Copying Fees Adjustments

PLEASE NOTE: The Illinois Office of Comptroller does not enforce this statute and cannot give an interpretation or legal advice regarding any amounts charged. Additional laws, whether state or federal, may also affect the amounts that may be charged in certain circumstances.

Code of Civil Procedure 735 ILCS 5/8-2001(d) and (h)

• The person requesting copies of records shall reimburse the facility or healthcare practitioner for all reasonable expenses, including the costs of independent copy service companies, incurred in connection with such copying not to exceed a handling charge for processing the request, and the actual postage or shipping charge, if any, plus copy charges.
• The facility or healthcare practitioner may, however, charge for the reasonable cost of all duplication of record material or information that cannot routinely be copied or duplicated on a standard commercial photocopy machine such as X-ray films or pictures.
• Records retrieved from scanning, digital imaging, electronic information or other digital format do not qualify as microfiche or microfilm retrieval for purposes of calculating charges.
• For electronic records, retrieved from a scanning, digital imaging, electronic information or other digital format in a electronic document, a charge of 50% of the per page charge for paper copies listed above. This per page charge includes the cost of each CD Rom, DVD, or other storage media.
• Records already maintained in an electronic or digital format shall be provided in an electronic format when so requested. If the records system does not allow for the creation or transmission of an electronic or digital record, then the facility or practitioner shall inform the requester in writing of the reason the records cannot be provided electronically.
• A health care facility or health care practitioner shall provide without charge one complete copy of a patient's records if the records are being requested by the patient or a person, entity, attorney, registered representative, or organization presenting a valid authorization for the release of records signed by the patient or the patient's legally authorized representative who has provided documentation of authority to act for the patient, or by such other requester as is authorized by statute if the patient is deceased, for the purpose of supporting a claim for: (1) federal veterans' disability benefits; (2) federal Social Security or Supplemental Security Income benefits, or both, under any title of the Social Security Act; or (3) Aid to the Aged, Blind, or Disabled benefits.