How to Send Your Medical Records to Another Doctor or App

Updated October 2026

You can ask a provider to send your records straight to a person or app you name. Here is how.

Step 1: Decide who should get them

This can be a new doctor, a specialist, a caregiver or an app you trust. You choose the recipient.

Step 2: Make the request in writing, signed

Your provider needs a written, signed request. A scan or PDF, an e-signature through a secure portal, a fax or a mailed letter can all work, depending on the office.

Step 3: Name the recipient and where to send

Include the full name of the person or app and exactly where the records should go, such as a mailing address, a fax number or a secure email address.

Step 4: Say which records and what format

Say which records you want sent and whether you want electronic files or paper. Providers must give electronic records in electronic form when they can.

Step 5: Know the same limits apply

The same timing (about 30 days) and fee limits apply as when you ask for your own copy. A provider cannot make you make a separate trip in person just to ask.

Step 6: Keep a copy for yourself

Ask for a copy for you at the same time, so your own record stays complete. Keep it somewhere secure. Federal guidance on this topic has been affected by a court order, so check with the provider about how it handles these requests.

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This guide is general information, not medical or legal advice. Sources: HHS: Medical Records, HHS: Timeliness, HHS: Sending records to a third party, HealthIT.gov.