An internet and/or intranet based system and method for limiting access to confidential records to properly authorized and authenticated parties. The system's central premise is that the person to whom such records pertain should control access rights through specific, informed consent. It reinforces the widely held conception of privacy in general, while also providing an expedited and cost efficient means to find and transfer confidential records. It also gives the repositories where these records are held the right to stipulate the specific terms and conditions that must be fulfilled before they will release documents. And it carries out all of these legitimate interests in a way that is fast, simple to use and easy to audit. The system optionally includes a billing mechanism to pay for any added cost associated with providing this additional protection; and in its preferred embodiment, is applicable to both digital as well as non-digital records.