Meetings

Meeting Minutes Template

Minutes are the official record: who was there, what was moved, how the vote went, and what was decided. Not a transcript. Copy the template, or start from the minutes example closest to your meeting, then read how approval works.

Updated 2026-10-27

Copy and adapt

The template

Meeting minutesTemplate

[Organization], [body or committee] meeting minutes

Date: {{date}} Time: [called to order] to [adjourned] Location: [room, address or call link] Type: [regular, special or annual meeting] Chair: [name]. Minutes by: [name] Present: [names, with roles for officers] Absent: [names; note "with apologies" where given] Guests: [names and why they attended] Quorum: [met or not met; number required]

1. Call to order

[Name] called the meeting to order at [time].

2. Approval of previous minutes

Minutes of [date] were approved [as written / as corrected: list each correction]. Moved [name], seconded [name]. Carried.

3. Reports

[Report name] ([presenter])

[The figures and the point, two or three lines. Attach the full report rather than summarizing it]

4. Old business

[Item carried from a previous meeting]

Discussion: [the positions raised, briefly. No names attached to opinions unless a member asks to be recorded]
Motion: [exact wording as moved]. Moved [name], seconded [name]. Vote: [for]-[against], [number] abstaining. Carried / Failed.

5. New business

[Item]

Discussion: [...]
Motion: [...]. Moved [name], seconded [name]. Vote: [...]. Carried / Failed.
Or: Decision: [for bodies that do not use motions]

6. Announcements

[Item]

7. Action items

[Action] (@[owner]) @due(YYYY-MM-DD)

8. Next meeting

[Date, time, location]

9. Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at [time]. Moved [name], seconded [name].

Minutes submitted by [name] on [date]. Approved on [date, filled in at the next meeting].

5 examples

Examples for different situations

The same structure, filled in for the situations people actually bring to it. Copy the one closest to yours.

1.Committee meeting minutes

When it fits: Use this when a committee makes recommendations to a larger body, votes are taken, and the full board will read the minutes without having been in the room.

Committee meeting minutesExample 1

Riverside Public Library, Facilities Committee meeting minutes

Date: 2026-11-04 Time: 17:30 to 18:42 Location: Library meeting room B Type: Regular meeting Chair: Marguerite Okafor. Minutes by: Dev Raman Present: Marguerite Okafor (chair), Dev Raman, Lin Zhao, Peter Walsh, Carmen Ortiz (arrived 17:50) Absent: Howard Bell, with apologies Guests: Sofia Nunes (library director), Ray Tillman (facilities manager) Quorum: Met (4 of 6 required at call to order; 5 present from 17:50)

1. Call to order

Marguerite Okafor called the meeting to order at 17:30.

2. Approval of previous minutes

Minutes of 2026-10-07 were approved as corrected: the roof inspection date was 2026-09-29, not 09-22. Moved Lin Zhao, seconded Peter Walsh. Carried.

3. Reports

Facilities report (Ray Tillman)

The second-floor roof leak was patched on 10-20. Ceiling tile replacement is scheduled for 11-12, cost under 900 dollars, within the maintenance budget.
Both HVAC bids were received by the 10-31 deadline. The full bid documents are attached.

4. Old business

HVAC replacement bids

Discussion: Northfield Mechanical bid 184,000 dollars with a 10-year compressor warranty. Apex Climate bid 212,000 dollars with a 15-year warranty and a 3-week shorter install. Peter Walsh asked whether the shorter install matters given the summer closure; Ray Tillman said it does not.
Carmen Ortiz noted for the record that she joined after the bid presentation and would abstain.
Motion: That the committee recommend the Northfield Mechanical bid of 184,000 dollars to the Board of Trustees for approval at the 2026-11-18 meeting. Moved Peter Walsh, seconded Lin Zhao. Vote: 4-0, 1 abstaining (Ortiz). Carried.

5. New business

Parking lot resurfacing

Discussion: Sofia Nunes asked that resurfacing be considered for the 2027 capital budget. Estimated 40,000 to 55,000 dollars. No bids yet.
Decision: Ray Tillman to obtain two estimates before the January meeting. No motion.

6. Announcements

The library closes 11-26 and 11-27 for the holiday.

7. Action items

Forward the HVAC recommendation and both bids to the board secretary (@Marguerite) @due(2026-11-07)
Two resurfacing estimates (@Ray) @due(2027-01-05)
Confirm ceiling tile work complete (@Ray) @due(2026-11-13)

8. Next meeting

2026-12-02, 17:30, meeting room B.

9. Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 18:42. Moved Lin Zhao, seconded Carmen Ortiz.

