- Writing passwords down is acceptable to the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre, if you keep the record somewhere safe.
- A password manager with emergency access is the only option that hands over access automatically after a delay.
- In the UK, a bank box usually stays shut until probate, and few high-street banks offer them any more.
- A “fireproof” document safe is rated for paper. USB sticks and drives need a different rating.
Your family will need a list of what you have and a way in. This page compares three places to keep the way in. For the list itself, see how to make a digital asset inventory.
Side by side
| Paper record at home | Password manager | Safe deposit box | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reachable after death | Straight away, if family know where it is | After a wait time, where emergency access exists | UK: usually only after probate. US: depends on state law |
| Who else can see it | Anyone with access to the place you keep it | The contacts you name, once access is granted | Joint renters, if you add any |
| Stays up to date | Only if you rewrite it | Yes, automatically | Only if you visit |
| Main risks | Copying, fire, being lost | Lapsed subscription, lost master password | Closure of the service, delay after death |
| Cost | Nothing | Emergency access is on paid plans | A rental fee |
A paper record
The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) doesn’t say “never write passwords down”. It accepts a password book, and says this can suit people who need regular help from family with their online affairs. Its caveats:
- anyone who has access can remember the passwords or copy them, possibly without you knowing
- the physical location needs to be secure
- it raises phishing risk, because you have to check websites yourself
- some services, banks among them, forbid writing passwords down in their terms
Paper works on the day it’s needed, with no company in the middle. But it goes out of date, and anyone in your home might read it. Keep it out of your will: in England and Wales, anyone can order a copy of a will once probate is granted.
A password manager
A password manager keeps every login current. Several let you name an emergency contact who can request access. In most of them, if you don’t refuse before the wait time ends, access is granted automatically.
Bitwarden, Proton, NordPass, Keeper and LastPass offer this. 1Password relies on a printed Emergency Kit instead.
The catch is the master password. Without emergency access, you’re back to storing that one password somewhere safe. Our guides to password managers for inheritance and where to keep the master password go further.
A safe deposit box
In the UK, Which? reported in 2017 that almost all major high-street banks had stopped offering boxes. Metro Bank still does. Its terms (June 2026) allow no access after the holder’s death without a grant of probate or letters of administration, and a power of attorney ends on death.
So anything in the box is out of reach until probate is granted, and your family needs access details well before then. Don’t keep your only copy of instructions there.
In the US, state law sets the rules. In Oregon, for example, a spouse or heir can have a box opened with a certified death record and an affidavit, to look for a will or make an inventory. AARP notes that some states require a court petition, and suggests adding a joint renter, who keeps access. FDIC deposit insurance does not cover boxes or their contents.
Fire safes: what the ratings mean
A safe at home avoids the probate delay. Its fire rating says how long the inside stays below a set temperature.
US standard: UL 72
- Class 350: the inside stays below 350°F (177°C). For paper.
- Class 150: below 150°F (66°C). For paper plus items like photographs and magnetic tape.
- Class 125: below 125°F (52°C). Extended protection, including computer disks.
Each class comes with a time. Safe maker FireKing says a UL 1-hour 350 safe stays below 350°F inside for an hour in a fire of up to 1,700°F. Liberty Safe puts hard drives, USB sticks, CDs and DVDs in Class 125.
European standards
- EN 15659 (LFS 30 and LFS 60): light fire storage units that protect paper for 30 or 60 minutes. The standard itself says protection after the fire is covered by EN 1047-1 instead.
- EN 1047-1 (S 60 and S 120): fire-resisting data cabinets. Protection classes P, D and DIS set limits on temperature rise and humidity, and the tests include fire shock and impact.
A safe rated for paper, such as UL Class 350 or EN 15659 LFS 30P, is not rated to protect USB sticks, hard drives or hardware wallets. For media, look for UL Class 125 or an EN 1047-1 rating for data. No safe is completely fireproof: ratings are for a set time.
Our view
For most people, a password manager with emergency access is the best main route, because it stays current and opens on its own. Back it up with a short paper note at home, or in a rated safe, saying which manager you use and who your contact is. Use a bank box, if at all, only for things your family won’t need before probate.
For crypto, see our sister site on crypto inheritance.