How do I request mental health records?
Answer
Mental Health records in the collections of the Ohio History Connection are restricted by state law. Ohio law states that the closest living relative of a deceased patient is allowed to request information from mental health facility records held by the Ohio History Connection, or by anyone if the patient has been deceased for fifty or more years (see: ORC 5122.31 Confidentiality).
Ohio History Connection Archives & Library staff are available to answer research request letters from Mental Health Research Requests. You will find instructions and information about the research fees on the request forms which are online.
Review carefully the list of records we hold for the time period of interest so that you can get a sense of their scope and content. None of the collections listed contain a full medical history case file.
Please visit the Mental Health Records Research Guide for more information.