A Free Home Inventory Template, and How to Fill It In Fast
A free home inventory spreadsheet with twelve rooms already laid out and the twelve columns an insurance adjuster will ask about. Download it, walk the house with your phone once, and fill it in from the footage.
Get the free template: twelve rooms, twelve columns, ready to fill
The template is a free spreadsheet file with one row per item, grouped under twelve room headings, and a column for every detail an insurer is likely to ask about after a loss. It is a CSV file, so it opens in Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, or Apple Numbers with nothing to install. Download it, walk the house, and fill in one room at a time.
Download the free home inventory template (CSV, opens in Excel or Google Sheets)
A spreadsheet works. An app with photos works better when the adjuster calls. We will get to why near the end, but start with the spreadsheet: a finished list in any format beats a perfect one you never begin.
- Columns: Room, Item, Brand / Model, Serial number, Quantity, Purchase date, Where bought, Purchase price, Estimated replacement cost, Receipt? (Y/N), Photo? (Y/N), Notes
- Room sections already in place: Living room, Kitchen, Dining room, Primary bedroom, Other bedrooms, Bathrooms, Home office, Garage, Basement / storage, Laundry, Outdoor / patio, Closets
- One file for the whole house, so there is one number at the bottom when you total it
Open it in Excel or Google Sheets in under a minute
In Excel or Numbers, double-click the downloaded file and it opens as a normal sheet. In Google Sheets, open a blank sheet, choose File, then Import, then Upload, and pick the file. Either way you are typing into it within a minute.
Here's the thing: a CSV file stores plain text only. It does not keep column widths, bold headings, colors, or formulas. So once it is open, save it in your spreadsheet app's own format (an Excel workbook, or leave it as a Google Sheet) before you start adding totals or shading the room rows. Otherwise the formatting disappears the next time you open the CSV.
One practical fix before you type anything: select the Serial number column and set its format to plain text. Spreadsheets treat long strings of digits as numbers, which can drop leading zeros or turn a long serial into scientific notation. Setting the column to text first keeps every character exactly as it appears on the label.
Want it on paper? Print it straight from Excel or Sheets in landscape so all twelve columns fit across the page. A printed copy is handy for writing on as you walk the house, but type it back in afterwards, because paper is the one version that cannot live off-site automatically.
The columns that identify each item, so the adjuster knows exactly what you had
The first five columns tell an insurer what the item actually was, and they come straight from what regulators tell consumers to record. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners advises including brand name, the price you paid, date of purchase, make and model, and serial numbers. The Insurance Information Institute adds where you bought it and what you paid.
The difference between a line an adjuster can price and one they have to question is usually specificity. "TV" is a guess. "Samsung 65 inch, model number from the back panel, bought 2023" is a line item with a findable replacement.
- Room: where the item lived. Claims are usually walked room by room, and grouping by room is how both the NAIC and state insurance departments suggest organizing an inventory.
- Item: a plain description a stranger would understand. "Leather sofa, three seat" rather than "couch".
- Brand / Model: the make and model number set the replacement price. For electronics and appliances it is often printed on the same label as the serial.
- Serial number: the Insurance Information Institute notes these are usually on the back or bottom of major appliances and electronic equipment. They also matter for theft reports, because they are how stolen property gets identified.
- Quantity: lets one line cover a set. "Dinner plates, 12" is faster to write and easier to review than twelve rows.
The columns that prove value, so you are not arguing about price later
The next five columns support the number, not just the description. Purchase date and purchase price show what you paid and when. Where bought gives you a way back to a receipt you no longer have, since many retailers can look up past orders and your card statements show the merchant.
Estimated replacement cost is the column people skip and regret skipping. It is what it would cost to buy a comparable item today, which is often very different from what you paid years ago. You do not need to be exact. Look up the current model or its nearest equivalent once and write the figure down.
The two Y/N columns are a to-do list in disguise. The Insurance Information Institute recommends you store sales receipts, purchase contracts, and appraisals with your list. Mark Y when the receipt or photo exists, then sort by those columns and you can see at a glance which lines still have no proof behind them.
