The essential documents checklist every family needs
Everything your family might need in one list — identity, medical, travel and financial documents — sorted by person, with expiry dates and reminders, so the right document is never missing when it counts.
Why one checklist matters
The trouble with family documents usually isn't losing them — it's not realizing you need one until you're standing at a school office, an embassy window or a hospital desk. A single checklist means you already know which documents your family relies on and where each one lives, so the moment stays calm instead of turning into a search.
Identity documents
These are the documents you're asked for most often, for every member of the family.
- •Passports
- •Birth certificates
- •Residence permits
Medical and insurance documents
Health paperwork is easy to lose track of, because it's rarely needed until suddenly it is.
- •Insurance policies
- •Vaccination records
- •Prescriptions
Documents for travel
Before a trip, these are worth checking together rather than one by one. Requirements differ by destination and airline, so check the official requirements for where you're going.
- •Visas
- •Travel insurance
- •Bookings and reservations
Financial and everyday documents
Documents that keep daily life running are easy to underestimate, until one of them is missing.
- •Banking documents
- •Contracts
- •Driving licence
Turning the checklist into a system
A checklist works best once it stops being a piece of paper. Give each family member their own profile, add every document with its "valid until" date, and let reminders do the remembering — doki.help can send an email reminder 30, 15, 7 and 1 day before that date, for every member of the family. Documents stay in private storage over HTTPS, with access isolated to your family at the database level (row-level security), roles for who is owner, editor or viewer, and two-factor login available. When one document needs to go to someone else, share a link that expires and can be revoked at any time, with a view limit and a log of every open — no account needed on their side. Documents you've opened or saved in advance stay available offline through the installable app. Optional AI field recognition can help fill in details when you add a document; it's processed by a third-party provider and off by default until you turn it on. doki.help is in beta and doesn't replace your original documents.
FAQ
What documents should be on a family checklist first?
Start with what's asked for most often: passports, birth certificates and, if relevant, residence permits, plus each person's insurance policy. Add travel and financial documents as you go — the list doesn't need to be complete on day one.
How do I organize the checklist by family member?
Give each person — partner, children, parents — their own profile and keep their documents together under it. That way a child's birth certificate never gets mixed up with an adult's passport, and you always know where to look.
How will I know before a document expires?
Set the "valid until" date when you add the document, and doki.help sends an email reminder 30, 15, 7 and 1 day before that date, for every member of the family.
Can I share one document from the checklist without giving access to everything?
Yes. Share it with a link that expires and can be revoked at any time, with a view limit and a log of every open — the rest of your checklist and vault stay private. The recipient doesn't need an account.
Is it safe to keep this checklist here, and can I open it offline?
Documents are kept in private storage over HTTPS, with access isolated to your family at the database level (row-level security), and two-factor login is available. Documents you've opened or saved in advance stay available offline through the installable app. doki.help is in beta and doesn't replace your originals.
Less than 15 minutes — and order that lasts.
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