Checklist

Home fall hazard checklist

Many falls at home involve hazards that are easy to overlook and easy to fix. This checklist walks you through the floors, stairs, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom, one question at a time, and says what a fix usually looks like. Tick a box when you have dealt with an item or when it does not apply to your home. Print it, or walk through with a family member or friend who can move furniture and change light bulbs.

1. Floors: look at the floor in each room
2. Stairs and steps: inside and outside
3. Kitchen and eating area
4. Bathrooms
5. Bedrooms
6. Other things to consider

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How to use it

Take the list from room to room with a pen or your phone. Do the easy items first: clearing floors and stairs, taping down cords and replacing bulbs cost little. Larger jobs, such as new handrails, extra light switches or grab bars, may need a handyperson or electrician. Occupational therapists can also carry out a home safety assessment, and some local programs help with costs; ask your doctor or local area agency on aging what exists near you.

What the checklist does not do

It does not score your risk, predict a fall, or diagnose anything. A tidy, well-lit house reduces some hazards, but falls also relate to strength, balance, vision, medicines and health conditions, which a checklist cannot assess. If you have fallen or often feel unsteady, tell a clinician, even if nothing was broken. Ask them what should be checked in your case.

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Where this comes from

The room-by-room items follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention brochure "Check for Safety: A Home Fall Prevention Checklist for Older Adults" (2015 edition, from its STEADI program; read October 2026).The tips about medicine review, eye checks, getting up slowly, footwear and lighting come from the same brochure's section on other things you can do. The wording here is shortened and rephrased, and a few lines of context (such as asking who can help) were added for this page. Those added lines are not quotations from the CDC.