An emergency contact card for your wallet gives you a paper copy of the numbers you might need when your phone is unavailable. Put your name, a primary contact, a backup contact, and the date you checked the details on a small card. Add medical or communication notes only when they are useful and you are comfortable carrying them.
You can make one with paper and a pen. The important work is choosing people who have agreed to be contacted, checking their numbers, and keeping the card somewhere you can find it.
What to put on an emergency contact card
Keep the front focused on who to call. Use these fields as a starting point:
- Your name.
- A primary contact's name, relationship to you, and phone number.
- A second contact's name, relationship, and phone number.
- An out-of-area contact, if that person has a role in your household plan.
- The date the information was last checked.
The American Red Cross recommends carrying emergency contact information in writing as well as saving it on your phone. Its planning guidance also recommends an out-of-area contact for household communication during a disaster.
Choose contacts for their ability to help with your arrangements. A nearby friend might be able to reach your home; a relative elsewhere might help household members exchange updates. Discuss those roles before writing the names down.
For travel, include country codes on personal phone numbers. Check the number with the person it belongs to, and make sure the relationship label is understandable to someone who has never met you.
Add medical notes selectively
The reverse can hold brief, accurate information you choose to disclose, such as an important allergy, a communication need, or where a current medication list is kept. Ask your clinician or pharmacist if you are unsure which medical details belong there.
The FDA's medication-list guidance recommends maintaining a current list of prescription medicines, over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and supplements, and sharing it with healthcare professionals. If that list is long, carry it separately rather than squeezing it into unreadable print on your contact card.
A wallet card is a personal information aid. It does not replace a medical record, a prescribed medical alert, or an advance directive.
A simple wallet card template to copy
Copy the fields below into a document or write them on a card. Remove optional lines you do not need. The blank lines are for your own information; do not enter personal details into a public comment or shared document.
Front: who to contact
IN CASE OF EMERGENCY
Name: ____________________
Contact 1: ____________________
Relationship: ____________________
Phone, including country code: ____________________
Contact 2: ____________________
Relationship: ____________________
Phone, including country code: ____________________
Checked on: ____________________
Back: optional notes
Important allergy or medical note: ____________________
Communication or assistance need: ____________________
Current medication list kept: ____________________
Out-of-area contact and phone: ____________________
Agreed meeting place or plan location: ____________________
Choose the optional fields that fit your situation. A large amount of medical information may need a separate folded sheet. A household communication card may use that space for the out-of-area contact and meeting arrangements.
The illustration shows one possible arrangement with blank fields. It is an editorial example, not a medical form. For a ready-made printable alternative, the American Red Cross emergency contact card includes local and out-of-area contacts and meeting locations. Follow that document's layout when printing it.
Make the card fit your wallet
Use a card already in your wallet as a guide to the space available, without copying its account information. Leave room for a protective sleeve if you plan to use one.
Print a test on ordinary paper first. Cut it out, place it in the intended slot, and check that you can read the phone numbers comfortably. If the words are too small, remove a field or use a folded format. Shrinking the text further defeats the purpose.
Dark text on a light background keeps the layout simple. Leave enough space between numbers that someone can distinguish them quickly.
Once you have checked every entry, use suitable card stock or protect the paper in a sleeve. Lamination is another option, but changes will usually mean making a replacement. Check that glare or the sleeve's edge does not obscure the text.
Place the card in a slot you can reach easily, with its emergency label visible when practical. Tell a trusted person where you keep it. Finding and reading the card cannot be guaranteed in every emergency.
Leave unnecessary private information off the card
Assume someone who finds your wallet could read the card. Include enough information to support contact without turning it into a collection of sensitive records.
Keep passwords, access codes, financial account numbers, and government identification numbers off it. Consider whether a full home address, date of birth, or insurance identifier serves a specific purpose before including it. Medical details are personal too; use only those you decide are appropriate.
Ask each contact before carrying or sharing their number. For a child's card, a parent or guardian should decide what information is appropriate and coordinate with the school or caregiver.
A QR code can link to more information, but access may depend on a working device, a connection, or a service remaining available. Keep the essential contact numbers readable directly on the card. Review the privacy settings of any service before putting sensitive information there.
Keep phone emergency information alongside the card
You can also configure emergency information on your phone.
On an iPhone, Apple's Medical ID instructions explain how to add emergency contacts and make selected information available from the Lock screen using Show When Locked.
On supported Android devices, Google's emergency-information guidance explains how to add contacts and medical information and control whether it appears when the phone is locked. Availability and settings vary by device and software version.
Review what those settings expose. Google explicitly notes that anyone who picks up the phone can find emergency information made available from its locked screen.
Check the card and the phone together whenever a number changes. A printed number remains readable when the phone has no battery, although making a call still requires access to a working communication method.
Check the card before you carry it
Read each number back to the contact or compare it with a number you have confirmed directly. If you make a test call, arrange it with the person first. Never call an emergency-services number to test your card.
Ask someone you trust to read the finished card at its actual size. Have them identify the first contact and the backup without an explanation. Revise anything they find confusing.
Write down when you checked the information. Review it after a contact changes their number, before a trip, or when an important medical or household arrangement changes. Replace worn or outdated copies.
Finally, connect the card to your household emergency plan. Decide how household members will exchange updates and which meeting arrangements apply. Start by confirming one contact today, then put the finished card in the wallet you actually carry.