Notes catches everything else: an appraisal date, a gift from a relative, a known repair, or "serial on underside, see photo". For jewelry, art, collections, and other high-value categories, the notes column is where you flag anything your agent should look at, because those items often have separate limits inside a policy. Our guide to building a home inventory for insurance covers those limits and the replacement cost versus actual cash value question in more depth.
- Purchase date: an approximate month and year is fine
- Where bought: the store or website, so you can chase a receipt
- Purchase price: what you paid, from memory if you have to
- Estimated replacement cost: today's price for a comparable item
- Receipt? (Y/N) and Photo? (Y/N): proof you have, and proof you still need
- Notes: appraisals, gifts, repairs, and anything to raise with your agent
Fill it in fast: shoot the video first, type second
The fastest way to fill a home inventory template is to never type while you walk. Record a slow video of every room on your phone first, narrating as you go, then sit down and fill in the spreadsheet from the footage. Walking and typing at the same time is what makes people quit in the second room.
State regulators recommend exactly this. The Texas Department of Insurance suggests using your smartphone to take pictures or video of each room, opening closets and drawers, and not forgetting the garage or shed. The California Department of Insurance suggests you video every drawer and comment about each item.
The bottom line? The video is your raw evidence and the spreadsheet is the index to it. If you only get the video done this week, you are already far ahead of most households, and the typing can happen on a quiet evening later.
- Start at the front door and follow the room order in the template so you never lose your place
- Take a slow wide pan of each room, then open every closet, cabinet, and drawer
- Say the brand, the rough age, and what you paid out loud as you film
- Tilt appliances and electronics to catch the model and serial label in frame
- Hold a receipt next to its item if you have one handy
- Save the file somewhere off the phone the same day
Work the rooms in the template's order and you will miss less
The twelve room sections are there so nothing gets skipped, not just for tidiness. The rooms you use every day are easy to remember. The ones at the end of the list are where the forgotten value hides.
The Insurance Information Institute also suggests starting with a small, contained area, such as a cabinet of small appliances or a sports equipment closet, or with your most recent purchases. If the whole house feels like too much, pick one section tonight and stop when it is done. A finished kitchen is worth more than a half-finished house.
- Kitchen and dining room: small appliances, cookware, knives, dishes, glassware, flatware, and the pantry
- Bedrooms: furniture, bedding, clothing, shoes, watches, and jewelry (flag the jewelry in Notes)
- Home office: computers, monitors, printers, chargers, and anything with a serial number
- Garage: power tools, bikes, lawn equipment, ladders, and sporting goods
- Basement / storage: holiday decorations, seasonal gear, and anything boxed
- Laundry and bathrooms: washer, dryer, linens, towels, and personal care appliances
- Outdoor / patio: furniture, grill, planters, and play equipment
- Closets: coats, luggage, vacuums, and whatever lives on the top shelf
Store it where a flood, fire, or storm cannot reach it
Your inventory only helps if it survives the same event as your house, so at least one copy has to live somewhere else. The Texas Department of Insurance says to store your inventory away from home with a family member or close friend, or keep it online in cloud storage or email. The NAIC suggests keeping backups with your insurance information, somewhere besides your home, such as with a family member or your insurance agent.
In practice that means the spreadsheet and the video both go to cloud storage, and you prove you can reach them by logging in once from a device that is not yours. A laptop in the home office, a USB stick in the desk drawer, or a phone that might be dropped in the driveway during an evacuation all count as "in the house".
If you keep paper documents too, the same rule applies to them. A fireproof safe for documents protects paper at home, and an emergency binder keeps policy numbers and key records in one grab-and-go place. Neither replaces an off-site digital copy of the inventory itself.
Keep it current with two small habits instead of a big annual project
A home inventory stays useful if you add big purchases as they arrive and do a quick walk-through once a year. The California Department of Insurance says home inventories should be updated at least once per year, and that your insurer should know about new purchases so you are covered for the full amount of your belongings.
