Most personal medical records should be kept for at least three to six years, but some documents deserve a permanent spot in your files. The right timeline depends on the type of record, whether it’s tied to a tax return, and whether it involves a child’s care.
There’s no single federal law telling individuals how long to hold onto their own medical paperwork. The rules that do exist are aimed at doctors, hospitals, and pharmacies. But those professional requirements offer a useful framework for deciding what to keep and when it’s safe to shred.
A Practical Timeline by Document Type
Not every piece of medical paperwork carries the same weight. Some documents you’ll need for years; others lose their relevance in months. Here’s how to sort them.
Keep permanently: vaccination records, records of major surgeries, chronic disease diagnoses, family medical history, and any documentation of allergies or adverse drug reactions. These shape every future medical decision and are difficult or impossible to reconstruct if lost. A new doctor five or ten years from now will want this information, and you may not remember the details accurately on your own.
Keep for at least five to six years: Explanation of Benefits statements from your insurer, hospital discharge summaries, lab results, imaging reports, and records of completed treatments. The six-year window aligns with the retention period that HIPAA requires of Medicare Fee-For-Service providers, and it gives you a comfortable buffer for resolving any billing disputes or insurance appeals. If you’re enrolled in a Medicare managed care plan, providers are required to keep your records for 10 years, so holding your own copies for a similar period is reasonable.
Keep for at least three years: medical expense receipts you’ve claimed as tax deductions. The IRS says you must keep records supporting any deduction until the statute of limitations on that tax return expires, which is generally three years from the date you filed. If you suspect you might amend a return or if you underreported income, the window stretches to six or seven years.
Keep for at least two years: pharmacy receipts and prescription records. Federal regulations require pharmacies to maintain electronic prescription records for a minimum of two years, though many states impose longer requirements. Your own copies serve as a backup if you need to verify a past medication, confirm a dosage for a new provider, or file an insurance claim.
Children’s Records Need a Longer Window
If you’re keeping records for a child, the timeline is significantly longer. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends retaining pediatric medical records for at least 10 years or until the child reaches the age of majority plus the applicable state statute of limitations for malpractice, whichever is longer.
In some states, the statute of limitations for filing a medical malpractice lawsuit doesn’t begin until the child turns 18. In a state with a two-year statute of limitations, that means a case related to newborn care could be filed up to 20 years after delivery. For practical purposes, this means you should keep your child’s medical records from birth through at least their early twenties. Vaccination records, growth charts, developmental screening results, and surgical records should stay in the file permanently and be handed over when your child is old enough to manage their own health information.
Insurance Paperwork and Billing Records
Explanation of Benefits statements, claim denials, and billing records are worth keeping longer than most people think. Insurance companies can audit claims, and billing errors sometimes surface years after treatment. A five-to-six-year retention period covers most scenarios, but if you’re dealing with an ongoing dispute, a workers’ compensation case, or disability benefits, keep every related document until the matter is fully resolved and the appeal window has closed.
For Medicare beneficiaries specifically, holding onto EOBs for at least six years matches the retention window required of providers. If your coverage is through a Medicare Advantage or other managed care plan, extending that to 10 years is a safer bet.
What to Keep Permanently
Certain records are worth keeping for life because they’re either irreplaceable or routinely needed across providers and situations. Your permanent file should include:
- Immunization records: required for school enrollment, international travel, and some jobs
- Surgical and hospitalization records: future surgeons and anesthesiologists need this history
- Chronic condition diagnoses: documentation of diabetes, heart disease, autoimmune conditions, and similar diagnoses
- Allergy and adverse reaction records: especially drug allergies that could be life-threatening
- Genetic test results: these don’t change and can inform decisions for you and your family members
- Living wills and advance directives: keep these accessible, not just filed away
Digital copies are fine for most of these. Scan paper documents and store them in an encrypted folder or a secure cloud service. Just make sure someone you trust knows how to access them in an emergency.
How to Safely Dispose of Old Records
Medical documents contain exactly the kind of information identity thieves look for: your full name, date of birth, Social Security number, insurance policy numbers, and diagnostic codes. The Federal Trade Commission recommends shredding medical documents before discarding them. A cross-cut shredder works best, but if you don’t own one, many communities host free shred days where you can bring sensitive paperwork.
Don’t forget about prescription bottles. They carry your name, prescriber, medication, and pharmacy details. If they’re hard to shred, use a permanent marker to black out all personal and medical information before tossing them. The same goes for old insurance cards, hospital wristbands, and anything else that ties your identity to your health history.
Digital Records Change the Equation
If your providers use a patient portal, much of your medical history is already stored electronically and accessible on demand. This doesn’t mean you can skip keeping your own copies. Providers close practices, switch electronic health record systems, and merge with other organizations. When a practice closes, the American Academy of Pediatrics notes that patients should be notified and given the chance to designate another provider to receive their records, but that process doesn’t always go smoothly.
Downloading your records periodically from patient portals gives you a backup that no system migration can erase. PDF exports of lab results, visit summaries, and imaging reports take up minimal storage space and can save you significant hassle if you ever need to reconstruct your history. Store them with the same security you’d give financial records: password-protected, backed up, and organized by year or provider so you can find what you need quickly.