How to request your medical records in Montana
You have a federal right to a copy of your own medical records, in Montana and everywhere else. Below is how that right works, what Montana 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 Montana adds
- Response time
- No later than 10 days after the request to make records available; if delayed, the provider must give written reasons and a date no later than 21 days.
- Copy fees
- A provider's fee may not exceed 50 cents per page for paper copies and may include an administrative search-and-handling fee of up to $15.
- Worth knowing
- A provider is not required to release copies until the fee is paid.
- The law
- Mont. Code Ann. § 50-16-540 (fees); § 50-16-541 (procedure)
HIPAA sets a floor, not a ceiling. A Montana 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 under the Uniform Health Care Information Act.
These figures are what the source said when we read it on September 9, 2026. Many states adjust their caps every year, so confirm the current amount before you argue one.
Your Montana records-request letter
Requesting records in Montana — common questions
- How do I request my medical records in Montana?
- 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 Montana. 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 long does a provider in Montana have to send my records?
- No later than 10 days after the request to make records available; if delayed, the provider must give written reasons and a date no later than 21 days. Either way, HIPAA's right of access (45 CFR § 164.524) requires a covered provider to act within 30 days, with one possible 30-day extension if they tell you in writing why and when. Acting on the request is what the rule requires; it does not guarantee the records land on day 30.
- How much can a provider in Montana charge for copies of my records?
- A provider's fee may not exceed 50 cents per page for paper copies and may include an administrative search-and-handling fee of up to $15. 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?
What we will never do with your records
This generator runs without an account, and KeptWell itself makes the same promises to every family, regardless of plan or price.
- We won't sell your data.
- Not to advertisers, not to data brokers, not to insurers, not to pharma, not to anyone, in any form, ever.
- We won't train AI models on your records.
- KeptWell does not opt in to model training. OpenAI and Anthropic do not use API inputs or outputs to train their models by default.
- We won't lock you in.
- You can export everything in your circle as a ZIP at any time. Cancellation is one click.
Once your Montana records arrive, give them a home.
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