Request to inspect and copy the medical record (Germany)
Published byDocMuse
This document is in German
The PDF you download is in German — that is the language it has to be filed in, so it is not translated. Everything on this page is here to tell you what it says.
The letter to a doctor's practice, hospital or therapist in Germany asking to inspect your treatment record (Behandlungsakte, formerly Patientenakte) and for a complete copy. It relies on § 630g of the German Civil Code (BGB) as in force since 6 February 2026 — the first copy is free, electronic ones included — and on Art. 15 GDPR with its one-month deadline. You choose a copy, or inspection and a copy, and how it is delivered. In German. Not for the electronic patient file (ePA) kept through the health insurer.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Patient
- Patient's address
- Healthcare provider (hospital, clinic)
- Practice or hospital postal address
- City
- Date
- A copy, or inspection and a copy
- Date of birth
- Period of treatment
- How you want to receive the copy
Preview
This document is produced for you. Your answers are typed into it and the finished PDF is yours to keep.
Common questions
- Do I have to pay for a copy of my medical record in Germany?
- Not for the first. Since 6 February 2026, § 630g(1) BGB says expressly that the first copy of the record is free, an electronic copy included. This follows the CJEU judgment of 26 October 2023 (C-307/22), which held the first copy free whatever it is wanted for — even to check a claim against the practice. For further copies the practice may charge its costs.
- How quickly must a German practice answer, and may it hold anything back?
- Access must be given without delay (§ 630g(1) BGB); under Art. 12(3) GDPR the limit is one month, which can be extended by two months only where necessary. The practice may refuse only where substantial therapeutic reasons or substantial rights of third parties stand in the way, and it must give reasons. If no answer comes, you can turn to the data-protection authority of your Land.
- How is the request sent, and is it the same as Germany's ePA?
- The request needs no particular form: send it signed by post, hand it in at the practice or e-mail it as a PDF. To prove when the deadline started, ask for a confirmation of receipt or hand it in yourself. The electronic patient file (ePA) is something else: it is read in your health insurer's app. This letter concerns the record the practice or hospital keeps itself.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
DocMuse sells documents, not legal advice. Acceptance always depends on the recipient's rules and your local law.
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