# Can Korean medical records be issued in English?

> The English general-certificate cap is a specific notice item, not a promise to translate every medical record.

The notice lists an English general diagnosis certificate with a cap of KRW 20,000 per document.

Written by the Girokdari Health Records Study Group editorial team on October 29, 2026. Canonical address: https://medicalrecordsguide.org/articles/english-records.

## What is covered by the English medical records fee entry?

The notice lists an English general diagnosis certificate with a cap of KRW 20,000 per document.

The verified annex entry is an English general diagnosis certificate. Its cap of KRW 20,000 is tied to that item and its criteria. It should not be used as a flat translation charge for an operation record, full chart or imaging report.

The existence of a fee entry also does not establish that every institution offers all documents in English. Ask what document it can issue and compare the proposed service with the matching entry before treating a price as capped.

The English general-certificate entry is also different from a bilingual title printed on a bill or a medical record containing some English terminology. The actual document and its criteria matter. A page with English words is not automatically an English general diagnosis certificate for fee purposes. Conversely, the cap entry does not supply a translation contract or determine the accuracy of a translated clinical description. Ask which document is being offered and which work its stated price covers.

**English certificate and other requests**

| Request | Applicable distinction | Not established |
| --- | --- | --- |
| English general certificate | KRW 20,000/document | Every record translated |
| Existing English document | Copy of existing content | New assessment |
| Other record translation | Confirm actual service | General certificate cap applies |

## Are English medical records copies or new clinical statements?

Identify whether you need a copy of an existing English document, a new certificate or a translation of another record.

The Ministry handbook separates the first issuance of a diagnosis certificate or opinion from access to existing records. An existing English certificate can be copied as an existing document; a request to express a current assessment may involve first issuance instead.

Translation of another record should be described as the actual work requested. Article 21 and Article 17 have different subjects. This distinction helps you ask a concrete question without assuming that changing the requested language leaves the document’s nature unchanged.

## Do English medical records replace imaging files?

A written clinical or imaging report and the underlying imaging copy are separate material.

A diagnosis certificate or translated imaging report contains written information. A film, CD or DVD copy concerns the imaging material on its medium. The cap notice lists the media separately from the English general certificate.

If the recipient needs both the images and the report, one item’s fee or language does not settle the other. USB has no cap in the reviewed annex. The guide does not promise that any copied image will be readable in every foreign institution’s software.

## How are additional English medical records copies charged?

The notice distinguishes an additional identical certificate issued together from a newly prepared document.

Under the annex’s certificate-copy entry, the copies rule applies to additional identical certificates issued together beyond the first. An altered or newly prepared clinical statement should not be silently counted as an identical extra copy.

Ask whether several copies concern the same existing wording or separate certificates. The fee calculator’s certificate quantities concern separate original certificates and exclude identical extra copies. This prevents a simple multiplication from obscuring which charging category the actual request uses.

A recipient’s request for several copies should specify whether the content must be identical or whether separate statements are required. This is particularly useful when several destinations request different dates or wording. The notice’s simultaneous identical-copy criterion can then be checked against the actual arrangement. The guide does not assume that two destinations always require two new certificates, or that every later printout always qualifies for the simultaneous-copy provision.

**Copies and new wording**

| Situation | Question to ask | Boundary |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Identical additional copies together | Annex certificate-copy entry | Beyond the first document |
| Different content | New preparation? | Not automatically identical |
| Foreign recipient’s form | Can the issuer prepare it? | No universal availability |

## Who may request English medical records?

The record’s language does not itself remove the patient, relative or agent requirements for an existing-record request.

Rule 13-3 sets the relative and designated-agent document requirements for the relevant record request. The current consent form and authorization form have different functions.

A requester who is not a qualifying relative may need another applicable legal route; a deceased or unconscious patient cannot simply be assumed able to sign new authorization forms. The guide supplies a preparation list without collecting names, identity numbers or patient files. The institution confirms how it accepts the required documents.

## What recipient requirements matter for English medical records?

Ask the receiving institution or insurer which named document, language, date range and copy format it requires.

The fee notice identifies capped items, not a universal foreign insurer’s evidence checklist. A receipt, itemized bill, clinical record and certificate can answer different questions. The receiving organization can clarify its own requirements, while the issuer can clarify available documents.

