Free printable
Travel Document Checklist: Free Printable
By Jason Su · Updated September 18, 2026
Two lists, not one. What you carry with you, and what you leave at home for someone else. Most travel checklists only cover the first, and the second is the one that matters if the trip does not go as planned. It takes about twenty minutes and it is the difference between a problem and a crisis.
Why the second list exists
If something happens to you while you are away — a hospital stay, a lost bag, a delay that turns into a week — the people at home need to be able to act without you.
They need to know where you are, how to reach you, who your agent is, and where your documents are. Everything on the second list costs you a few lines and saves them hours or days. See what to do before you travel for the wider picture.
A note on copies
Carry copies of the documents that matter, and leave the originals somewhere safe at home — except your passport and any visa, which you need in hand.
A photograph of your passport saved to a cloud account is a genuinely useful backup. It is not a passport, and it will not get you on a plane, but it makes replacing one considerably easier.
The sheet
Before you go
- Check passport expiry — many countries require six months validity beyond your return date
- Check visa or entry requirements for every country on the route
- Check whether your destination requires a return ticket or proof of onward travel
- Tell your bank and card provider you are travelling, if they ask for it
- Check your health insurance covers you abroad, or buy travel medical cover
- Check prescription rules for your destination — some medications are restricted
- Arrange travel insurance, and save the policy number somewhere reachable
- Hold the mail, or ask someone to collect it
- Arrange for pets, plants, and anything that needs attention
- Make sure someone can get into the house
- Give one person your itinerary
- Photograph your packed bags and their contents
Carry with you
- Passport, plus visa documents if required
- A photocopy of the passport, kept separately from the original
- Photo identification, if different from the passport
- Travel insurance details and the emergency phone number
- Health insurance card
- A printed medication list, not just the app
- Prescriptions, in original labelled containers
- Enough medication for the trip plus extra days
- A printed list of emergency contacts
- A card with your allergies — see the Emergency Contact Card
- Boarding passes, or offline copies of them
- Hotel and transfer confirmations
- Two payment cards, kept separately
- A small amount of local currency
- This checklist
Leave at home
- Where you are staying, and when
- Flight numbers and dates
- A photocopy of your passport
- Your travel insurance policy number
- Contact details for the hotel or host
- Who to call if something happens to you
- The name of your healthcare agent, and where the directive is
- Where your important documents are kept
- How to reach your accounts, or where the password manager is
- Anything that needs doing while you are away — a bill, an appointment, a delivery
Emergency numbers while away
| Local emergency number | |
| Travel insurance, 24-hour line | |
| Health insurance, overseas line | |
| Embassy or consulate | |
| Someone at home | |
| Hotel or host |
Write the embassy or consulate number down before you go. Looking it up afterwards is harder than it sounds, particularly if your phone is the thing you lost.
If something goes wrong
- Lost passport — report it to the local police, then contact your embassy or consulate. Use the photocopy and cloud copy to speed up replacement.
- Lost medication — contact the local pharmacy and your prescriber. Take the printed medication list with you; it is what a pharmacist will ask for.
- Medical emergency — call the local emergency number, then your travel insurance line, then whoever is at home.
- Lost all cards — use the second card you kept separately, then call the issuer. Keep at least one card and one contact number somewhere other than your wallet.
How to use it
- Print it before each trip and tick as you go. It is faster than re-reading a long article at the last minute.
- Do the “leave at home” list first. It is the part people skip, and it takes five minutes.
- Photograph the completed sheet and leave it where the person at home can find it — with your documents, or on the fridge.
- Take the medication list even if you feel fine. Running out of a prescription away from home is one of the most common and most avoidable travel problems.
- Refresh the emergency numbers each trip. Embassy details and insurance lines change.
- Tell one person you have left the second list. A list nobody knows about serves nobody. See where to store important documents.
Frequently asked
Do I really need paper copies of everything?
For the medication list and emergency numbers, yes — a phone can be lost, locked, or out of battery. For most other documents, a cloud copy plus a photocopy in a separate bag is enough.
Where should the “leave at home” list go?
With your important documents, or wherever the person looking after things would check. Tell them it exists and where it is — the information is the point.
How long should my passport be valid for?
Many countries require six months of validity beyond your planned return. Check the rules for your specific destination, because requirements differ and change.
Should I carry my original medication containers?
Yes for prescriptions — labelled original containers are what customs and pharmacists expect. Blister packs sorted by day are convenient but keep the labels too.
What if I take a controlled medication?
Check your destination’s rules before you book. Some countries restrict or prohibit medications that are ordinary prescriptions elsewhere, and the consequences can be serious. Check with the embassy or consulate for the country you are visiting.
Is travel insurance worth it?
That depends on your trip and your existing cover. The thing worth checking either way is medical evacuation — a medical flight can cost more than the trip itself, and ordinary health policies frequently do not cover it.
Next step
Start with the “leave at home” list. Five lines — where you are staying, your flights, who to call, where your agent’s document is, and where your documents are kept — and give it to one person.
Then check your passport’s expiry date against your trip. That single check is the one that most often turns into a rescheduled holiday. The Emergency Contact Card goes in your wallet, and the Medical Information Sheet covers the medical detail.
This is a blank checklist, not travel or medical advice. Entry requirements, medication rules, and insurance terms differ by country and change frequently — please confirm details with the relevant embassy, your provider, and your insurer.