What should be on an emergency kit checklist?

Water, food that needs no cooking, a manual tin opener, a torch per person, spare batteries, a charged power bank and cables, a battery or wind-up radio, a first aid kit, warm layers, wet wipes and sanitiser, and paper copies of documents and contact numbers.

Is there an official UK emergency kit checklist?

GOV.UK publishes general advice on preparing for emergencies, including the kind of items to keep at home. It is guidance rather than a fixed requirement. This checklist is built around that public guidance and adds quantities, but it is independent and not an official list.

How much of each item do I need?

Water and food scale with people and days: about 3 litres of water per person per day, and a day of food per person per day. Torches and warm layers are one per person. Most other items, such as the radio and first aid kit, are one per household.

Can I print this checklist?

Yes. Use your browser's print option; the site's menus and footer are left off the printout. For a list that keeps track of what you have ticked, build your kit online and it will be saved in your browser.

How often should I check my emergency kit?

Twice a year is enough for most households. When the clocks change is an easy reminder: charge the power bank, check dates on water, food and medicines, and replace anything that has been borrowed.

UK Emergency Kit Checklist

This is the full checklist, grouped by category, with a guide to how much of each item to keep. Print it, walk round the house with it, and tick off what you already own. Most households find they have more than half of it.

The amounts are per person and per day where that is how they scale. For quantities worked out for your household, and a list that remembers what you have ticked, use the builder instead.

Build my checklist

Built around publicly available UK emergency preparedness guidance.

Water and food

Bottled drinking water: 3 litres per person per day
A water container you can fill from a tap or bowser
Food that needs no cooking or fridge: tins, pouches, crackers, peanut butter
A manual tin opener
High-energy snacks: cereal bars, nuts, dried fruit

Light, power and communication

A torch for each person, not one for the house
Spare batteries for every torch and radio, kept sealed
A charged power bank, around 20,000mAh for a household
Charging cables that fit every phone in the house
A battery or wind-up radio

First aid and medicines

Do not stockpile prescription medicines. A written list of who takes what, the dose and the pharmacy is what helps, and a pharmacist or GP can advise on anything else.

A stocked first aid kit
Everyday over-the-counter basics your household already uses
A written list of prescriptions, doses and pharmacy details

Warmth and hygiene

Warm layers set aside for each person: base layer, fleece, hat
Blankets, and foil emergency blankets as a lightweight extra
Wet wipes and hand sanitiser
Toilet bags or a lidded bucket, in case drainage or water fails
Bin bags

Documents and plans

Paper works with no power and no signal. Keep these in a waterproof wallet in the kit, with a copy in your grab bag if you have one.

Copies of passports, driving licences and insurance details
A printed contact sheet: family, neighbours, GP, 105 for power cuts, your water supplier
A short household plan: where to meet, who collects the children
Some cash in small notes, for when card machines are down

What to do in a power cutWhat to do, in order, when the lights go out.

If your household includes

These are the additions generic checklists tend to leave out, and they are often the most important items on the list.

A baby: nappies, wipes, feeding that works without power or clean water, and a change of clothes
Children: something familiar to do, and snacks they will actually eat
Pets: food, a water bowl, a spare lead or carrier, and a note of microchip and vet details
Someone who relies on mains-powered medical equipment: a back-up power plan, and registration on the Priority Services Register

Family emergency kitHow quantities change with children, babies and pets.

How to use this checklist

Start by ticking off what you already have and putting it in one place. Then deal with the gaps in order of importance: water, light, a way to keep a phone charged, and a radio come first. Warmth, hygiene and documents follow.

There is no need to buy it all at once. A kit built over a few weeks from things you choose is better than a boxed kit you never open.

Reviewing your kit twice a yearTen minutes, twice a year, keeps a kit from expiring.

The same checklist, worked out for a family

What the builder produces for two adults and two children over 72 hours, with the quantities already calculated.

Bottled drinking water
Mains water can be interrupted or put under a boil notice. Bottled water needs no power and no preparation.
How much: 36 L (3 L x 4 people x 3 days)
Manual tin opener
An electric opener is useless in a power cut, and a stocked cupboard you cannot open is not a food supply.
Shelf-stable food
Food that keeps without a fridge and can be eaten cold if you have no way to cook.
How much: 12 days of food (1 day of food x 4 people x 3 days)
LED torch
A phone torch drains the battery you need for calls. A proper torch is the most useful thing in a power cut.
How much: 4 lights (1 per person)
Spare batteries
Torches and radios are only as good as the batteries in them. Keep a sealed set that does not get raided for toys.
USB power bank
Keeps phones alive for calls, alerts and torch use. Charge it every few months so it is ready.
Battery or wind-up radio
If the mobile network or your broadband goes down, local radio is how you find out what is happening.
Spare charging cables
A power bank with no cable is a brick. Keep spares in the kit rather than borrowing from the kitchen drawer.

Plus 26 more items in the full list, including warmth, hygiene and documents.

Common questions

What should be on an emergency kit checklist?: Water, food that needs no cooking, a manual tin opener, a torch per person, spare batteries, a charged power bank and cables, a battery or wind-up radio, a first aid kit, warm layers, wet wipes and sanitiser, and paper copies of documents and contact numbers.
Is there an official UK emergency kit checklist?: GOV.UK publishes general advice on preparing for emergencies, including the kind of items to keep at home. It is guidance rather than a fixed requirement. This checklist is built around that public guidance and adds quantities, but it is independent and not an official list.
How much of each item do I need?: Water and food scale with people and days: about 3 litres of water per person per day, and a day of food per person per day. Torches and warm layers are one per person. Most other items, such as the radio and first aid kit, are one per household.
Can I print this checklist?: Yes. Use your browser's print option; the site's menus and footer are left off the printout. For a list that keeps track of what you have ticked, build your kit online and it will be saved in your browser.
How often should I check my emergency kit?: Twice a year is enough for most households. When the clocks change is an easy reminder: charge the power bank, check dates on water, food and medicines, and replace anything that has been borrowed.

Get this checklist worked out for your household

Four questions, and the quantities are calculated for you. Tick off what you have and the list saves in your browser, with the gaps and a guide cost to fill them.