How to request your records from home-country providers

Key rules

• Right of access: You can request your own records from every provider and insurer in the UK, the EU and the US.
• Cost: In the UK and EU the first copy is free, and US providers may charge only a reasonable cost-based fee.
• Deadlines: UK and EU providers must answer within one month, and US providers within 30 days.
• Timing: Send every request two to three months before you travel, because extensions are allowed.

Start now and ask every provider

You have a legal right to a copy of your own health records in the UK, the EU and the US. Use it with every provider that has treated you, and send the requests early. Providers answer at different speeds, and you want everything in hand before you leave.

Who to ask

Send a separate request to each of these:

• Your GP or primary care doctor: full history, medication list, vaccinations and referrals.
• Hospitals: discharge summaries, operation notes, imaging and pathology.
• Each specialist: treatment plan and follow-up.
• Laboratories and imaging centres: results, plus the actual images on a disc.
• Your dentist: X-rays and treatment history.
• Your pharmacy: dispensing history.
• Mental-health, fertility or physiotherapy providers, if they apply to you.

Insurers hold records too. Ask each insurer for what it holds on you, using the same right of access.

Which right you use

• UK: you can make a subject access request for your personal data, which includes health records.
• EU: the right of access gives you your data and a copy. Many EU countries also have patient-rights laws on records, and these differ by country.
• US: you can inspect and obtain a copy of your health information. You can also have it sent to a third party.

How to send the request

1. Try the provider's patient portal first, such as the NHS App or an online GP service in the UK, or MyChart in the US. Portal requests are verified when you log in.
2. If there is no portal, use the provider's request form. Otherwise write a letter or email to the medical-records department, the practice manager or the data protection officer.
3. Name the provider, say exactly which records and which dates you need, and include your ID.
4. Say how you want delivery: electronic or paper. Electronic is usually quicker and cheaper.
5. Keep a copy of every request and the date you sent it.

In the US, you normally sign an authorization form. It must say who receives the records. The letter template and the documents list below cover the wording and the ID you need.

What it costs

In the UK and EU the first copy is free, and a reasonable fee may be charged only for repeated or excessive requests or extra copies. In the US, a provider may charge only a reasonable cost-based fee for copying, postage and preparing a summary. State laws may set caps. Some US providers charge more for paper copies or for sending records to a third party, so ask for electronic copies.

How long it takes

UK and EU providers must answer within one month, and US providers within 30 days. Practice is often faster:

• UK GP practices commonly take 2–4 weeks. Hospitals often take longer.
• US portal data is often available immediately. Paper or imaging requests often take 1–2 weeks.
• Imaging discs are often ready in a few days.

Complex requests can be extended. The UK and EU allow a further two months, and the US allows one further 30 days. So send everything at least two to three months before you travel. Chase any provider that has not replied when the deadline passes.

Ask for a summary too

A full file can be long and hard to read. Also ask your main doctor for a short summary letter. The checklist below lists what to gather, and the template letter below can be adapted for each provider.

Timeline and deadlines

• Send your request to every provider and insurer: As early as possible, well before you travel (recommended 90 days before planned arrival)

• Wait for the first copy, which is free in the UK and EU: UK and EU providers must answer within one month, and the deadline can be extended by two months for complex requests

• Wait for US providers to release your records: Within 30 days, with one 30-day extension allowed.

• Collect paper copies and imaging discs: Imaging discs are often ready in a few days, and paper or imaging requests in the US take about 1–2 weeks

• Chase any provider that has not replied: If the deadline passes with no answer, follow up in writing

Documents you need

• Proof of identity, such as a passport or driving licence, issued by the government and in date.

• Your date of birth, current address and, if the provider uses one, your patient number, to help them find your file.

• A signed request or authorization form, if the provider asks for one. In the US, the authorization must name who receives the records.

• Your written consent, if someone else makes the request for you.

• Proof of ID and proof of authority, such as a power of attorney, if you use a representative.

Medical records pack to gather before you move

• Ask your previous doctor for a short summary letter in English, or in Spanish if they can translate it.

• Write a current medication list with generic (active ingredient) names, doses and how often you take each one.

• Gather your diagnosis and problem list with dates, plus family and surgical history.

• Collect recent discharge summaries, specialist letters and operation reports.

• Request recent blood tests, ECGs and imaging reports, with discs or digital image access for major scans.

