How to Make a Home Inventory for Insurance (Photos, Serial Numbers, Appraisals, and Riders)

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After a fire or burglary, your insurer will ask for a detailed list of what you owned, as the Ohio Department of Insurance points out. Most people try to rebuild that list from memory during the worst week of their lives. A home inventory, done ahead of time, makes the claim faster and more complete, and it shows you whether your coverage limits actually fit what you own.

This guide is the hands-on method: how to document a home, how to handle high-value items, how scheduled coverage works, and where to keep the finished file. If you rent, our renter-friendly guide covers the basics of renters insurance. This post focuses on the inventory itself.

This article is general information, not insurance advice. Your policy wording and your insurer’s requirements take precedence.

Step 1: Pick a method you’ll actually finish

The Insurance Information Institute (III) suggests starting somewhere easy, like a single room or your most recent purchases, rather than trying to do the whole house at once. Choose a format:

• Spreadsheet or notebook. Simple and portable.
• An inventory app. The NAIC (National Association of Insurance Commissioners) offers a Home Inventory app that lets you photograph items, scan barcodes, and group things by room or category. The California Department of Insurance points consumers to it.
• Photos and video plus a short written list. The fastest way to get started. Add details over time.

Done is better than perfect. A narrated video of every room, made this weekend, beats a perfect spreadsheet you never start.

Step 2: Photograph and film the right way

State insurance regulators give specific, practical tips:

• Shoot wide, then close. The Oklahoma Insurance Department suggests photographing each room as a whole, then taking close-ups of individual items.
• Open everything. Photograph inside closets, cabinets, and drawers. Ohio’s checklist and III both stress this, because contents add up fast.
• Get the labels. Photograph model and serial number plates, brand tags, and hallmarks.
• Prove ownership. Oklahoma suggests including a family member in some photos to help show the items are yours.
• Beat the glare. Oklahoma recommends shooting reflective items like TVs and framed art at about a 45° angle.
• Date it. Ohio and California recommend dating photos (or keeping the file dates) so you can show when they were taken.
• Narrate a video. III suggests walking through each room and describing items as you film. Say the brand, roughly when you bought it, and what you paid.

Don’t skip the boring areas: the garage, basement, attic, linen closet, kitchen cabinets, and any off-site storage unit. III specifically notes that items in self-storage belong on the list.

Step 3: Record the details that set a value

For each significant item, III recommends noting:

• Description and where you bought it
• Make and model
• Price paid and approximate date
• Serial number, where there is one

For things like clothing, III suggests counting by category (for example, “12 dress shirts, 4 winter coats”) instead of listing every piece.

Serial numbers do double duty. They help prove ownership for a claim, and police burglary-prevention pages, such as Naperville Police Department’s, advise keeping serial numbers, photos, receipts, and appraisals so stolen items can be identified.

What to look for: a label maker or archival pen for marking storage bins and inventory folders.

See label makers and archival pens for inventory (paid link)

Step 4: Gather receipts and paperwork

III recommends keeping receipts, purchase contracts, and appraisals together with your list. Practical tips:

• Photograph or scan paper receipts so a copy survives even if the paper doesn’t.
• Search your email for order confirmations from big purchases and save them as PDFs.
• Save manuals and warranty cards for electronics and appliances. They often show the model number.
• Include your safe. Record its model and serial number and keep the receipt. Manufacturers ask for these before replacing a lost key or combination (see locked out of your safe?).
• For bullion and coins, keep the dealer invoices. Our bullion guide and coin collection guide list what to record, such as weight, purity, mint, and certification numbers.

See flatbed document and photo scanners (paid link)

Step 5: Know where standard coverage stops

This is where an inventory pays off twice: once you see the totals, you can compare them with your policy’s special limits. In the standard HO-3 homeowners form (sample published by III), the limits per loss include:

Category	HO-3 sample special limit
Money, bullion, coins, medals, stored-value cards	$200
Securities, deeds, manuscripts, passports, stamps	$1,500
Theft of jewelry, watches, furs, precious stones	$1,500
Theft of firearms and related equipment	$2,500
Theft of silverware, goldware, and similar	$2,500

Your policy may differ, so read the “special limits” section of your own form. If your jewelry list totals $12,000 and your theft limit is $1,500, the inventory has just told you something important.

Step 6: Get appraisals for jewelry and high-value collectibles

An appraisal is a written opinion of value, and it’s what insurers rely on for scheduled items. III notes that items must be professionally appraised before you buy a floater.

What to know before you book one:

• A grading report isn’t an appraisal. Jewelers of America (JA) explains that a lab’s diamond grading report describes the stone but doesn’t assign a value.
• Appraisals state a type of value. JA notes most jewelry appraisals are for insurance replacement, meaning the cost to replace the item at retail. Fair market value and liquidation value are different, and usually lower. The American Society of Appraisers (ASA) says the report should state which type of value it uses.
• Check credentials. JA notes there is no U.S. licensing for jewelry appraisers. It suggests looking for membership in a national appraisal organization and gemological training (it cites the GIA Graduate Gemologist diploma as a minimum). ASA suggests asking whether the report follows USPAP (Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice).
• Avoid conflicts. ASA advises never using an appraiser who offers to buy the item or charges a percentage of its value.
• Don’t inflate. JA notes that over-valuing an item is illegal under FTC guidelines. A high number can also mean higher premiums.
• Update it. JA calls an appraisal “a snapshot in time.” ASA says many appraisers suggest updating every two to three years.

