Meeting minutes template

Meeting minutes are the written record of a meeting: who attended, what was decided, and who agreed to do what by when. This free Word template works for formal minutes, such as a board or committee, and for quick notes from a team meeting, with tables for decisions and actions and a box for the chair's approval.

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Running a company of 30 to 200 people? Documents like this are now worth money.

Good minutes are short. They record the outcome of each item rather than the conversation, so someone who missed the meeting can see in two minutes what changed and what they now owe.

What's in the template

Meeting minutes

Meetinge.g. Monthly operations meeting
Date and timeStart and finish
Location or call link 
Chair 
Minute taker 
PresentNames, with roles if not obvious
ApologiesInvited but unable to attend
In attendanceFormal meetings only: non-members present for an item
QuorumFormal meetings only

1. Last meeting's minutes and actions

Note whether the last minutes were approved as an accurate record, and any corrections. Then check each open action.

#Action from last meetingOwnerStatus (done, open, overdue)
    
    
    

2. Declarations of interest (formal meetings)

Who declared an interest, in which item, and whether they left the room or stayed out of the vote.

3. Items discussed

ItemKey points (the outcome, not a transcript)Decision or conclusion
   
   
   
   

4. New actions

#Action (start with a verb)Owner (one name)Due date
1   
2   
3   
4   
5   

5. Carried forward

Items not reached or deferred, and the meeting they move to.

6. Next meeting

Date and time 
Location or call link 

7. Approval (formal meetings)

Approved as an accurate record bySignatureDate
Chair:  

How to take minutes

  1. Set up the document from the agenda. Copy the agenda items into the "Items discussed" table and fill in the header beforehand, so in the meeting you only write outcomes. The meeting agenda template uses the same numbering.
  2. Don't chair and take minutes at once. Running a discussion and recording it are two separate jobs.
  3. Write the outcome of each item first: a decision ("Agreed to move the stock count to 28 March"), a conclusion ("No change; revisit in June") or "Noted". Add reasons only where someone might later ask why.
  4. Pin down every action as it's agreed: a verb, one named owner and a date. If one is missing, ask before the chair moves on.
  5. Read the actions back at the end, while everyone is still there to correct a wrong owner or date.
  6. Approve them at the next meeting. The chair signs the agreed version for the company's records, and any open actions move to your action plan.

Formal and informal minutes

Formal minutes Informal minutes (action notes)
Used forBoard, committee, shareholder and trustee meetingsTeam, project and client meetings
RecordsAttendance, apologies, quorum, declarations of interest and each decision in fullWho came, decisions and actions
ApprovalAgreed at the next meeting and signed by the chairCorrections by reply within a day or two
Kept forUK company boards: ten years or more (see below)Whatever your records policy says

For a team meeting, delete the sections marked "formal meetings". For a board, use the full template with your board pack; the board report template has a matching agenda.

What the law says (UK)

  • Board meetings: UK companies must keep minutes of the proceedings at every directors' meeting for ten years or more from the meeting date. Not doing so is an offence by each officer in default (Companies Act 2006, section 248).
  • Shareholder meetings: the same ten-year rule covers minutes of general meetings and shareholders' written resolutions (section 355).
  • Conflicts: a director with an interest in a proposed transaction or arrangement with the company must declare it to the other directors before the company enters into it. If that happens at a board meeting, minute it (section 177).
  • People can ask what you wrote about them: anyone can ask for a copy of their personal information, and that can include comments about them in minutes (ICO guidance).

US companies: the rules come from the law of the state of incorporation and the company's bylaws. This summary isn't legal advice.

Example: minutes from a fictional operations meeting

Part of the minutes of a monthly operations meeting at a fictional 85-person bakery wholesaler.

ItemKey pointsDecision
2. December productionOrders for weeks 49 to 51 are 30% up on last year; weekday overtime won't cover them.Add a Saturday shift in each of those weeks; overtime budget up to £9,000.
3. Late hotel deliveriesSix late this month, all on the north route since the new route plan began.Return to a 6am departure for the north route from next week.
4. Oven 2 serviceEngineer booked for 12 November.Noted. Production moves to oven 3 that day.
#ActionOwnerDue
1Publish the December Saturday rotaProduction manager31 Oct
2Call both hotels to explain the route changeCustomer service lead24 Oct
3Confirm the overtime budget with the finance directorOperations director27 Oct
4Order extra flour and packaging for DecemberPurchasing lead7 Nov

Common mistakes

  • A transcript instead of minutes. Three pages of who said what hides the two decisions that matter.
  • Actions owned by "all" or "the team", so nobody chases them.
  • Actions with no date, still "in progress" six meetings later.
  • Minutes sent a week later, when people already have their own version of what was agreed.
  • Opinions about individuals. Stick to facts, especially when performance or conduct comes up.
  • Board minutes that only say "discussed". Record what was approved and on what basis.

Frequently asked questions

How soon should meeting minutes be sent out?

Within one working day for a team meeting. For a board or committee, get the draft to the chair within a day or two and circulate the checked version soon after. The longer the gap, the more people rely on memory instead of the record.

Who signs the minutes?

For formal meetings, the chair, once the next meeting has agreed they're accurate. In UK companies, board minutes authenticated (for example signed) by the chair of that meeting or of the next one are evidence of the proceedings (Companies Act 2006, section 249). Team notes don't need a signature.

Should minutes say who said what?

Usually not. Record decisions, actions and the main reasons for significant decisions. Name someone when they declare an interest, ask for their disagreement to be noted, or present a paper.

Sources

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