Meeting Minutes Template: Free Format to Copy, Example and How to Write Them
A meeting minutes template you can copy, a filled-in example, a short action-focused version, board-meeting essentials such as motions and votes, and a simple spreadsheet for tracking action items.
Short answer: good meeting minutes record who met, when and where, the agenda, a brief summary of each item, every decision, and every action item with an owner and a due date — plus, for formal meetings, the motions and how each vote went. Copy the template below into Word or Google Docs, fill it in during the meeting and send it within a day.
Minutes are not a transcript. Their job is to let anyone — including people who missed the meeting — see what was decided and who is doing what. This guide gives you a full template, a filled-in example, a one-page version for team meetings, the extra elements board and committee minutes need, and a simple way to track action items so they actually get done.
Meeting minutes template
MEETING MINUTES
[Organization / team name]
Meeting: ……
Date: …… Time: …… to ……
Location: …… (or video call: ……)
Chair / facilitator: ……
Minutes taken by: ……
Attendees: ……
Absent / apologies: ……
Guests: ……
1. Approval of previous minutes
Minutes of [date] approved as written / approved with corrections: ……
2. Review of open action items
Completed: ……
Still open (new due date): ……
3. Agenda items
3.1 [Topic] — presented by ……
Summary: ……
Decision: ……
3.2 [Topic] — presented by ……
Summary: ……
Decision: ……
4. Action items
| # | Action | Owner | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | …… | …… | …… |
| 2 | …… | …… | …… |
5. Other business
……
6. Next meeting: …… at ……
Meeting adjourned at ……
Minutes submitted by: …… Approved by: …… Date: ……
A filled-in example
Here is how the template looks for a small team’s monthly planning meeting. The names and figures are illustrative.
Meeting: Online store — monthly planning
Date: March 4, 2027, 10:00–10:45, video call
Chair: Dana Lee · Minutes: Sam Patel
Attendees: Dana Lee, Sam Patel, Chris Moreno · Apologies: Jo KimOpen actions: New product photos — done. Supplier price review — still open, moved to March 11.
3.1 February results (Sam): Orders up on January; returns higher than usual on one product line because of a sizing issue.
Decision: Add a size chart to all listings in that line.3.2 Spring promotion (Chris): Proposed a two-week promotion in April. Discussed impact on margin.
Decision: Run the promotion on three products only; Chris to confirm the margin after discount before launch.Action items: 1) Add size chart — Sam — March 8. 2) Margin check for promotion — Chris — March 15. 3) Supplier price review — Dana — March 11.
Next meeting: April 1, 10:00.
Notice what is not there: who said what in the discussion, side conversations, or opinions. The decisions and actions are easy to find in seconds.
Short version for weekly team meetings
| Section | What to write |
|---|---|
| Meeting / date | Team, date, start and end time |
| Present / absent | Names |
| Last week’s actions | Done, in progress, late (and why) |
| Decisions | One line each |
| New actions | Action — owner — due date |
| Parking lot | Topics raised but deferred |
For routine meetings this fits in the body of an email or a chat message, which makes it more likely to be read than an attachment.
What board and committee minutes must include
Minutes of a board of directors, a nonprofit board or a formal committee are an official record and often need more than a team summary. A widely used principle, from Robert’s Rules of Order, is that minutes record what was done, not what was said. Typical elements:
- The type of meeting (regular or special), the organization’s name, date, time and place.
- Who presided and who recorded the minutes, and whether a quorum was present.
- Whether the previous minutes were approved.
- Each motion in its exact wording, who made it, whether it was seconded and the result of the vote (and the count, if a counted vote was taken).
- Any conflicts of interest declared and recusals.
- The time of adjournment and the secretary’s signature.
Your bylaws, state law and any funder or regulator requirements decide what is mandatory for your organization, so check them — and have counsel review minutes that record significant legal or financial decisions.
How to take minutes, step by step
Before the meeting
- Get the agenda and paste its items into the template, so you only fill in the blanks.
- List expected attendees and the open action items from last time.
- Agree who takes the minutes. It works best when that person is not also running the meeting.
During the meeting
- Note decisions and actions the moment they happen. If a decision is vague, ask: “So the decision is…? Who owns that, and by when?”
- Summarize discussions in one or two lines. Record numbers and facts that support a decision.
- Capture topics that are raised but not resolved in a “parking lot” so they are not lost.
After the meeting
- Clean up the notes the same day while you remember the context.
- Have the chair check them, then send them to attendees and to anyone who owns an action but missed the meeting.
- File them in a shared folder with a consistent name, such as
2027-03-04 Monthly planning minutes.
Track action items in a spreadsheet
Minutes only matter if the actions get done. Keep one sheet for all action items across meetings and open it at the start of each meeting:
- Columns: A Meeting date, B Meeting, C Action, D Owner, E Due date, F Status (Open / In progress / Done), G Notes.
- Overdue flag (H):
=IF(AND(E2<TODAY(),F2<>"Done"),"Overdue","") - Overdue items per person:
=COUNTIFS(D:D,"Sam Patel",H:H,"Overdue")
Restrict the Status column to three values with data validation and colour overdue rows red with conditional formatting. If a meeting launches a project with many dependent tasks, a Gantt chart in Excel shows the schedule better than a list.
Common mistakes
- Actions without an owner or date. “Marketing will look into it” is not an action.
- Transcribing instead of summarizing. Long minutes bury the decisions.
- Sending them days later. Corrections become arguments when memories fade.
- Recording opinions or tone. Minutes should be neutral and factual.
- Skipping the review of last meeting’s actions. Unreviewed actions quietly die.
Frequently asked questions
Who should take meeting minutes?
A designated note-taker or secretary, ideally not the person chairing. On small teams, rotating the role works well and spreads the habit of clear decisions.
How soon should minutes be sent?
The same day or within 24 hours. Fast minutes catch misunderstandings while they are still easy to fix.
Do meeting minutes need to be approved?
Formal minutes are usually approved at the next meeting. For informal team meetings, a quick check by the chair before sending is enough.
Can I record the meeting instead of taking minutes?
A recording can help you write accurate minutes, but tell participants first and follow the consent and privacy rules that apply to you. A recording does not replace a short written record of decisions and actions.
How long should minutes be?
For a one-hour team meeting, about one page. If yours run much longer, you are probably recording discussion that does not need to be kept.
More templates and guides for running a business are collected in Operations & HR.