How to request your medical records in Louisiana
You have a federal right to a copy of your own medical records, in Louisiana and everywhere else. Below is how that right works, what Louisiana adds on top of it, and a free letter you can fill out and send.
Your federal right (applies in every state)
Under the HIPAA Privacy Rule (45 CFR 164.524), you can get a copy of your own medical records without giving a reason. The rule binds HIPAA covered entities, which is most doctors, hospitals, and health plans. It must act on your request within 30 days and may take one 30-day extension if it tells you in writing why and when. It may charge only a reasonable, cost-based fee covering copying labor, supplies, postage if you ask for it mailed, and any summary you agreed to.
Two limits worth knowing. Psychotherapy notes and material prepared for a lawsuit sit outside the right, and access can be denied on the narrow grounds the rule lists, some of which you can have reviewed. And the fee cap covers copies for you. When you direct a provider to send records to someone else, a 2020 federal court ruling (Ciox Health v. Azar) took that cap off, so state limits are what remain.
What Louisiana adds
- Copy fees
- Copy charges may not exceed $1 per page for the first 25 pages, $0.50 for pages 26–350, and $0.25 thereafter, plus a handling charge capped at $25 and actual postage; digital copies are capped at $100 total plus postage.
- Worth knowing
- Each request is subject to only one handling charge, and a provider cannot split a request into separate record types to multiply the fee.
- The law
- La. Rev. Stat. § 40:1165.1 (Health care information; records)
HIPAA sets a floor, not a ceiling. A Louisiana rule that gives you greater access, a faster deadline or a lower fee, is not preempted, so it stands alongside the federal right. State caps can also carry limits of their own: some apply only to certain kinds of provider, some price electronic copies differently, and some do not apply when a third party is asking. This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm the specifics with your provider's records office.
Source
Who it covers: Health care providers generally.
We read this source on June 21, 2026 and have not re-checked it since. Many states adjust their caps every year, so treat the amounts as a starting point and confirm the current figure with the statute or your provider's records office.
Your Louisiana records-request letter
Requesting records in Louisiana — common questions
- How do I request my medical records in Louisiana?
- Under your federal right of access (HIPAA, 45 CFR § 164.524), you can get a copy of your own records from a HIPAA-covered provider or health plan in Louisiana. Send a written request, and the free letter on this page works, to the provider's Health Information Management or Release of Information office, or use their patient portal if they have one.
- How much can a provider in Louisiana charge for copies of my records?
- Copy charges may not exceed $1 per page for the first 25 pages, $0.50 for pages 26–350, and $0.25 thereafter, plus a handling charge capped at $25 and actual postage; digital copies are capped at $100 total plus postage. HIPAA separately limits what a covered provider may charge for your own copy to a reasonable, cost-based fee covering copying labor, supplies, postage if you ask for it mailed, and any summary you agreed to. Searching and retrieving are not on that list. Whichever rule protects you more is the one to cite. That federal cap covers copies for you. When you direct records to a third party, a 2020 federal court ruling took the cap off, and state limits are what remain.
- Is this records-request letter free?
- Yes. The generator builds a HIPAA records-request letter you can download and print for free. Nothing you type is saved or sent to anyone but you.
Records rules in another state?
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