Neither an English title nor an amount below the cap establishes insurance payment or clinical sufficiency. Keep the recipient’s request specific so an unavailable translation is not mistaken for a missing existing record.

## Is there a fixed deadline for English medical records?

The reviewed sources do not set one universal translation or overseas-delivery period for every English document.

Confirm the institution’s actual preparation and collection arrangements before relying on a departure date. Rule 13-5(3) concerns records sent to another institution at a transferring patient’s request, unless special circumstances apply. It is not a general translation-service deadline.

The calendar tool can show the gap between dates you enter, but cannot infer the hospital’s schedule or promise availability. An electronic exchange service also does not establish automatic English conversion or a connection to every overseas recipient.

If a departure date is close, ask the issuer about the particular document rather than relying on an average not established by the reviewed sources. The question can identify whether existing content is copied, whether new wording is needed, and how it will be received. These tasks may have different arrangements, but this guide has no verified general day count for them. A calendar interval can help frame the enquiry without turning an unverified estimate into a published standard.

## What else do people ask about English medical records?

### What should I check about English medical records?

The notice lists an English general diagnosis certificate with a cap of KRW 20,000 per document. The verified annex entry is an English general diagnosis certificate.

### Are English medical records copies or new clinical statements?

Identify whether you need a copy of an existing English document, a new certificate or a translation of another record. The Ministry handbook separates the first issuance of a diagnosis certificate or opinion from access to existing records.

### Do English medical records replace imaging files?

A written clinical or imaging report and the underlying imaging copy are separate material. A diagnosis certificate or translated imaging report contains written information.

### How are additional English medical records copies charged?

The notice distinguishes an additional identical certificate issued together from a newly prepared document. Under the annex’s certificate-copy entry, the copies rule applies to additional identical certificates issued together beyond the first.

### Who may request English medical records?

The record’s language does not itself remove the patient, relative or agent requirements for an existing-record request. Rule 13-3 sets the relative and designated-agent document requirements for the relevant record request.

## What should you read next?

- [Diagnosis certificate or doctor’s opinion in Korea?](https://medicalrecordsguide.org/articles/certificate-vs-opinion)
- [Which medical records should you request before flying home?](https://medicalrecordsguide.org/articles/before-flying-home)
- [Korea medical-record departure timeline](https://medicalrecordsguide.org/tools/timeline)
- [Korea medical certificate fee caps](https://medicalrecordsguide.org/statistics/certificate-fee-caps)

## Where do these numbers come from?

- [Standards for medical-institution certificate-fee items and amounts](https://www.law.go.kr/LSW/admRulInfoP.do?admRulSeq=2100000197953) - Ministry of Health and Welfare / National Law Information Center
- [Annex: certificate-fee items, criteria and upper amounts](https://www.law.go.kr/LSW/flDownload.do?flSeq=95830869&bylClsCd=200201) - Ministry of Health and Welfare / National Law Information Center
- [Medical Service Act, Article 17: diagnosis certificates](https://www.law.go.kr/LSW/lsSideInfoP.do?docCls=jo&joBrNo=00&joNo=0017&lsiSeq=290667&urlMode=lsScJoRltInfoR) - Ministry of Health and Welfare / National Law Information Center
- [Enforcement Rule, Article 13-3: requirements for record requests](https://www.law.go.kr/lsLinkCommonInfo.do?chrClsCd=010202&lsJoLnkSeq=1028280683) - Ministry of Health and Welfare / National Law Information Center
- [Form 9-2: consent to access, copies and transmission](https://www.law.go.kr/LSW/flDownload.do?gubun=&flSeq=164913939&bylClsCd=110202) - Ministry of Health and Welfare / National Law Information Center
- [Form 9-3: authorization for record access and copies](https://www.law.go.kr/LSW/flDownload.do?gubun=&flSeq=164913945&bylClsCd=110202) - Ministry of Health and Welfare / National Law Information Center
- [2022 handbook on medical institutions and medical corporations](https://www.yeonsu.go.kr/clinic/institution/hospital_notice.asp?page=v&seq=162) - Yeonsu-gu Public Health Center
- [Enforcement Rule, Article 13-5: record-transmission request procedures](https://www.law.go.kr/LSW/lsSideInfoP.do?docCls=jo&joBrNo=05&joNo=0013&lsiSeq=286963&urlMode=lsScJoRltInfoR) - Ministry of Health and Welfare / National Law Information Center