Free printable
Emergency Contact Card: Free Printable
By Jason Su · Updated September 18, 2026
This is the one document that travels with you. Everything else in your paperwork lives in a drawer or a binder; this card lives in your wallet, which is where a stranger will look first. Fill in three cards — one for the wallet, one for the car, one for whoever you live with — and make sure the first line is the person to call.
Why a wallet card still matters
Most emergency information is now behind a screen, and a locked phone tells a paramedic nothing. A card in a wallet:
- Needs no battery, no password, and no signal
- Is found immediately — the first thing anyone checks is a wallet or a handbag
- Works for the person standing in front of you, who may not be a clinician
The most common real-world use is not a paramedic at all. It is a family member, a neighbour, or a stranger who finds you unwell and needs to know who to call.
What belongs on it — and what must not
Put on it: allergies, conditions that change treatment, current medications, your two emergency contacts, and the name of your healthcare agent with the words “health care agent”.
Leave off it: your Social Security number, account numbers, full medical history, and anything you would not want read by whoever finds your wallet.
That last point is the rule that matters. A wallet gets handed around — to a cashier, a taxi driver, a hotel desk, a stranger who picks it up. Design the card for the situation where it is found, not only for the situation where it is needed.
The sheet
Cut along the lines. Fold if needed. Keep one in each place you might need it.
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IN AN EMERGENCY Call first: ______________________ Call second: ______________________ Name: ______________________ ALLERGIES: Conditions: ______________________ Medications: ______________________ Doctor: ______________________ Health care agent: ______________________ Insurance: ______________________ |
IN AN EMERGENCY Call first: ______________________ Call second: ______________________ Name: ______________________ ALLERGIES: Conditions: ______________________ Medications: ______________________ Doctor: ______________________ Health care agent: ______________________ Insurance: ______________________ |
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IN AN EMERGENCY Call first: ______________________ Call second: ______________________ Name: ______________________ ALLERGIES: Conditions: ______________________ Medications: ______________________ Doctor: ______________________ Health care agent: ______________________ Insurance: ______________________ |
IN AN EMERGENCY Call first: ______________________ Call second: ______________________ Name: ______________________ ALLERGIES: Conditions: ______________________ Medications: ______________________ Doctor: ______________________ Health care agent: ______________________ Insurance: ______________________ |
Where mine are kept
- Wallet
- Car glovebox
- With the person I live with
- With my emergency contact
- In my travel bag
How to use it
- Write “ALLERGIES” first, in capitals, before anything else. It is the line most likely to change what happens to you.
- Write “health care agent” next to that person’s name. A name without a role does not tell a clinician what to do with it. See what to do if you are named as someone’s healthcare agent.
- Use a pen, not a pencil. Cards get handled.
- Make three or four copies — wallet, car, and one with the person you live with.
- Keep it current. An out-of-date medication line is worse than a blank one. Refresh it whenever a prescription changes, alongside your Medication Log.
- Tell your emergency contact they are on it. A card naming someone who has moved or changed numbers wastes the one moment it was for.
Frequently asked
Is a card in my wallet safer than a medical alert bracelet?
They do different jobs. A bracelet is seen before anyone opens a wallet, which matters if you collapse in public. A card holds far more detail. If you have a serious allergy or condition, consider both — but the card is the one that costs nothing.
What if my phone has a medical ID?
Modern phones have one, and it is useful — but it requires someone to know it is there, and to have the phone. A card works without either. Do both.
Should I include my blood type?
If you know it, yes — it takes one line, and it can matter in a transfusion. Do not guess it.
How many medications should I list?
List them all if you can fit them, or write the most important few and add “full list inside wallet” — with the Medication Log folded behind the card. A complete list somewhere is better than a partial list everywhere.
Should I put my Social Security number on it?
No. Nothing in an emergency requires it, and a wallet is the most easily lost document you carry.
What about a child’s card?
Same card, with the parent or guardian as the emergency contact and the agent field left as the parent. A school or a grandparent should have a copy.
Next step
Fill in one card today and put it in your wallet — allergy line first, then the two names. Fifteen minutes end to end.
Then print two more: one for the car and one for whoever you live with. Record where they are kept using the free Checklist Builder, and make sure the Medical Information Sheet in your binder matches what is on the card.
This is a blank record sheet, not medical advice. Do not change or stop any medication based on what a card says — always follow your prescriber’s instructions.