Michigan medical records: keep each patient record at least 7 years and destroy it only by confidential means

Michigan’s Public Health Code requires licensed health professionals and health facilities to keep each patient record at least 7 years from the date of service, longer where other law or medical standards require, and 15 years for certain records. Expired records must be shredded, incinerated, electronically deleted or otherwise disposed of confidentially.

Source facts

Michigan’s Public Health Code requires a licensee to keep a record for each patient, including tests, examinations, observations and treatments, and to retain it for at least 7 years from the date of service unless federal or state law or accepted medical standards require longer (MCL 333.16213). It defines a medical record as information in any form or medium, and health facilities and agencies have a parallel duty under MCL 333.20175; both sections set a 15-year minimum for certain records they describe.

Records must be kept in a way that protects their integrity and confidentiality and keeps them available to the patient or an authorized representative. A licensee may destroy a record less than 7 years old only after written notice offering the patient a copy and the patient’s written authorization, and records destroyed after the retention period must be shredded, incinerated, electronically deleted or otherwise disposed of in a manner that ensures continued confidentiality.

A licensee who sells or closes a practice, retires or stops practicing may not abandon the records and must tell the department who will have custody and how patients can request copies. A licensee unable to comply may arrange for another provider, a health facility or a medical records company to protect, maintain and provide access to the records.

Applicability

Use this for Michigan licensed health professionals and health facilities and agencies; health maintenance organizations are excluded from MCL 333.20175. Other federal or state rules and accepted medical standards can require longer retention, so confirm schedules with counsel.

DSE recommendation

DSE recommends setting retention for Michigan patient records to at least 7 years from the date of service and making destruction a documented, confidential process. Apply the same period to record systems, scanned documents and backups, keep retained records encrypted with access logging, use shredding or verified electronic deletion at the end, and settle custody before any practice sale or closure.

Verification

Sample records reaching 7 years to confirm the right period applied, confirm backups age out on the same schedule, and keep shredding certificates or deletion logs for each disposal.

Official references

Michigan Legislature — MCL 333.16213, Retention of records. Michigan Legislature — MCL 333.20175, Health facility patient records. Reviewed October 19, 2026.