December 14, 2025, 3:10 pm | Read time: 4 minutes
Anyone living in flood-prone areas or who has dealt with a house fire knows the situation: the frantic search for essential documents. To maintain some order in emergencies, it’s worthwhile to have a folder prepared with the most important documents. TECHBOOK explains in this article what to consider when compiling it.
It doesn’t take overflowing rivers or major fires; even a bomb defusal is reason enough to leave your home as quickly as possible. Then there’s little time to pack the essentials. In such situations, most people react in a panic, which is normal. Having an emergency folder prepared can save you unnecessary stress.
If your ID card, driver’s license, or health insurance card sinks in water or burns, you’ll face a time-consuming process with authorities to have these important documents reissued. If such documents are lost due to external circumstances, it helps to have copies stored in analog or digital form in a safe place, such as with family members or good friends.
What Documents Belong in an Emergency Folder?
A good checklist of documents for such an emergency folder can be found on the website of the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK):
Only in Original:
- Family certificates, such as birth, marriage, and death certificates; ideally, these are usually found in the family register
If the original is no longer available, a certified copy is sufficient:
- Savings books, account contracts, stocks, securities, insurance policies
- Pension, retirement, and income statements, income tax notices
- Acquired qualification certificates, such as diplomas, school certificates, university degrees, or other proof of additional qualifications
- Contracts and amendments, such as rental agreements, lease agreements, or similar documents
- Will, living will, and power of attorney
A simple copy is sufficient (also digital):
- ID card, passport
- Driver’s license and vehicle documents
- Vaccination card
- Land registry extracts
- All change notices for received benefits
- Payment receipts for insurance premiums, especially pension insurance
- Registration certificates from employment offices, notices from the employment agency
- Invoices that document outstanding payment claims
- Membership or contribution books from associations, clubs, or other organizations
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Digital Copies Can Help
When creating such an emergency folder, it’s best to involve all family members. This way, everyone is informed about the contents and knows where the folder with the most important documents is stored in case of an emergency.
To ensure important documents are digitally secured for emergencies, many operating systems now offer standard backup functions. Additionally, there is specialized software to regularly create backups for emergencies. It’s also worthwhile to transfer a digital emergency folder to a USB stick. This should be stored securely, separate from the computer, at another location. This could be with other family members or friends or in a safe deposit box.
It also doesn’t hurt to store digital copies of important documents in the cloud. However, it’s important to first check the security features of the cloud provider. After all, these are sensitive private data that should be protected from third-party access.
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Emergency Data on the Smartphone
Smartphones are now also suitable for digitally securing important data. Most people usually have them readily available. Both Android and iOS now offer pre-installed options to store important personal data for emergencies.
Emergency storage on Android (from Android 12):
- Open the smartphone settings.
- Search for “Emergency”
- Enter and save the requested data there.
- To allow emergency services to access the stored information in an emergency, set “Access to emergency information” to “Show when locked.”
Emergency storage on iOS (from version 8):
- Open the Health app.
- To enter data, click “Medical ID” and select “Set up Medical ID.”
- Be sure to activate the “Show When Locked” function so that emergency services can access the stored data in an emergency, even when locked.
- Additionally, iOS has the “Share During Emergency Call” feature. If this option is activated, the Medical ID is automatically transmitted to the emergency services during a call or when sending an emergency SMS.
In the Google Play Store or Apple App Store, there are also additional apps that allow documents and data to be stored digitally and accessed at any time in case of an emergency.