By the Templateez Team · Licensed Attorney · June 2026

Water Damage Restoration Intake Forms: What to Capture at Every Emergency Call

A water damage call comes in at 11 PM. A pipe burst in the upstairs bathroom, water is running through the first-floor ceiling, and the homeowner is standing in two inches of water trying to find the main shutoff valve. Your dispatcher takes a name, an address, and sends the crew. They arrive with two dehumidifiers and a shop vac. The job actually requires a full extraction team, containment for a Category 2 source, and an immediate call to the homeowner's insurance adjuster with a loss date documented to the hour.

That is what happens when intake is treated as scheduling. In restoration, the initial intake call is not just about dispatching a crew — it is the foundation for everything that follows: the scope of work, the insurance claim, the equipment deployment, and the legal documentation that protects both the property owner and your company. A proper water damage restoration intake form captures what your team needs to triage the emergency, build the estimate, and satisfy the documentation requirements that insurance carriers and industry standards demand.

Emergency triage: the first sixty seconds of the call

Water damage is one of the few service trades where the intake happens under genuine time pressure. Every hour water sits, damage compounds. Mold colonization begins within 24 to 48 hours. Structural materials absorb more moisture. Restoration costs increase by the day. Your intake form needs to capture triage information quickly and in a sequence that drives dispatch decisions.

• Date of loss — this is the single most critical field on the entire form. Insurance claims live and die by the date of loss. It determines filing deadlines, coverage applicability, and whether the loss falls within the policy period. For sudden events like a burst pipe or storm, this is straightforward. For slow leaks discovered behind a wall, the date of loss versus the date of discovery are different — and the distinction matters enormously to the carrier. Capture both.
• Source of water — burst pipe, appliance failure (water heater, dishwasher, washing machine), roof leak, sewage backup, flooding from rising water, storm damage, fire suppression system discharge. The source determines water category, which determines the entire remediation protocol.
• Is the water stopped or still flowing? — this is a dispatch-priority field. If water is still actively flowing, your crew needs to arrive prepared for extraction immediately. If the source has been isolated, you have slightly more time to stage equipment properly.
• Affected area — which rooms, which floors, approximate square footage of damage. A kitchen with water under the cabinets is a fundamentally different job than a finished basement with six inches of standing water across 800 square feet.
• Water category — this is an IICRC S500 classification that drives your entire safety and remediation approach. Category 1 (clean water) comes from a supply line, faucet, or appliance supply. Category 2 (gray water) comes from dishwashers, washing machines, or toilet overflows with urine only. Category 3 (black water) involves sewage, rising floodwater, or water that has contacted soil or organic material. Category 3 requires full PPE, containment, and antimicrobial treatment. Your intake needs to classify this at first contact.
• Class of damage — Class 1 through Class 4, based on the evaporation rate and the materials affected. Class 1 involves a small area with low-porosity materials. Class 4 involves deep saturation of materials with very low permeance — hardwood, plaster, concrete — requiring specialty drying methods. The class determines how many air movers and dehumidifiers the crew brings, and how long the drying protocol will take.

Property information: what the crew needs before they arrive

The physical characteristics of the structure determine equipment selection, access logistics, and potential complications that change the scope of work. Your intake should capture:

• Property address and access instructions — gate codes, lockbox information, which entrance to use for equipment staging. For commercial properties, after-hours security contacts and loading dock access.
• Property type — single-family residential, multi-family, condominium, commercial, industrial. Condos add complexity because the damage may affect adjacent units, and the HOA or property management company may need to be involved from day one.
• Construction type — slab-on-grade, crawlspace, or basement. A slab foundation with water intrusion requires different drying techniques than a home with a crawlspace where moisture can migrate downward. A finished basement with water damage is one of the most equipment-intensive restoration jobs because of the volume, the materials involved, and the difficulty of achieving adequate airflow.
• Flooring materials — hardwood, carpet, tile, luxury vinyl plank, laminate, concrete. Hardwood floors that have been exposed to standing water may need to be removed entirely or dried using specialty floor-mat systems. Carpet may be salvageable if the water is Category 1, but must be disposed of in Category 3 events. LVP traps moisture underneath, requiring removal to dry the subfloor.
• Wall materials — standard drywall, plaster, wood paneling, concrete block. The material determines the demolition protocol. Drywall is typically cut two feet above the visible water line to allow airflow to the wall cavity. Plaster walls retain moisture differently and complicate drying timelines.
• Building age — homes built before 1978 may contain asbestos in flooring, insulation, or joint compound, and lead paint on walls and trim. If your demolition protocol involves removing drywall, flooring, or insulation in a pre-1978 structure, you are legally required to test for these materials before disturbing them. This is not optional — EPA regulations under the Renovation, Repair, and Painting Rule carry significant penalties for non-compliance.

If you are working with a general contractor on the reconstruction phase, their remodeling intake documentation picks up where your restoration scope ends — the property data you capture here saves them from duplicating the assessment.

