Family Emergency Plan: A Simple Step-by-Step Guide
Build a family emergency plan in five steps, with a free printable checklist you can fill in at the kitchen table.
Last updated September 2026
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A family emergency plan is the set of decisions your household makes before an emergency, so nobody has to make them under stress. Write down two meeting places and one out-of-area contact today, and the rest of this plan builds on that single page.
A family emergency plan needs two meeting places, one out-of-area contact, two evacuation routes, and a written note of who grabs what. Print it, keep a copy in each phone, wallet, and go-bag, and review it twice a year.
What's changed recently
Ready.gov still teaches the same core plan. It covers meeting spots, a contact, and a way to talk when phone lines jam.
What has grown is wireless alerts. More phones get them on their own now. More counties also offer free text alerts for evacuation orders. Check if your county has one and sign up. It takes a few minutes and adds one more layer to your plan.
Build your family emergency plan in five steps
1. Pick two meeting places
Choose a spot right outside your home, like a mailbox or a specific tree, for a fast exit such as a kitchen fire. Choose a second spot outside your neighborhood for a bigger event, like a wildfire evacuation order. Write down both in plain words a ten-year-old could follow.
2. Agree on one out-of-area contact
During a local emergency, local phone lines often jam before long-distance texts do. Pick one relative or friend who lives outside your region. Every family member calls or texts that person first. That person then relays who is safe and where.
3. Map two ways out
From your home, sketch two different routes to leave the neighborhood, not just the one you drive every day. If your area posts an official evacuation route, such as many coastal counties do for hurricanes, note that route here too.
4. Write down what each person grabs
List medications and glasses first, then chargers, then each go-bag's spot in the house. Keep the list short. The goal is a five-minute exit, not a moving day.
5. Put pets in the plan by name
Note each pet's carrier spot and food supply. Then add the nearest pet-friendly shelter or hotel you have found in advance. Ready.gov notes that many public shelters and hotels do not allow pets inside, so decide this now, not at the door.
Print this checklist
This one-page plan is built to print and fill in at the kitchen table, then keep in the go-bag, the car, and each adult's wallet.
- Meeting place #1 (near home):
- Meeting place #2 (outside the neighborhood):
- Out-of-area contact name and number:
- Evacuation route A:
- Evacuation route B:
- Pet plan (carrier spot and shelter/hotel):
- Who grabs what, in order:
- Household member phone numbers:
- Date of last review:
Fill it in together, as a household, rather than one person completing it alone. Everyone remembers a plan better when they helped write it.
Planning for pets
Pets need their own line items, not an afterthought. Keep a carrier for each pet somewhere you can reach it fast, since carrying a cat or a large dog any distance without one is difficult. Pack a few days of food, plus a water bowl, in the same bag as the rest of your go-bag supplies.
Ready.gov notes that many public shelters and hotels do not allow pets inside. It also suggests keeping copies of your pet's registration and other records in a waterproof container. Find a pet-friendly hotel or shelter near you before you need one. See Ready.gov's pet guidance. A quick search now saves real time later.
Family communication plan: the piece most households skip
A meeting place only works if everyone can get there. A communication plan covers what happens if someone is at work, at school, or stuck in traffic when an emergency starts.
- Write down each family member's work, school, or daycare address and main phone number.
- Pick a second contact method beyond phone calls, such as text or a group chat app, since texts often go through when voice calls do not.
- Agree on a simple check-in phrase, like "safe at [meeting place]," so a short message says everything that matters.
- Teach kids their out-of-area contact's number by heart, not just saved in a phone that might run out of battery.
How often to update the plan
Review the plan twice a year. Good anchor points are the spring and fall time changes, since those are easy to remember and already involve checking smoke detector batteries.
Update the plan any time something about your household changes: a new address, a new pet, a child old enough to carry a phone, or a family member with a new medication.
Ways to keep the plan on hand
The free printable above is the whole plan and costs nothing. Some households like a sturdier copy: a binder with tabs for insurance and medical info, a waterproof pouch to keep the printed plan dry in the go-bag, or a wallet-card version to carry the short form on you. None of these replace the free printable. They just make it more durable. Our preparedness supplies guide compares a document organizer and waterproof pouches.
Official family emergency plan resources
For a fill-in version from official sources, see Ready.gov's make-a-plan page and the American Red Cross plan guide. Both cover the same core: meeting places, contacts and a plan for everyone in the home.
Questions people also ask
What's the difference between a family emergency plan and a go-bag?
The plan is the set of decisions: where to meet, who to call, how to get out. The go-bag is the physical kit you grab on the way. You need the plan even if you never buy a single item.
Who should carry a copy of the family emergency plan?
Every adult, and any child old enough to carry a card. Put a copy in each phone's photo library, each wallet, the car, and the go-bag, since you should assume you will not have signal when you need it most.
What if our family isn't all in one place during an emergency?
This is exactly what the out-of-area contact step solves. Everyone calls or texts the same person, who relays who is safe and where. Agree on that person's number now, while everyone can talk it through calmly.
Do we need to notarize or register the plan anywhere?
No. It is a household document, not a legal one. Keep it somewhere every family member can find it, and treat updating it like any other household chore.
What should go in a family communication plan?
Each person's work, school, or daycare address, a second contact method beyond phone calls, and a short check-in phrase everyone knows. Ready.gov treats this as a distinct step from picking meeting places.