How do I get a copy of my own therapy records?

A: Ask in writing, and the deadlines are short. California gives you five working days to inspect your records after a written request, and 15 days to receive copies.¹ The fee is capped at 25 cents a page (50 cents from microfilm), and since January 2024 a provider may no longer add a separate charge for the clerical work of finding them — the old "reasonable clerical costs" line came out of the statute, and a lot of published guidance has not caught up.¹ If you need records to support a claim or appeal for a public benefit — Medi-Cal, SSI, SSDI, CalFresh, IHSS, CalWORKs, VA, a housing subsidy — the relevant portion is free, one copy, within 30 days.¹ And a provider may not hold your records back over an unpaid bill.¹

The one exception, and what it actually is. A mental health provider may decline to hand over records if they determine there is "a substantial risk of significant adverse or detrimental consequences to a patient in seeing" them.² If that happens, three things must follow: they write down the specific consequence they anticipate, they tell you they are refusing, and they must release the records instead to a licensed professional you designate — a physician, psychologist, LMFT, LCSW or LPCC of your choosing.² Note what that is not: it is not a summary, and the professional you name is not permitted to show you the file.² A summary is a separate route your provider may offer under a different section, within 10 working days.³

Worked example: you email your former therapist on the 1st asking to inspect your chart and for a copy. Inspection should be available by the 8th, in business hours, and you may bring one person with you.¹ Copies should arrive by the 16th. For a 40-page file that is $10.

Do this: put it in writing — email is fine and it timestamps itself — and say what you want: to inspect, to receive copies, or both. Name the date range. If you are gathering documents for a disability or benefits claim, say so, because that makes the relevant portion free. The full request letter →

Sources

1. California Health & Safety Code §123110: inspection "within five working days after receipt of the request"; copies "within 15 days"; fee capped at 25 cents per page for paper and 50 cents for microfilm (the separate clerical-cost charge was removed by SB 815, effective 1 January 2024); free copies for specified public-benefit claims, within 30 days; records may not be withheld "because of an unpaid bill for health care services" — leginfo.legislature.ca.gov.
2. Health & Safety Code §123115(b) — the substantial-risk exception, the written record required, and release to a licensed professional designated by the patient, who "shall not permit inspection or copying by the patient."
3. Health & Safety Code §123130 — the optional summary route: "within 10 working days from the date of the patient's request," and "in no case shall more than 30 days elapse."

All figures checked 17 August 2026.