How to create an emergency information sheet (and what to put on it)

An emergency information sheet is the single most useful document most people have never made. It's a one-page summary of your critical medical, financial, and contact information — written to be understood by a stranger who needs to act on your behalf in an emergency.

The scenario: you're unconscious in an emergency room. A paramedic finds your wallet. What do they know about you? What doesn't need to wait for a database lookup?

What to include

Section 1 — Personal and medical

• Full legal name and date of birth
• Blood type (if known)
• Known allergies — especially to medications (penicillin, NSAIDs, contrast dye)
• Current medications — generic name, dose, and the condition being treated (e.g. "metformin 500mg — type 2 diabetes")
• Major medical conditions or history relevant to emergency care
• Name and contact number of your GP or primary care physician

Section 2 — Emergency contacts

• Two people to call — name, relationship, primary number, secondary number
• Note if either person has medical decision-making authority (power of attorney for health)

Section 3 — Financial (one line each)

• Primary bank (just the name and branch — not account numbers)
• Who to call if your cards are lost or stolen (a contact name, not card numbers)
• Name of your solicitor or estate lawyer, if you have one

Section 4 — Practical

• Home address (useful if you're found unconscious away from home)
• Vehicle registration (if relevant)
• Pet: name, breed, location — so someone knows there's an animal at home that needs attention

What NOT to include

Account numbers, passwords, PINs, and national ID numbers. The sheet may be seen by multiple people in an emergency. Keep it useful, not dangerous.

Format

• One page, printed in a legible font (11pt minimum)
• Keep it simple — no design needed
• Date it at the bottom so it's clear how current the information is
• Print two copies: one in your wallet (folded), one at home somewhere findable

Where to keep it

• Wallet or card holder: A folded copy. This is the version that matters most in the immediate emergency.
• At home: A visible location — the front of your document binder, or a spot you'd tell someone to check. Some people keep one on the fridge; paramedics in many places know to look there.
• As a scan: In your phone, accessible offline, in a clearly named folder.

Update it annually

Medications change. Emergency contacts change. Blood type doesn't, but almost everything else might. Tie the review to an annual document check so it stays current. A sheet that lists a medication you stopped taking two years ago is worse than useless in an emergency — it actively misleads.

The twelve-document list includes this sheet as one of its twelve. The 30-document What to Scan First template has a dedicated row for it — including a "last updated" column.