How to fax medical records or a records request

Updated October 31, 2026

Confirm the fax number with the office, scan your signed request or records, send them, and keep the receipt. Under US law, you can ask your provider for copies of your records, and many offices accept a request by fax.

This is general information, not medical or legal advice.

Who this guide is for

It is for patients and family helpers sending their own papers. Fax Once is not made for doctors' offices, clinics or other health care businesses. We don't offer a business associate agreement, and we don't claim that the app meets the HIPAA rules those businesses must follow.

Step by step

Call and confirm the number. Ask for the fax line for your request, such as medical records, referrals or billing. The US health department gives offices the same advice: confirm a number that isn't regularly used before faxing to it.
Ask if they have a form. Many offices have their own request form. Using it can prevent a delay.
Sign the request. To send your records to someone else, your request should be in writing, signed by you, and clear about who gets them and where to send them.
Add a cover sheet. Put the person's name and the page count on it, and keep medical details off it. See what to put on a cover sheet.
Send and save the receipt. Then call the office to check that the right person has it.

How long the office has

The US Department of Health and Human Services says a covered provider or health plan must respond within 30 calendar days of your request. It calls that an outer limit and says they should respond sooner. They may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee.

Is faxing private enough?

Know these limits first:

Fax is not encrypted from end to end.
A fax machine in a busy office may be seen by anyone who walks past it.
A wrong number can send your pages to a stranger, and you can't call them back.
Fax Once's service removes your pages when the fax finishes, within an hour at most. Read exactly what is kept.

If your provider has a patient portal, it may be a better choice for the most sensitive papers. Ask them what they recommend.

Sources: HHS, Your Medical Records; HHS, right to access health information; HHS, sending records to a third party; HHS, sharing information by fax.