# How to fax medical records

Medical records go to the fax number of the office that needs them: the doctor's office, the hospital's medical records department or the insurer. There is no general medical records fax line, so get the number from them and confirm it before you send.

## Where to find the fax number

| What you are sending | Where the fax number is |
| --- | --- |
| Your records, for a new doctor or a specialist | The new office's front desk or patient forms. Ask for the fax number they use for incoming records. |
| Records a hospital, insurer or program asked you for | The fax number on their request letter or form. |
| A request for your own records from a provider | The provider's medical records (health information management) department. Many have a records request form with its own fax number. |

## Before you fax

- You have the right to a copy of your medical and billing records from your doctors and health plans, with few exceptions, such as a provider's psychotherapy notes.
- A provider must act on your request within 30 calendar days. It can take one extension of up to 30 more days, but has to tell you why in writing within the first 30.
- A provider may charge reasonable costs for copying and mailing records, but not for searching for or retrieving them, and can't refuse you a copy because of an unpaid bill.
- Doctors may fax records to each other for your treatment without your authorization. So it is often quicker to ask your old doctor's office to send them straight to the new one.
- Confirm the fax number before sending; a mistyped number can put your records on a stranger's machine.
- PageFax is made for people sending their own documents. It doesn't sign HIPAA business associate agreements, so it isn't set up for health care providers who need one.

## Steps

1. Get the fax number from the office that needs the records, and confirm it.
2. Add a cover page: the patient's name and date of birth, who the records are for, and the number of pages. Leave Social Security numbers off.
3. Add the records as a PDF, or photograph the pages.
4. Send, keep the delivery receipt, and call the office if the records are needed by a certain date.

## Questions

**Can I fax my own medical records to a new doctor?**

Yes. Copies you have are yours to send. HIPAA's privacy rules bind health care providers and health plans, which is why they ask for your permission before sharing records for anything other than treatment or payment.

**How long does a provider have to give me my records?**

30 calendar days from your request, with at most one 30-day extension that must be explained to you in writing.

**Can my old doctor fax my records directly to my new doctor?**

Yes. HHS says a physician may fax a copy of a patient's medical record to a specialist who will treat the patient, using reasonable safeguards such as confirming the fax number.

**What happens to my records after PageFax sends them?**

The document is deleted from PageFax's servers as soon as the fax finishes. Your delivery receipt stays with you.

## Sources

- [Your Medical Records, HHS.gov](https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-individuals/medical-records/index.html), checked 2026-10-12
- [HHS FAQ: sharing patient information for treatment by fax, e-mail or phone](https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/faq/does-hipaa-permit-a-doctor-to-share-patient-information-for-treatment-over-the-phone/index.html), checked 2026-10-12
- [HHS FAQ: how timely a covered entity must respond to access requests](https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/faq/how-timely-must-a-covered-entity-be/index.html), checked 2026-10-12

Send this fax online: https://pagefax.net/fax-medical-records. PageFax is an independent fax service and is not affiliated with any government agency.