The first habit: when anything expensive comes into the house, add its line and photograph it the same day, while the box and receipt are still on the floor. The second: once a year, film the rooms again and compare against the sheet. Tie it to something you already do, like the start of wildfire or hurricane season or the clocks changing.
Updating also answers a question most people never check: whether their personal property limit is high enough. Total the Estimated replacement cost column and compare it with the contents coverage on your declarations page. If the sheet says more than the policy, that is a short conversation with your agent, and you now have the evidence for it.
When a spreadsheet stops being enough, and what to use instead
A spreadsheet is enough to get the list done, and for plenty of households it is enough, full stop. It starts to strain in three places: photos, receipts, and sharing. Those are exactly the things an adjuster asks for after the list itself.
Photos do not live inside a spreadsheet row. You end up with a Photo? column that says Y and a camera roll of hundreds of unlabelled pictures somewhere else, and matching them up happens after the loss, when you have the least time. Receipts are the same problem in a different folder. The California Department of Insurance notes that photographs are especially helpful when an item is hard to describe on paper, or if a purchase receipt cannot be obtained, which is exactly why the photo should sit on the line it proves.
Sharing is the third strain. Two people editing copies of the same file end up with two different inventories, and a CSV on one person's laptop is invisible to everyone else. When a flood watch, a wildfire evacuation warning, or a storm is coming, the household also needs to know what to grab first, and a twelve-column sheet on a phone screen is not built for that.
That is the gap Beacon3 is built for. It keeps a list for every room, a photo on every item, and your policy number and agent's contact details beside the inventory. It lets you tag items grab-first, see what is packed versus still to grab, share one list with the whole household, and send a read-only link to a helper such as a relative or neighbor. The spreadsheet is still a fine starting point, and whatever you have already typed in is the same list.
Questions people ask
Is there a free home inventory template I can download?
Yes. This page offers a free CSV home inventory template with twelve columns and twelve room sections already laid out. Download the free home inventory template (CSV, opens in Excel or Google Sheets). It opens in Excel, Google Sheets, or Apple Numbers.
What should a home inventory list include?
For each item: the room, a plain description, brand and model, serial number, quantity, purchase date, where you bought it, what you paid, what it would cost to replace today, and whether you have a receipt and a photo. The NAIC and the Insurance Information Institute both recommend brand, model, serial number, price, and purchase date, backed by photos and receipts.
Can I use this home inventory template in Google Sheets?
Yes. Open a blank Google Sheet, choose File, then Import, then Upload, and select the CSV. Keep working in the Google Sheets version from then on, because a CSV cannot store formatting or formulas, and set the Serial number column to plain text so long serials are not altered.
Is there a printable version?
The template is a spreadsheet file, not a PDF, but you can print it from Excel or Google Sheets. Print in landscape so all twelve columns fit. Treat the paper copy as a worksheet for the walk-through and type the results back in, because a digital copy is the one you can keep off-site.
How do I make a home inventory list for insurance purposes?
Film every room first, opening closets and drawers and narrating what things are, then fill in the spreadsheet from the video one room at a time. Store both the video and the spreadsheet off-site, in cloud storage or with a family member. Our guide to a home inventory for insurance covers policy limits and high-value items in more detail.
Do I need a receipt for every item?
No. Receipts help, but photos and video of items in your home are strong evidence on their own, especially for ordinary contents. Keep receipts and appraisals for expensive items and anything with a serial number, and use the Receipt? column to see where the gaps are.
How often should I update my home inventory?
The California Department of Insurance recommends at least once a year. The easiest routine is to add big purchases the day they arrive, then film the house again once a year and compare it against the sheet.
Give every line a photo and a place in the house
Beacon3 keeps a list for every room with a photo on every item, your policy number and agent's contact beside it, and one shared list the whole household can see, with grab-first tags for when you need to leave for a wildfire, flood, or storm. It is a planning tool, not an alert service, and not insurance or legal advice. Save this list in Beacon3. Room by room, on every phone in your house. Free for 14 days.
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