Documentation: the paper trail that makes or breaks the claim

Water damage restoration is one of the most documentation-intensive service trades. Insurance carriers expect daily updates, moisture readings, equipment inventories, and photographic evidence at every stage. Restoration companies that do not document rigorously do not get paid — or they get paid months late after fighting with adjusters over scope disputes.

Your intake form should establish the documentation framework from the first visit:

• Pre-work photos and video — before any equipment is placed or any demolition begins, document the existing conditions. Photograph every affected area, every visible water line, every area of staining or damage. Video walkthroughs are even better. This evidence is critical when the adjuster disputes the scope three weeks later.
• Initial moisture readings — take moisture readings by room and by material. Document the instrument used, the reading, and the location. A moisture map of the structure at first contact establishes the baseline against which all progress is measured. Include psychrometric readings — temperature, relative humidity, and dew point — for each affected area and the ambient exterior conditions.
• Equipment placement log — every dehumidifier, air mover, and air scrubber placed on the job should be logged with its serial number, location, date placed, and date removed. Insurance carriers expect this. More importantly, your equipment costs money whether it is on a job site or in your warehouse — if you cannot prove it was deployed, you cannot bill for it.
• Daily monitoring log — moisture readings should be taken daily or every other day, depending on the protocol. Each reading is documented with the date, time, instrument, and location. The drying curve — the progression from initial readings to dry standard — is what determines when equipment comes off and when the structure is released for reconstruction.
• Xactimate estimate documentation — most insurance carriers require estimates built in Xactimate or a compatible estimating platform. Your intake should note whether Xactimate will be used and capture the information needed to build the initial scope — room dimensions, material types, quantities of materials to be removed, and the number of equipment days estimated.

Insurance information: what the adjuster will ask for

The majority of water damage restoration work is insurance-funded. This means your intake form is not just an internal business document — it is the first step in a claims process that involves the property owner, the insurance carrier, the adjuster, and potentially a mortgage company. Missing even one piece of insurance information at intake can delay authorization and payment by weeks.

• Homeowner's insurance — carrier name, policy number, claim number (if one has already been filed), adjuster name, and adjuster phone number. If the property owner has not yet filed a claim, document that at intake and advise them on next steps.
• Flood insurance — standard homeowner's policies do not cover flooding from rising water. If the water source is a natural flood event, the property owner needs a separate NFIP (National Flood Insurance Program) policy or a private flood policy. Your intake should ask specifically about flood coverage because the property owner may not understand the distinction.
• Commercial property policy — commercial losses are handled differently than residential. Business interruption coverage, content coverage, and building coverage may be on separate policies or separate sections of the same policy. Capture the policy structure at intake.
• Loss date versus discovery date — for sudden events, these are the same. For slow leaks — a supply line behind a wall that has been leaking for weeks before the homeowner notices staining — they are different. The insurance carrier uses the loss date to determine coverage. Your intake should capture both dates and document how the damage was discovered.
• Deductible amount — the property owner is responsible for the deductible. Capturing this at intake sets expectations about what they will owe out of pocket and prevents a surprise conversation when the invoice arrives.
• Coverage type — actual cash value (ACV) versus replacement cost value (RCV). ACV policies depreciate materials and pay less. RCV policies pay to replace with like kind and quality. This distinction affects the estimate and the property owner's financial planning for the reconstruction. For more on how insurance documentation feeds into the broader claims process, see our insurance claims intake guide.
• Mortgage company — if there is a mortgage, the mortgage company is typically listed as a loss payee on the insurance policy. Insurance payments over a certain threshold are often issued jointly to the property owner and the mortgage company, which means the mortgage company must endorse the check before funds are released. Capturing this at intake prevents a payment delay that your company cannot control but can anticipate.

Scope of work: from emergency services through reconstruction

Water damage restoration is not a single service — it is a sequence of distinct phases, each with its own equipment, labor, and documentation requirements. Your intake should capture the anticipated scope for each phase:

• Emergency services — water extraction (truck-mounted or portable), pump-out for standing water, board-up for broken windows or compromised openings, tarping for roof damage. Emergency services are typically authorized immediately and billed separately from the restoration scope.
• Drying — equipment count (number of dehumidifiers, air movers, air scrubbers), placement strategy, monitoring protocol, and estimated drying time. A typical residential drying setup might include one commercial dehumidifier per 1,000 square feet of affected area and one air mover per 10 to 16 linear feet of affected wall.
• Demolition — drywall removal height (standard is two feet above the water line, but severe damage may require full removal), flooring removal (partial or complete), cabinet removal, insulation removal. Every material removed must be documented for the insurance estimate.
• Mold remediation — if mold is present or suspected, remediation must follow IICRC S520 guidelines. Mold remediation is often a separate scope with its own estimate, its own containment requirements, and frequently its own insurance coverage or exclusion. Your intake should note whether mold is visible or suspected and whether air quality testing has been performed.
• Contents — pack-out (inventorying and removing personal property to a climate-controlled facility for cleaning), on-site protection (covering furniture and belongings that remain in the structure), and contents cleaning (soft goods laundering, hard goods wiping, electronics assessment). Contents work is a separate line item that insurance adjusters scrutinize closely.
• Reconstruction — drywall replacement, flooring installation, painting, cabinet replacement, trim work. Most restoration companies either have an in-house reconstruction division or subcontract this phase. Your intake should note whether reconstruction is included in your scope or referred out, and whether the property owner wants a separate reconstruction estimate.

