What Documents Should You Keep in an Emergency Binder?

An emergency binder should hold copies of each person's ID and vital records, your insurance policies with claim phone numbers, medical information like medications and allergies, a printed contact list, the phone numbers for your bank and other financial accounts, and your written emergency plan. Keep originals somewhere secure, keep the copies where you can grab them fast, and review everything once a year.

Which identity documents should you copy?

After a disaster you may need to prove who you are, that you live where you say you live, and that your children are yours. Copies make that much easier when the originals are lost or locked in a damaged house.

• Driver's licenses or state IDs and passports
• Birth certificates and Social Security cards
• Marriage certificates, and any divorce, custody or adoption papers
• Military records, such as a DD-214 for veterans
• Immigration or citizenship documents, if they apply

These copies are sensitive. A binder full of birth certificates and Social Security cards is valuable to an identity thief, so store it as carefully as you would the originals.

What insurance and property records belong in the binder?

Insurance is where good records pay off fastest. Include copies of your homeowner's or renter's, auto, health and life policies, with policy numbers and the claims phone number for each. Add your agent's contact information.

A home inventory helps with claims. Walk through the house with your phone and take video of every room, opening closets and drawers, then note where that file is stored. Include a copy of your deed or lease, vehicle titles and registrations, and a recent mortgage or rent statement. For more on protecting your finances before something happens, see financial preparedness 101.

What medical information should you include?

Make one page per person. List medical conditions, medications and doses, allergies, blood type if you know it, and the names and phone numbers of doctors and your pharmacy. Add copies of health insurance cards, both sides. If anyone uses medical equipment, note the make and model and the supplier's phone number.

If you help manage care for a parent or another adult, include copies of whatever authorization paperwork lets you speak with their doctors or handle their affairs. Those are worth setting up with their doctor and an attorney well before you need them.

Update this page whenever a prescription changes. An out-of-date medication list can do more harm than no list at all.

Which contacts and financial details should be on paper?

Print a full contact list, because a dead or lost phone takes your contacts with it. Include family, your out-of-area contact, neighbors, employers, schools, doctors, veterinarians, your insurance agent and your utilities.

For financial accounts, list the institution and its customer service phone number. You don't need full account numbers in the binder, and leaving them out reduces the damage if it's ever lost. Keep some cash in small bills somewhere secure as well, since card readers and ATMs stop working when the power goes out.

Where does the emergency plan itself go?

The plan belongs with the documents, so the person who grabs the binder also has the instructions. Your communication plan, meeting places, evacuation routes and responsibilities should all be in writing.

The Contingency Planner Complete Kit is built for that part. It's a zippered fabric binder of stone paper sheets that stand up to water and tearing, with sheets for condition plans, PACE plans and EXFIL plans, plus a Notes and References sheet for phone numbers, locations and radio frequencies. Keep your document copies in a waterproof folder next to it. If you build your plan in ReadyPlan, you can export it to PDF and add a printed copy to the binder too.

How should you store and update the binder?

Keep originals of irreplaceable documents in a fire-resistant and water-resistant safe or a safe deposit box. Keep the binder of copies somewhere you can grab it on the way out the door, and tell every adult in the house where it is. Some families keep a second set with a trusted relative in another town.

A digital backup is worth having, as long as it's protected. Scan the documents to an encrypted drive or a secure cloud account with strong sign-in protection. Then review the whole binder once a year and after any big change, such as a move, a new baby, a new car or a new insurance policy.

Common questions

Should the binder hold originals or copies?

Copies for most things. Originals of birth certificates, passports, titles and Social Security cards are hard to replace and are safer in a secure safe or safe deposit box. Keep the binder of copies close to the exit so you can take it if you leave.

Is it risky to keep copies of Social Security cards?

Yes, which is why the binder has to be stored securely. If that worries you, keep the number off the copy in the binder and store the full copy with the originals. The goal is to have what you need to prove identity without making the binder an easy target.

Should I keep digital copies instead of paper?

Keep both. Digital copies are easy to share with an insurer or a relative, but they depend on a working device, power and often a connection. Paper copies work when none of those do.

Where should the emergency binder be kept?

Somewhere secure that you pass on the way out, like a closet near the main exit or a safe in the bedroom. Everyone who might need to grab it should know where it is.

To give your written plan a home that holds up to water and rough handling, take a look at the Contingency Planner Complete Kit.