Emergency seed interventions may already be planned or ongoing in many areas (e.g. to respond to drought, pest infestation, displacement, or other stresses). COVID-19 and its associated restrictions on travel, trade and markets may also constrain farmers’ seed security, as well as the ways in which aid agencies are able to operate. This Guidance Note provides key information to implementing organizations that might be considering an emergency seed intervention1 for the forthcoming planting season linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, often overlain with other stresses.