Chapter 2 · Your emergency kit
2.10 Important documents and digital backup
After a disaster you will need to prove who you are, where you live, and what you had. Keep copies in a waterproof bag in the kit and a digital backup.
| Document | Original | Copy in kit | Digital |
|---|---|---|---|
| IDs, driver's licenses, passports | With you / safe | Yes | Yes |
| Birth and marriage certificates, immigration documents | Fire- and waterproof box | Yes | Yes |
| Social Security cards | Fire- and waterproof box | Number only, not the card | Encrypted |
| Lease and proof of address (electric, gas, or water bill) | File | Yes | Yes |
| Insurance policies (renters, auto, health, life) with claims phone numbers | File | Yes | Yes |
| Health insurance cards, medication list, allergies, doctors | Wallet | Yes | Yes |
| Bank and card information (phone numbers to report problems) | File | Phone numbers only | Encrypted |
| Vehicle titles and registrations | Box | Yes | Yes |
| Pet records and vaccinations | File | Yes | Yes |
| Home inventory (photos and video of each room, with serial numbers) | — | No | Yes |
| Family plan and contacts | Wall / refrigerator | Yes | Yes |
- Scan or photograph each document in good light, fully legible.
- Keep two digital backups: one in the cloud with two-factor authentication and another on an encrypted USB drive inside the kit.
- Record a video walking through your home or apartment: furniture, electronics, closets. It saves you arguments with your renters insurance.
- Put the paper copies in a waterproof zip bag, inside an adult's backpack.
- Update once a year or when something changes (new license, new policy).
FEMA publishes the "Emergency Financial First Aid Kit" (EFFAK), a free guide for organizing financial and personal documents; it is available at ready.gov.