Pricing and payment: insurance billing versus direct pay

Water damage pricing is more complex than most service trades because the payment source is usually an insurance carrier, not the property owner directly. Your intake should establish the financial framework:

• Emergency service fee — many restoration companies charge an emergency response fee for after-hours calls. This should be disclosed and documented at intake before the crew is dispatched.
• Equipment rental — dehumidifiers and air movers are typically billed per unit per day. The daily rate, the anticipated number of units, and the estimated drying duration should be documented so the property owner understands the ongoing cost.
• Monitoring visits — daily or every-other-day monitoring visits to take moisture readings and adjust equipment. These are billed per visit.
• Demolition — typically billed per square foot for drywall removal, per square foot or per square yard for flooring removal, and per linear foot for baseboard and trim removal.
• Insurance billing versus direct customer pay — if the work is insurance-funded, your intake should include an assignment of benefits or direction-to-pay authorization so the carrier can pay your company directly. If the property owner is paying out of pocket (no insurance, sub-deductible loss, or excluded peril), different payment terms apply.
• Payment schedule — most restoration companies collect the deductible or a deposit at the start of work, with the balance due upon completion or upon insurance payment. Document the schedule at intake.
• Supplements — explain at intake that the initial estimate may not cover the full scope if hidden damage is discovered during demolition. Supplements — additional estimates submitted to the carrier for work beyond the original scope — are a normal and expected part of the restoration process. Property owners who understand this from the beginning are less frustrated when it happens.

Health and safety: protecting occupants, crew, and the structure

Water damage restoration involves hazards that do not exist in most service trades. Contaminated water, airborne mold spores, and compromised building materials create risks for both the occupants and the restoration crew. Your intake should document safety considerations from the start:

• PPE requirements by water category — Category 1 requires basic PPE (gloves, eye protection). Category 2 adds respiratory protection and protective clothing. Category 3 requires full Tyvek suits, N95 or P100 respirators, rubber boots, and chemical-resistant gloves. Your intake classification of the water category drives the PPE protocol for the entire job.
• Containment — Category 3 water and mold-affected areas require containment barriers (6-mil polyethylene sheeting) to prevent cross-contamination of unaffected areas. Negative air pressure must be maintained within the containment zone. Document whether containment is needed at intake so the crew arrives with the right materials.
• Air quality monitoring — for mold-suspected or Category 3 events, pre-remediation and post-remediation air quality testing may be required. Note whether an industrial hygienist has been engaged or is needed.
• Occupant displacement — can the property owner and their family remain in the structure during restoration? Category 3 events typically require full displacement. Even Category 1 events with significant equipment may make the home uncomfortable or impractical to live in — 15 air movers running 24 hours a day produce noise equivalent to a jet engine. Your intake should assess displacement needs and note whether the insurance policy includes additional living expenses (ALE) coverage.
• Lead and asbestos testing — for structures built before 1978, testing is required before any demolition work begins. Document the building year at intake and flag pre-1978 structures for testing before the crew starts removing drywall or flooring.

Certifications and compliance

Water damage restoration is a credentialed industry. Insurance carriers, property owners, and regulatory bodies expect restoration companies to hold current certifications and follow established standards. Your intake form should document your company's qualifications:

• IICRC certifications — Water Restoration Technician (WRT) is the baseline credential. Applied Structural Drying (ASD) indicates advanced drying expertise. If your technicians hold these certifications, documenting them on the intake builds credibility with the property owner and the adjuster.
• State licensing — licensing requirements for restoration contractors vary by state. Some states require a general contractor's license for demolition and reconstruction. Others have specific restoration or remediation licenses. Document your applicable licenses.
• EPA Lead-Safe Firm certification — if your company performs renovation, repair, or demolition work in pre-1978 structures, EPA certification under the RRP Rule is mandatory. This is not a marketing credential — it is a legal requirement with enforcement penalties.

Building the restoration relationship from the first call

A water damage call is not like a scheduled service appointment. The property owner is in crisis. Their home is damaged, their belongings are at risk, and they are dealing with an insurance process they likely do not understand. A restoration company that captures the right information at intake — and explains why each piece of information matters — transforms that first panicked phone call into the beginning of a professional, documented process that protects everyone involved.

The intake form tells the property owner that your company has handled this before. That you know what the insurance company will ask for. That you understand the difference between Category 1 and Category 3, and why it matters. That you will document everything and that their claim will be supported by the kind of evidence adjusters expect to see. That confidence — built in the first five minutes of the call — is what separates the company that gets the job from the company that gets called back when the first crew did it wrong.

If you are building documentation across a multi-trade operation, the Trade Services Bundle includes water damage restoration alongside 51 other service categories, each with trade-specific intake fields.

Related reading

• Insurance Claims Intake Forms: What Adjusters and Agents Need to Capture
• Home Remodeling Intake Forms: What to Document Before Demolition Day