Family emergency contacts: blank template

Use this expanded worksheet for the contact list, agreed call order, and copy checklist. Complete it privately with the people involved. The one-page PDF has the four main contact entries; it does not include every field below.

Emergency help and privacy

For immediate police, fire, or medical help in the United States, call 911 first. Give the location and follow the call-taker's instructions. Do not wait for a family reply. Call if you can; text 911 if you cannot call, where available. Text-to-911 is not available everywhere.

This worksheet does not provide emergency assistance. Use it for routine help and family coordination. Share it only with agreed people. Leave out passwords, entry codes, account details, and medical information. Practice through ordinary calls or texts, never emergency services.

Start with two people

Confirm the first contact and backup, write what each agrees to do, and try a routine check-in. Add the other roles next. Write “still to arrange” for an unconfirmed role.

• Household or sheet label:
• Household members to update, their numbers, and contact methods:
• Person maintaining the original:
• Original kept at:
• Version date:
• Next review date:
• People who may receive these contact details, as agreed with the contacts:

First person to contact

• Name and relationship:
• Phone, including area code:
• Call, text, or other agreed method:
• Help agreed, including who receives updates:
• Availability or limits:
• Role accepted on:
• Number checked by an ordinary call or reply on:

Backup if the first person is unavailable

• Name and relationship:
• Phone, including area code:
• Call, text, or other agreed method:
• Help agreed, including who receives updates:
• Availability or limits:
• Role accepted on:
• Number checked by an ordinary call or reply on:

Nearby helper

• Name and relationship:
• Phone, including area code:
• Call, text, or other agreed method:
• Specific help agreed:
• Availability or limits:
• Role accepted on:
• Number checked by an ordinary call or reply on:

Out-of-area check-in person

• Name, relationship, and city or region:
• Phone, including area code:
• Call, text, or other agreed method:
• People whose updates they will receive and relay:
• Availability or limits:
• Role accepted on:
• Number checked by an ordinary call or reply on:

Agree what happens next

• First contact and method to try:
• If unavailable or unanswered, when and how to try the backup:
• Reply that confirms someone has taken over coordination:
• If both are unavailable, agreed next contact or step:
• If nobody acknowledges, next check-in arrangement:
• Separate household meeting plan kept at:
• Wording for a brief check-in: name, status, location, time, and requested reply:

A sent message is not an acknowledgment. Record the reply you expect before treating the handoff as accepted.

Try the sheet together

• Practice date and people taking part:
• Could each person find their copy and read it? Yes / Gap / Not tried
• Did the routine check-in reach the intended person and get a reply? Yes / Gap / Not tried
• Could each person identify the backup and explain the handoff? Yes / Gap / Not tried
• Format or contact-method change needed:
• Unresolved question, person checking it, and date:

Record where copies went

Keep a paper copy you can use without your phone. Agree where the household copy lives. For every holder or location, complete one line:

• Holder or location:
• Version date supplied:
• Received and previous copy replaced: Confirmed / Waiting / First copy
• Confirmation date:

Repeat for other holders. Do not mark a waiting reply as confirmed.

Keep it current

Choose a review date and check again after a number, role, availability, or willingness to help changes. Recheck the agreement as well as the number. Date the revision, replace copies you control, and ask other holders to confirm replacement.

General preparedness guidance for U.S. households. Read the contact list guide and completed fictional example, or download this worksheet as text.

Official guidance: National 911 Program, text-to-911 FAQ, National Weather Service communications plan, and FEMA communication-plan guide. Source links checked October 18, 2026.