Every way to back up a seed phrase, explained in one place.
Seed Phrase Field Guide is a neutral directory and guide to protecting the recovery phrases and private keys behind your cold wallets — from a pencil and card to SLIP-39 Shamir shares, multisig vaults, steel plates, collaborative custody and inheritance plans.
Last reviewed October 2026 · Last fact-checked 24 October 2026 · Written in British English · Educational, not advice
Explore the guide
Start here: back up now
A calm, step-by-step plan (about an hour, or spread over your first week) if you have just bought a wallet or realised your backup is weak, with quick answers for a lost device, phishing or a death, and real mistakes to avoid.
Learning paths
Beginner, intermediate and expert reading orders through the whole site.
Decision guide & shopping lists
Answer four questions, follow a beginner-to-expert path, and see what to buy, with maker prices in GBP and USD checked on 24 October 2026.
Seed phrase fundamentals
Private keys, BIP39 words and checksums, the BIP family at a glance, derivation paths, the passphrase "25th word", xpub risks, restore checks and one seed across many chains.
Randomness & entropy
True randomness, dice, coins and cards, how devices mix your entropy, passphrase and BIP85 entropy, verifying claims, and the weak-RNG disasters to learn from.
Shamir, SLIP-39 & splitting
Which standard is your backup? SLIP-39, multisig, Codex32, Seed XOR, Electrum and aezeed seeds, a compatibility table, descriptors — and why cutting a phrase in half is dangerous.
Physical storage
Materials compared, stress-test evidence, fire-safe ratings, UK and US safe deposit boxes, backup layouts, and combining metal with passphrases, SLIP-39 and multisig.
Wallets & devices
Hardware wallets at a glance, a 13-device matrix (secure element, reproducible builds, air-gap, dice, SLIP-39, multisig), security models, a dated advisories table, setup checklist and expert multisig and firmware verification.
Searchable directory
Filter 169 devices, backup products, standards, services, custodians, digital-legacy services and professional bodies by feature, each with evidence and sources.
Custody & services
Exchange or self-custody for UK and US beginners, moving coins off an exchange safely, collaborative multisig, qualified custodians, what happens when a custodian fails, safe deposit boxes, solicitors and escrow.
Scenarios & threat models
Six worked plans from a first wallet to a business treasury, a threat model matrix, and 12 illustrative UK and US scenarios: fire, flood, burglary, compromise, a forgotten passphrase, a death, divorce, loss of capacity, border checks and moving.
Asset management
What to record (and never record), UK and US tax records, multisig housekeeping, a recovery-testing cadence, descriptor backups and decoys.
Estate planning & inheritance
The hub for UK, US and world guides: UK and USA compared, real failure modes, letters of instruction, wills vs trusts and routes for every level.
UK estate guide
England & Wales, Scotland and NI compared: wills, LPAs and deputyship, intestacy, IHT on crypto, probate, exchange death claims, executor timeline and illustrative scenarios.
US estate guide
Which document does what, wills vs living trusts, RUFADAA, exchange death claims, small estates and transfer-on-death, federal estate tax and Forms 706 and 1041, state taxes, step-up and worked scenarios.
Rest of the world
15 countries plus EU rules: how death is taxed, forced heirship, a cross-country comparison and cross-border pitfalls, with official sources.
Compare methods
The comparison hub: a 15-method master matrix, threat-by-method matrix, single points of failure, which method for which person, UK vs USA protections and community advice.
Printable templates
Ten print-ready blank templates (A4 and US Letter): letter of instruction with UK and US supplements, inventory and location map, drill log, setup log, multisig record, review log, offline dice worksheet and executor guide. No secrets, ever.
Case files
69 real incidents and legal cases — Milk Sad, Randstorm, Ledger leak, Bybit, LastPass, SparkCat, fires and floods — and their lessons.
Safety & scams
A threats-at-a-glance table, fake wallet apps, address poisoning, wallet drainers, SIM swaps, calls after data leaks, tampered devices, coercion cases, FBI and FCA figures, and what to do if a seed is exposed.
Printable checklists
Beginner, intermediate and expert lists, plus new-device setup, annual review, after an advisory, inheritance and a compromised backup. Ticks stay in your browser.
FAQ
142 answers grouped by topic, from first backups and passphrases to multisig, custody, tax, and UK and US estates.
Glossary
203 plain-English terms, from BIP39 and xpub to Court of Protection deputy, statutory legacy and step-up in basis.
Which approach fits you?
| Your situation | Typical approach | Read |
|---|---|---|
| First hardware wallet, modest amount | One BIP39 seed on steel + paper copy in a second place; PIN on device; recovery test | Beginner plan |
| Savings you could not afford to lose | Seed + passphrase stored separately, or SLIP-39 2-of-3 across three locations | Intermediate plan |
| Significant wealth / public profile | 2-of-3 or 3-of-5 multisig across different device makers and locations, possibly collaborative custody | High-net-worth plan |
| You want family to inherit | Letter of instruction + executor-friendly multisig or inheritance service, coordinated with your will | Estate planning |
| Company or charity treasury | Multisig/Safe with documented signer policy, or a regulated custodian | Business plan |
Last reviewed: · Educational information only — verify current details with official sources.