Bullion and coins: for common bullion, the dealer invoice and the item’s weight and purity are the core records. For rare or numismatic coins, ask your insurer whether it requires a professional appraisal and from whom.

What to look for: an archival document box for appraisals, receipts, and certificates.

See archival document boxes for appraisals and receipts (paid link)

Step 7: Schedule high-value items with a rider or floater

III describes two ways to raise coverage for valuables:

1. Raise the special limit. This is cheaper, but it’s still capped. III’s example is $2,000 per item and $5,000 overall.
2. Buy a floater and “schedule” items. This means listing each item and its value on a personal articles floater or scheduled personal property endorsement. III calls it the broadest protection, and notes it can cover accidental loss, like a ring down the sink drain or a watch left in a hotel room.

Ask your agent or insurer:

• Does scheduled coverage pay replacement value or a fixed agreed value?
• Can bullion or coins be scheduled, and what proof is required?
• Is there a deductible on scheduled items?
• Are there storage conditions, such as a safe or alarm requirement?
• How often must I re-appraise?

Your inventory and appraisals become the attachments to that conversation.

Step 8: Store the inventory where the disaster can’t reach it

An inventory that burns with the house is useless. Regulators and III agree on a few rules:

• Keep a copy outside the home. III suggests a safe deposit box or a friend’s or relative’s home. Ohio says to store copies away from your house.
• Back up digital files. III recommends backups, and Ohio suggests emailing files to yourself. A cloud account with two-factor authentication also works.
• Keep a paper or drive copy too, in case you lose account access after a disaster.
• Don’t store the only copy in your home safe, next to the items it documents. Our home safe vs. safe deposit box guide explains how to split items between the two.

Treat the file as sensitive. It’s a shopping list of what you own, with serial numbers. Encrypt digital copies and don’t share them casually.

See keypad-encrypted USB flash drives (paid link)

For fire- and water-resistant storage of the paper copy, see our document protection guide.

Step 9: Keep it current

• Add big purchases as you make them, along with the receipt.
• Review once a year. III suggests an annual check-in, and Ohio suggests reviewing coverage limits yearly. California’s home inventory guide suggests updating it several times a year.
• Re-check scheduled values after big swings in metal prices or a new appraisal.
• Re-shoot rooms after a renovation or move.

Quick checklist

• Wide and close-up photos of every room, with closets and drawers open
• A narrated video walk-through
• Make, model, serial number, price, and date for significant items
• Receipts and manuals scanned
• Appraisals for jewelry and high-value collectibles
• Totals compared with your policy’s special limits
• High-value items scheduled where needed
• Copies off-site and in the cloud, encrypted
• An annual review on the calendar

Bottom line

A home inventory takes an afternoon to start and a few minutes a year to maintain. It speeds up claims, exposes coverage gaps before you need the money, and gives police a way to identify stolen items. Do the walk-through, schedule what’s worth scheduling, and keep the file somewhere a fire can’t reach.

Sources

1. Insurance Information Institute — How to create a home inventory (method, details to record, photos and video, storage off-site, annual updates). https://www.iii.org/article/how-to-create-a-home-inventory
2. Ohio Department of Insurance — Home Inventory Checklist (insurer will ask for a list; open drawers; date photos; keep copies away from home; email files; review limits). https://dam.assets.ohio.gov/image/upload/insurance.ohio.gov/Publications/Home_Inventory_Checklist_1.pdf
3. Oklahoma Insurance Department — Home Inventory (wide and close-up shots, family member in photos, 45° angle for reflective items). https://www.oid.ok.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Home_Inventory.pdf
4. California Department of Insurance — Home Inventory Guide (NAIC app, dated photos, off-site copy, update several times a year). https://www.insurance.ca.gov/01-consumers/105-type/95-guides/03-res/upload/Home-Inventory-Guide-Updated-062223.pdf
5. NAIC — Home Inventory (Home Inventory app: photos, barcode scanning, export). https://content.naic.org/consumer/home-inventory
6. Insurance Information Institute — Homeowners 3 – Special Form sample policy (special limits of liability). https://www.iii.org/sites/default/files/docs/pdf/HO3%5Fsample.pdf
7. Insurance Information Institute — Special coverage for jewelry and other valuables (theft limit, raising limits, floaters, appraisal required). https://www-legacy.iii.org/article/floaters-and-endorsements-special-coverage-valuables
8. Jewelers of America — Jewelry Appraisals (appraisal vs. grading report, types of value, no licensing, FTC, credentials, updates). https://www.jewelers.org/buying-jewelry/jewelry-repair-and-care/appraisals
9. American Society of Appraisers — FAQs for Consumers (conflicts of interest, USPAP, type of value, updating every 2–3 years). https://www.appraisers.org/why-hire-an-appraiser/faqs-for-consumer
10. Naperville Police Department — Burglary Prevention (keep receipts, appraisals, photos, and serial numbers). https://www.naperville.il.us/services/naperville-police-department/community-education-and-crime-prevention/burglary-prevention/