Short answer. Serbia publishes no official household stockpile duration and no per-person quantities for food or water. The Ministry of Interior's Sector for Emergency Situations tells households to prepare supplies and equipment for a sudden departure from home: medicines, documents, money, water, food, blankets, tents, first aid and battery torches 1. Its family handbook adds an itemised first-aid kit 2.
What does the Ministry of Interior ask households to prepare?
The Sector for Emergency Situations' advice to citizens says, in Serbian: "Prepare supplies and equipment in case you suddenly have to leave home (medicines, documents, money, water, food, blankets, tents, first aid, battery torches... etc.)" 1. Its advice also names:
- clothing and footwear 1;
- an evacuation kit (komplet za evakuaciju) and the equipment needed for evacuation 1;
- an evacuation plan for pets and livestock 1.
For an evacuation, the same page lists personal documents, the health insurance card, a hygiene kit, canned food, water in plastic bottles and a portable radio 1.
The full list, line by line, is on the kit checklist page.
How many days of supplies, and how much water?
Serbian official sources give no number of days and no amount of water or food per person for homes 1. The advice is framed around leaving home quickly rather than staying in for a set period 1.
The only official per-person water figure we found applies to shelters, not homes: the 2024 shelter rulebook requires 3 litres per person per day of drinking and hygiene water, stored for 1 day or 3 days depending on the shelter class 3. It is a technical rule for shelter operators, not household advice.
To choose your own target, our guides compare other agencies: how much water per person, 72-hour kit, two-week supplies and water storage containers.
What goes in the first-aid kit?
The family handbook lists a first-aid kit item by item, from an individual first dressing (12 cm x 10 cm) and calico bandages to disposable gloves, a resuscitation mask and a thermal foil blanket 2. It also names baking soda as an improvised decontamination agent 2. Quantities are on the kit checklist. See also our first-aid kit guide.
Does the law require households to keep equipment?
Yes, in general terms. The 2018 Law on Disaster Risk Reduction and Emergency Management (art. 55) obliges citizens and building owners to keep the "necessary means and equipment for personal and mutual protection", and leaves the mandatory list to a government decree 4.
The Ministry's legislation page still lists a 2011 decree on mandatory means and equipment for personal, mutual and collective protection (Sl. glasnik RS 3/2011), adopted under the previous law 5. Its text could not be retrieved, so whether it sets a household list is not confirmed.
Frequently asked questions
Does Serbia recommend 72 hours of supplies?
No official duration was found. The Ministry names the items to prepare but not how long they should last 1.
Should I include a radio?
Yes. A portable radio is on the Ministry's evacuation list 1, and its advice tells people to follow radio and TV announcements after a siren 1. See emergency radio.
What about pets and livestock?
The Ministry asks households to have an evacuation plan for pets and livestock 1. See our pets guide.
Which documents should I take?
Personal documents and the health insurance card are on the evacuation list 1. See important documents.
Sources
- Ministarstvo unutrašnjih poslova, Sektor za vanredne situacije — Савети грађанима — http://prezentacije.mup.gov.rs/svs/saveti.html (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Ministarstvo unutrašnjih poslova Republike Srbije, Sektor za vanredne situacije / Misija OEBS u Srbiji — Porodični priručnik za ponašanje u vanrednim situacijama — https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/4/1/118659.pdf (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Ministarstvo unutrašnjih poslova — Правилник о начину одржавања склоништа и прилагођавања комуналних, саобраћајних и других подземних објеката за склањање становништва ("Службени гласник РС", број 4/2024) — http://prezentacije.mup.gov.rs/svs/HTML/licence/Pravilnik%20o%20nacinu%20odrzavanja%20sklonista%20i%20prilagodjavanja%20komunalnih,%20saobracajnih%20i%20drugih%20podzemnih%20objekata%20za%20sklanjanje%20stanovnistv.pdf (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Narodna skupština Republike Srbije (consolidated text via Paragraf) — Zakon o smanjenju rizika od katastrofa i upravljanju vanrednim situacijama ("Sl. glasnik RS", br. 87/2018) — https://www.paragraf.rs/propisi/zakon-o-smanjenju-rizika-od-katastrofa-i-upravljanju-vanrednim-situacijama.html (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Ministarstvo unutrašnjih poslova, Sektor za vanredne situacije — Законска регулатива — http://prezentacije.mup.gov.rs/svs/HTML/zakonska%20regulativa.html (accessed 2026-10-20)
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Sources
- Ministarstvo unutrašnjih poslova, Sektor za vanredne situacije · Савети грађанима checked 2026-10-20
- Ministarstvo unutrašnjih poslova Republike Srbije, Sektor za vanredne situacije / Misija OEBS u Srbiji · Porodični priručnik za ponašanje u vanrednim situacijama checked 2026-10-20
- Ministarstvo unutrašnjih poslova · Правилник о начину одржавања склоништа и прилагођавања комуналних, саобраћајних и других подземних објеката за склањање становништва ("Службени гласник РС", број 4/2024) checked 2026-10-20
- Narodna skupština Republike Srbije (consolidated text via Paragraf) · Zakon o smanjenju rizika od katastrofa i upravljanju vanrednim situacijama ("Sl. glasnik RS", br. 87/2018) checked 2026-10-20
- Ministarstvo unutrašnjih poslova, Sektor za vanredne situacije · Законска регулатива checked 2026-10-20