• List your allergies and any adverse drug reactions.

• Get recent prescriptions and a summary of ongoing treatments.

• Collect your full vaccination record, with dates and batch numbers where available, and any travel vaccines such as yellow fever.

• Gather implant details for any device you have: manufacturer, model, serial number, implant date, implant card, surgeon, hospital and MRI-safety status.

• Note the contact details of your previous clinicians.

Template letter to request your records and a clinical summary

Send this to each provider you want records from. Delete the lines that do not fit where the provider is based. Some NHS GP practices and US providers have their own request form, so check the provider's website or ask the front desk first. If they do, fill in the form and attach this letter.

Send it to the provider's data protection officer or records department. Attach a copy of your passport or ID.

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Subject: Request for a copy of my health records and a clinical summary letter

To: [Data Protection Officer / Medical Records Department] [Provider name and address]

Date: [date]

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to request a copy of all the personal data and health records you hold about me.

My details

• Full name: [full name]
• Date of birth: [date of birth]
• Address (current or last known): [address]
• Patient number, if I have one: [patient number]
• A copy of my ID is attached.

Legal basis [Provider in the EU, EEA or UK: This is a right of access request under the GDPR (the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 for UK providers).] [Provider in the US: This is a request under my right of access under the HIPAA Privacy Rule.]

What I am asking for For the period [start date] to [end date] (or "my whole record"), please include:

• all clinical notes and consultation records
• test and lab results
• imaging reports and the images themselves
• letters and correspondence with other providers
• medication and prescription history
• vaccination records

I would also like a short summary letter from my doctor, covering my diagnoses, current treatment, medication (with generic drug names), allergies and any ongoing follow-up. Please provide it in [English / Spanish, if available].

Format and delivery Please send everything in electronic form, as PDF files for documents and standard files for images, through [secure email / patient portal / encrypted download link / other method]. Send it to: [email or postal address]. [US providers: please provide the electronic copy in the format I have asked for if it is readily producible.]

[Delete if not needed: I authorise you to send a copy directly to my new doctor in Spain, [doctor's name and clinic, address or email]. My signed authorisation is attached.]

Timing and cost Please confirm in writing that you have received this request. [EU, EEA or UK provider: I expect a reply within one month. I understand the first copy is free of charge.] [US provider: I expect a reply within 30 days. I understand that only a reasonable, cost-based fee may be charged, and I would like to know the amount before you proceed.]

If you cannot meet the deadline or cannot provide any part of the records, please tell me why in writing. If I do not get a reply, I may complain to the data protection authority [ICO in the UK / the national data protection authority in your country / the HHS Office for Civil Rights in the US].

Yours faithfully,

[Signature] [Full name] [Phone number and email]

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Before you send it

• Send it early. The deadline is one month in the EU, EEA and UK, and 30 days in the US. It can be extended for complex requests, so ask well before you leave.
• Keep proof. Keep a copy of the letter and a record of when and how you sent it.
• Check the provider's form. If the provider insists on its own form, use it and attach this letter as a covering note.
• Providers in Spain. For a Spanish provider, the same letter works, with the GDPR line. Spain also gives patients their own right of access to their medical file.

Quick answers about moving medical records to Spain

Can Spanish public hospitals open my imaging from a disc or USB?

Yes, Spanish public hospitals mainly accept DICOM images on a CD, DVD or USB, with a viewer and the written report. Ask the radiology or admissions desk, or hand it to your specialist at the consultation. Photos, plain JPEG and PDF files are weak substitutes, so a physical disc is the safest route.

Will Spanish doctors accept my clinical reports in English?

Yes, most Spanish doctors accept English clinical reports for care without a formal translation, especially hospital specialists and private doctors in cities. Older or rural public staff may be less comfortable, so a short Spanish summary helps. Formal administrative procedures may still need a translation.

Can I get a copy of my clinical record once I am in Spain?

Yes, you have a legal right to access your Spanish clinical record and get copies, in public and private care. The centre must set out how to ask. Notes that are a professional's subjective annotations and information given in confidence by others can be withheld, and relatives need your written authorisation.

How long do home-country providers take to release imaging and other records?

UK and EU providers must answer within one month, and US providers within 30 days. In practice GP practices often take 2–4 weeks, many US portals release data immediately, and imaging discs are often ready in a few days. Hospitals can take longer, so ask well before you travel.