivery room record and newborn resuscitation record.
- Apgar scores at 1, 5 and 10 minutes.
- Cord blood gas results, arterial and venous.
- Complete newborn record, including all nursing notes.
- Complete NICU record, if there was a NICU stay, including daily notes and flow sheets.
- Every laboratory result with the exact time it was drawn. For bilirubin and glucose, say "with the time of each draw and the infant's age in hours."
- Medication administration record, including the weight used for dosing.
- All imaging reports and the images themselves, on disc or by electronic transfer.
- EEG reports.
- Newborn hearing screening result and the method used.
- Newborn screening blood spot results.
- Discharge summary and follow-up plan.
Filed apart from both charts
- Placental pathology report. This is a laboratory report, not part of either chart. Ask for it by name and say which laboratory if you know.
The records request pack prints this whole list.
How to send the request
Put it in writing. Email or a patient portal message is fine and creates a record.
Include:
- Your full name, date of birth, and the dates of care.
- Your child's full name and date of birth.
- The specific documents you want, by name.
- The format you want. Ask for electronic copies where possible.
- Where to send them.
- A request that they confirm receipt.
Keep a copy of everything you send, with the date.
If the facility has its own release form, use it and attach your list of named documents to it. Their form usually has a small box that does not fit the list.
Fees, deadlines, and what to do about them
The deadline
Thirty days. One 30 day extension is allowed if they tell you the reason and the new date. 1 2
The fee
A reasonable, cost-based fee. It can cover the labor of copying, supplies, postage, and preparing an explanation if you asked for one. 1
It may not cover searching for and retrieving the records. Federal guidance says so directly. If you are quoted a large "retrieval fee," that is worth questioning. 1
Ask for the fee in advance, in writing.
Some states go further
A number of states set their own limits on what can be charged, and some are lower than the federal standard. Some also set shorter deadlines. Those rules are set by state law and change from time to time.
This site does not publish a per-state fee table, because we could not verify all 51 against a primary source during this build. See the sources policy for what that means. Your state health department or state medical board can tell you the current limit.
When the records come back short
This is common. It is usually a system problem rather than a refusal.
Compare what arrived against your list. Tick off each named document.
Write back naming what is missing. Be specific: "the request included the complete electronic fetal monitoring archive for 14 March. It was not in the disc I received."
Ask where a missing document is held. Monitoring strips, anesthesia records and pathology reports live in different systems, and the person handling your request may not know the others exist.
If you are told a record does not exist, ask for that in writing. That statement is itself part of the history.
If access is denied, federal rules give you the right to request a review of certain denials, and you can file a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights. 1 2
Read them before you decide anything
Records arrive as hundreds of pages in no useful order. See how to read your labor and delivery records, which goes through each document and explains what it says.
A few practical things
Ask for electronic copies. Cheaper, searchable, and easier to share with a specialist.
Ask for imaging on disc or by transfer, not just the reports. A radiologist reading the actual images can say more than a report allows.
Do it early. Records are easier to get while the birth is recent, and some systems archive or purge older material.
Getting records is not a legal step. They are your child's medical history. You will need them for specialists, for school, and for every new doctor for the next twenty years.
Keep the originals. Give copies to anyone who asks. Never give away your only set.
Questions parents ask
How long do they have to give me the records?
Thirty days, with one 30 day extension allowed if they tell you the reason and the new date. 1 2 If that passes with no response, write again referring to the date of your original request.
They want to charge me hundreds of dollars. Is that allowed?
A provider may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee, and may not charge for searching for and retrieving the records. 1 Ask for an itemized quote in writing before they start, and ask for electronic copies, which are usually much cheaper.
Can I get my baby's records if I am not the birth parent?
A parent is generally the personal representative of their minor child, which carries the same right of access. 1 Facilities may ask for identification and for proof of relationship. Custody arrangements can affect this, and the rules vary by state.
The hospital says the fetal monitoring strips were not kept. What now?
Ask specifically for the digital archive from the central monitoring system, because that is a separate system from the medical record and staff often do not think of it. If they still say the record does not exist, ask for that statement in writing. 1
Do I have to say why I want them?
No. Your right of access does not depend on giving a reason. 2 You can simply state that you are requesting your records and your child's records under your right of access.
Where these facts come from
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights. Individuals Right under HIPAA to Access their Health Information, 45 CFR 164.524. 2024. www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/privacy/guidance/access/. Link checked September 3, 2026.
- U.S. Government Publishing Office, Electronic Code of Federal Regulations. 45 CFR 164.524, Access of individuals to protected health information. 2025. www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/subtitle-A/subchapter-C/part-1. Link checked September 3, 2026.