Add emergency contacts through the Health app

The fastest way to add emergency contacts on an iPhone is through the Health app, which stores them separately from your regular contacts. When you add someone as an emergency contact here, their information appears on your lock screen during an emergency call, and first responders can access it without unlocking your phone.

Open the Health app on your home screen. Tap the profile icon in the top right corner, then tap "Medical ID". If you have not created a Medical ID yet, tap "Create Medical ID" and follow the prompts to add your basic health information first. Once your Medical ID exists, scroll down to "Emergency Contacts" and tap "Add Emergency Contact".

Select a contact from your phone's contact list, or tap "Create New Contact" if the person is not already saved. You can add up to five emergency contacts this way. After you add each person, you can choose their relationship to you — for example, "Mother", "Spouse", or "Emergency Contact" — by tapping the relationship field.

Key Takeaways

  • Emergency contacts added in the Health app are visible on your lock screen during an emergency call, even if your phone is locked.
  • You can add up to five emergency contacts through the Health app's Medical ID feature.
  • First responders can view your emergency contacts and medical information without needing your passcode.
  • You can also add emergency contacts to individual contact cards in the Contacts app by marking them with a special relationship label.

Add emergency contacts in the Contacts app

You can also mark certain contacts as emergency contacts directly in the Contacts app, though this method is less visible to first responders than the Health app method. Open Contacts and select the person you want to mark. Tap "Edit" in the top right corner.

Scroll down and look for the "Relationship" field. Tap it and select a relationship type from the list — you will see options like "Emergency Contact", "Mother", "Father", "Spouse", and others. This label helps you quickly identify who this person is, but it does not give them the same priority as contacts added through the Health app.

Tap "Done" to save the change. The relationship label now appears on that contact's card, making it easy to spot emergency contacts when you are scrolling through your phone.

Make emergency contacts visible on your lock screen

For emergency contacts to show up on your lock screen when you call 911, they must be added through the Health app's Medical ID feature, not just labeled in Contacts. The lock screen display is automatic — you do not need to turn on any additional setting.

To verify that your emergency contacts are set up correctly, lock your screen and press the Emergency SOS button (or press and hold the side button and volume button together, depending on your iPhone model). You will see your Medical ID option at the bottom of the screen. Tap it to confirm your emergency contacts are there.

If you do not see your emergency contacts on the lock screen, go back to the Health app and make sure you have actually added them to your Medical ID. Sometimes the app requires you to save your Medical ID again after adding contacts before they appear on the lock screen.

Edit or remove emergency contacts

To change an emergency contact's information, open the Health app and tap your profile icon, then "Medical ID". Tap "Edit" in the top right corner. Find the emergency contact you want to change and tap the minus sign next to their name to remove them, or tap their name to edit their relationship label or other details.

If you want to delete all your emergency contacts at once, tap "Edit" on your Medical ID and scroll to the Emergency Contacts section. Tap the minus sign next to each contact you want to remove. You can add new ones at any time by following the same steps as the initial setup.

What happens when you call 911

When you dial 911 on an iPhone, the phone automatically sends your location to emergency services. After the call ends, your Medical ID — including your emergency contacts — appears on your lock screen for the next hour. This gives first responders a way to reach your family or designated contacts without needing your passcode.

Your emergency contacts do not receive a notification that you called 911. You will need to contact them yourself, or ask the dispatcher to do so. The Medical ID display is only for first responders and people who physically have your phone after an emergency call.

Troubleshooting emergency contacts that do not appear

If you added emergency contacts but they are not showing up on your lock screen, first check that you added them through the Health app, not just the Contacts app. Contacts labeled in the Contacts app do not appear on the lock screen during emergencies.

If you added them through Health and they still do not show, try closing the Health app completely and opening it again. Sometimes the app needs to refresh to display your Medical ID correctly. You can also try restarting your iPhone — this fixes most display issues with the Health app.

Make sure your Medical ID itself is turned on. Open Health, tap your profile icon, tap "Medical ID", and check that the toggle for "Show When Locked" is switched on. If it is off, your entire Medical ID — including emergency contacts — will be hidden from the lock screen.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can emergency contacts see my location when I call 911?

No. Your emergency contacts only appear on your lock screen after you call 911. They do not receive a notification and cannot see your location unless you tell them or ask the dispatcher to call them. You must contact them separately to let them know about the emergency.

What if I do not have a contact saved for someone I want to add as an emergency contact?

When you tap "Add Emergency Contact" in the Health app, you can choose "Create New Contact" instead of selecting from your existing contacts. Enter their name and phone number, and they will be saved as a new contact and added to your Medical ID at the same time.

Do I need to add the same person to both the Health app and the Contacts app?

No. Adding someone through the Health app is enough. The Contacts app relationship labels are optional and just help you organize your contacts visually. Only the Health app emergency contacts will appear on your lock screen during an emergency.

Can I add emergency contacts on an older iPhone model?

The Health app Medical ID feature is available on iPhone 6s and newer. If you have an older model, you can still label contacts with relationship types in the Contacts app, but they will not appear on your lock screen during emergencies. Consider upgrading if emergency contact visibility is important to you.

What happens to my emergency contacts if I sell my iPhone?

When you erase your iPhone before selling it, all your data — including emergency contacts — is removed. Make sure to back up your Medical ID information before erasing if you want to restore it on a new device. You can do this through iCloud backup or by taking a screenshot of your Medical ID details.