Minutes submitted by Dev Raman on 2026-11-05. Approved on [to be filled in on 2026-12-02].

2.Church council meeting minutes

When it fits: Use this when a church council or elders' meeting mixes finances, staffing and pastoral matters, and some of what is discussed must be recorded without names.

Church council meeting minutesExample 2

Grace Community Church, Church Council meeting minutes

Date: 2026-11-10 Time: 19:00 to 20:35 Location: Fellowship hall Type: Regular monthly meeting Chair: Pastor Samuel Adeyemi. Minutes by: Ruth Kim (clerk) Present: Pastor Samuel Adeyemi, Ruth Kim, Daniel Brooks (treasurer), Esther Lindqvist, Tomas Herrera, Grace Mensah, Walter Pike Absent: Naomi Castellano, with apologies Guests: None Quorum: Met (7 of 8 members; 5 required)

1. Call to order

Pastor Adeyemi opened the meeting with prayer and called it to order at 19:00.

2. Approval of previous minutes

Minutes of 2026-10-13 were approved as written. Moved Tomas Herrera, seconded Grace Mensah. Carried.

3. Reports

Treasurer's report (Daniel Brooks)

General fund giving through October is 148,600 dollars against a budget of 161,000 dollars, a shortfall of 12,400 dollars (7.7 percent).
The building fund stands at 61,200 dollars. The boiler reserve of 15,000 dollars is untouched.
Daniel Brooks recommends holding non-essential spending until the year-end giving pattern is known. Full report attached.

4. Old business

Youth pastor vacancy

Discussion: The position has been open since August. Esther Lindqvist proposed a search committee of three. Walter Pike asked whether the budget shortfall should delay hiring; Daniel Brooks said the salary line is already in the 2026 budget and unspent.
Motion: That a youth pastor search committee be formed with Esther Lindqvist (chair), Tomas Herrera and one youth parent to be nominated by the youth ministry, reporting to council by 2027-02-09. Moved Esther Lindqvist, seconded Grace Mensah. Vote: 7-0. Carried.

5. New business

Christmas Eve services

Discussion: Last year's single 18:00 service exceeded the hall's capacity. Pastor Adeyemi proposed two services.
Decision: Services at 16:00 (family) and 19:00 (candlelight). Grace Mensah to coordinate volunteers.

Benevolence request

A request for assistance from a member household was considered in closed session. The council approved assistance of 1,800 dollars from the benevolence fund. The recipient's name is held by the treasurer and the pastor and is not recorded in these minutes.

6. Announcements

Thanksgiving food drive collection closes 11-22.

7. Action items

Ask the youth ministry to nominate a parent to the search committee (@Esther) @due(2026-11-17)
Publish Christmas Eve service times in the bulletin and on the website (@Ruth) @due(2026-11-15)
Volunteer roster for both services (@Grace) @due(2026-12-06)

8. Next meeting

2026-12-08, 19:00, fellowship hall.

9. Adjournment

The meeting closed with prayer and was adjourned at 20:35. Moved Walter Pike, seconded Daniel Brooks.

Minutes submitted by Ruth Kim on 2026-11-11. Approved on [to be filled in on 2026-12-08].

3.Monthly staff meeting minutes

When it fits: Use this when a small business keeps formal minutes of its staff meeting for the record (safety, schedules, policy changes) but does not use motions or votes.

Monthly staff meeting minutesExample 3

Kestrel Print, monthly staff meeting minutes

Date: 2026-11-06 Time: 08:00 to 08:50 Location: Shop floor break room Type: Regular monthly meeting Chair: Joanna Reyes (owner). Minutes by: Mike Ferraro (office manager) Present: Joanna Reyes, Mike Ferraro, Ade Bankole, Chris Lund, Paula Novak, Teo Ivanov Absent: Sara Quinn, on leave Guests: None Quorum: Not applicable

1. Call to order

Joanna Reyes opened the meeting at 08:00.

2. Approval of previous minutes

Minutes of 2026-10-02 were accepted without correction.

3. Reports

Production (Ade Bankole)

October output was 212 jobs, up from 190 in September. Two late deliveries, both caused by the paper supplier's backorder on 100 lb cover stock.

Safety (Chris Lund)

One near miss on 10-28: a pallet jack rolled on the loading ramp while unattended. No injury. The ramp has no wheel chocks.

4. Old business

New press delivery

The Heidelberg delivery has slipped from 2026-12-03 to 2027-01-14. The vendor confirmed the new date in writing. Jobs quoted for December on the new press will run on press 2 with extended hours.
Decision: Mike Ferraro contacts the four affected customers this week with revised delivery dates.

