Who May be Custodian: Statutory and Regulatory Requirements
Who may be Custodian: Statutory and Regulatory Requirements
The Texas law surrounding custodianship of dental records is straightforward and clear: only licensed Texas dentists may be designated as custodians of dental records. This is established through both statute and regulation.
The State legislature enacted House Bill 3876 on June 15, 2007, now codified as Texas Occupational Code Section 258.0511, stating that “any entity that provides dental services . . . shall designate a license holder as the dental custodian of records . . . .” Furthermore, the State Board of Dental Examiners adopted 32 Texas Register 9628 on December 21, 2007, now codified as 22 Texas Administrative Code Section 108.72, specifying that the “license holder” referred to in the statute must be a “licensed Texas dentist.”
As of this writing, there appear to be no Texas cases or other authorities on point that would indicate otherwise. Therefore, only individually licensed Texas dentists, rather than any other entity—including PLLCs that might own a given practice—are allowed to serve as custodians of dental records.
