The Emergency Information Checklist: What Every Family Should Have Ready

When something happens suddenly, a fall, a hospital admission, a sharp decline, the questions that come up first are rarely complicated ones. They're just questions nobody thought to write the answers down for. What's the GP's number? Where's the spare key? Is there a will?

This is a free, print-it-and-tick-it checklist of exactly that information, grouped so it's easy to work through a bit at a time.

You don't have to complete this in one sitting.

1. Legal & Decisions

Lasting Power of Attorney — is one in place? Our LPA guide covers what it is and how to set one up.
Will — does one exist, and where's it kept? See our Wills vs LPAs vs Deputyship guide if you're not sure which applies.
Solicitor's details — name and contact, if one's been used before.

2. Health

GP surgery name and phone number.
NHS number — found on any prescription or letter from the NHS.
Current medication list — our medicines checklist covers this in more depth.
Known allergies or conditions a paramedic or hospital would need to know immediately.

3. Money & Admin

Which banks and accounts exist — just the list of providers, not account numbers or passwords.
Pension provider(s).
Insurance policies — home, life, funeral plan, and who they're with.
Utility providers — energy, water, broadband, so bills don't lapse unnoticed.

💡 Worth knowing

Our financial checklist goes deeper on benefits, funding and what's worth checking first if money is the immediate worry.

4. Access

Key safe code or spare key location, if one exists.
Whether a password manager is used, and how a trusted person could get to the master password if genuinely needed. Don't write individual passwords here. Our Digital Legacy guide covers phones, accounts and photos properly.

5. Wishes & Contacts

Care preferences — anything they've expressed about future care, if the conversation has happened. Our Family Conversation Guide can help if it hasn't yet.
Funeral wishes, if known.
Next of kin and emergency contacts.
Important phone numbers — close family, a trusted neighbour, anyone who'd need to know quickly.

📋 Want a physical version to fill in and keep?

We also have a printable Emergency Folder on our Etsy shop, designed to hold all of this alongside space for the fuller detail (account numbers, full document copies) that shouldn't live on a free web page. This checklist works perfectly well on its own too.

Common Questions

Do we need to complete this all at once?

No. Print it, tick off what you already have in place, and come back to the rest over time. Most families never have all of it sorted at once, that's normal, not a failure.

Where should we actually keep this once it's filled in?

Somewhere a trusted family member could find it in an emergency, not just somewhere safe. A locked drawer only helps if someone else knows it exists and can get to it. Tell at least one other person where it's kept.

Should we write actual passwords on this?

No. Note that a password manager exists and how to access the one master password, rather than listing individual passwords, which creates a security risk if the sheet is lost or seen by the wrong person. Our Digital Legacy guide covers this properly.

You don’t have to navigate it alone.