5. New business

Loading ramp safety

Discussion: Chris Lund proposed wheel chocks and a written rule that the jack is never left on the ramp. Teo Ivanov asked for a second set of chocks at the rear door.
Decision: Two sets of chocks ordered. Rule added to the safety sheet, effective immediately. All staff initial the sheet by 11-13.

Holiday schedule

Decision: Closed 11-26, 11-27, 12-24 to 12-26 and 01-01. Open with a skeleton crew 12-29 to 12-31; Paula Novak and Teo Ivanov volunteered.

6. Announcements

Sara Quinn returns 11-17.

7. Action items

Call the four customers affected by the press delay (@Mike) @due(2026-11-10)
Order two sets of wheel chocks (@Chris) @due(2026-11-07)
Everyone initials the updated safety sheet (@Mike collects) @due(2026-11-13)
Post the holiday schedule on the board and in the shared calendar (@Mike) @due(2026-11-10)

8. Next meeting

2026-12-04, 08:00, break room.

9. Adjournment

The meeting ended at 08:50.

Minutes submitted by Mike Ferraro on 2026-11-06.

4.PTO general meeting minutes

When it fits: Use this when a parent organization meets with a large, changing membership, money is voted on, and the minutes are posted publicly for parents who were not there.

PTO general meeting minutesExample 4

Maple Hill Elementary PTO, general meeting minutes

Date: 2026-11-12 Time: 18:30 to 19:48 Location: School cafeteria Type: Regular general meeting Chair: Keisha Thompson (president). Minutes by: Andrew Feld (secretary) Present: 25 members signed in (sign-in sheet attached). Officers: Keisha Thompson, Andrew Feld, Monica Alvarez (treasurer), Ben Osei (vice president) Absent: None of the officers Guests: Principal Laura Hendricks; Ms. Dana Park (librarian) Quorum: Met (10 members required by the bylaws)

1. Call to order

Keisha Thompson called the meeting to order at 18:30.

2. Approval of previous minutes

Minutes of 2026-10-08 were approved as written. Moved Ben Osei, seconded by a member from the floor. Carried.

3. Reports

Treasurer's report (Monica Alvarez)

Fall Fun Run raised 8,650 dollars against a goal of 7,000 dollars. Expenses were 1,210 dollars, net 7,440 dollars.
Current balance 14,980 dollars. Report attached.

Principal's report (Laura Hendricks)

Enrollment is 412. The district has approved the crossing guard for the Oak Street entrance starting 12-01.

4. Old business

Library book request

Discussion: Ms. Park requested 3,200 dollars for new titles, mostly early readers. Several members asked whether some funds should be held for the spring field trips. Monica Alvarez said the balance covers both at 2,800 dollars.
Motion: That the PTO fund 3,200 dollars for library books. Moved Ben Osei, seconded from the floor.
Amendment: To change the amount to 2,800 dollars. Moved from the floor, seconded by Monica Alvarez. Vote on the amendment: 17-8. Carried.
Vote on the motion as amended (2,800 dollars for library books): 21-4. Carried.

5. New business

Volunteer coordinator vacancy

The position has been vacant since September. No nominations were received. Keisha Thompson will ask by newsletter and the position will be filled by appointment of the officers if no candidate comes forward by 12-01.

6. Announcements

Winter concert 12-16, PTO runs the bake sale table.

7. Action items

Transfer 2,800 dollars to the library account and get Ms. Park's receipt (@Monica) @due(2026-11-20)
Newsletter call for volunteer coordinator (@Keisha) @due(2026-11-15)
Post these minutes on the PTO page after approval (@Andrew) @due(2026-12-11)

8. Next meeting

2026-12-10, 18:30, cafeteria.

9. Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 19:48. Moved Monica Alvarez, seconded Ben Osei.

Minutes submitted by Andrew Feld on 2026-11-13. Approved on [to be filled in on 2026-12-10].

5.Project steering committee minutes

When it fits: Use this when a project's sponsors meet monthly to approve scope and budget changes, decisions must be traceable to a date, and a vendor delay is about to become an escalation.

Project steering committee minutesExample 5

Patient Portal Programme, steering committee meeting minutes

Date: 2026-11-17 Time: 15:00 to 16:05 Location: Call link Type: Regular monthly steering committee Chair: Dr. Helen Marsh (programme sponsor). Minutes by: Jonas Weber (programme manager) Present: Dr. Helen Marsh, Jonas Weber, Fatima Al-Sayed (clinical lead), Greg Donnelly (IT director), Nora Lindgren (finance) Absent: Vikram Rao (patient representative), with apologies Guests: Lena Hoffmann (vendor account manager, item 5 only) Quorum: Met (sponsor plus three members required)

1. Call to order

Dr. Marsh opened the meeting at 15:00.

2. Approval of previous minutes

Minutes of 2026-10-20 were approved as written.

3. Reports

Programme status (Jonas Weber)

Status amber. Build is 71 percent complete against a plan of 80 percent. The gap is entirely the appointment-sync module, which the vendor has slipped twice.
Budget spent to date 1.42 million against 1.37 million planned, a 4 percent variance, driven by the extra test environment approved in September. Full status report attached.

4. Old business

Appointment-sync delay

Discussion: Greg Donnelly reported the vendor's new date of 2027-01-16, which puts the March go-live at risk. Fatima Al-Sayed said clinics cannot run a portal without appointment sync. Nora Lindgren asked whether the contract has delay penalties; it does, from 30 days late.
Lena Hoffmann joined at 15:25, confirmed the January date and attributed the slip to a staffing change on their side.
Decision: The committee formally notifies the vendor that the 30-day penalty clause applies from 2026-12-17, and asks for a recovery plan by 2026-11-28. Dr. Marsh to sign the notice. Recorded as unanimous.

5. New business

Scope change request 014, prescription refill requests

Discussion: Requested by Fatima Al-Sayed's clinics. Estimated 140,000 and six weeks. Nora Lindgren noted the contingency would fall below 5 percent.
Decision: Deferred to phase 2. To be reconsidered at the February meeting once the sync module is delivered. Fatima Al-Sayed asked that her objection be recorded: deferral means clinics keep the phone process for another year.

6. Announcements

Vikram Rao has arranged two patient focus groups for 12-03 and 12-05.

7. Action items

Send the penalty notice to the vendor (@Helen) @due(2026-11-19)
Recovery plan received and circulated (@Jonas) @due(2026-11-28)
Re-baseline the plan against the January date and present options for go-live (@Jonas) @due(2026-12-10)

8. Next meeting

2026-12-15, 15:00, call link.

9. Adjournment

The meeting was closed at 16:05.

Minutes submitted by Jonas Weber on 2026-11-18. Approved on [to be filled in on 2026-12-15].

What meeting minutes must include

A meeting minutes template is a legal and organizational record first and a memory aid second. Bylaws, funders, auditors and sometimes courts read minutes, and they look for a small set of facts in a predictable place.

Who and when. Organization, body, date, start and end times, location, meeting type. Whether a quorum was present, because without one the votes may not count.
Attendance. Present, absent (with apologies where given), guests and why they were there. Arrivals and departures mid-meeting, when they affect a vote.
Approval of the previous minutes. This is how the last meeting's record became official. Record it every time, including any corrections.
Motions, exactly. The wording as moved, who moved and seconded, the vote count, abstentions, and whether it carried. If someone asks for their dissent to be recorded, record it in one sentence.
Decisions where there are no motions. Staff meetings and steering committees decide without voting. Write a bold Decision line in the same place a motion would go.
Actions with owners and dates. The part of the minutes that gets read before the next meeting.
Adjournment and the approval line. When the meeting ended, who submitted the minutes and when, and the date they were approved (filled in later).

What does not belong: who said what in discussion, unless they asked to be recorded. Minutes record what the body did, not what each member thinks.

Minutes of meeting vs meeting notes

Minutes are owned by the body, follow a fixed format, and are approved by vote. Notes are owned by the team and change shape to fit the work. If the group you are writing for has bylaws, a chair and an agenda item called "approval of previous minutes", you need minutes. If it is a team sync or a client call, the meeting notes template is lighter and more useful. Boards of directors need minutes with a few extra sections (conflicts of interest, executive session, signatures), which the board meeting minutes template covers.

How to take minutes during the meeting

Pre-fill from the agenda. Before the meeting, paste the agenda items as numbered headings, fill in the expected attendees, and attach the reports. Half the minutes exist before anyone speaks.
Mark attendance as people arrive. Note the time for late arrivals. It matters if a vote happens before they get there, as in the committee example above.
Write motions as they are moved. Ask the mover to repeat the wording if you did not catch it. Nobody minds. Record the second and the count immediately.
Summarize discussion in two lines per item. The positions raised, not the people. Numbers over adjectives.
Read back the actions at the end. Owner and date for each. This is the one moment where the minute-taker is allowed to interrupt.

Approval, corrections and distribution

This is the step most minutes templates leave out, and it is what makes minutes official.

Within two working days, send the draft to everyone present and absent, marked as a draft, with the action items at the top of the message.
Corrections before the meeting go to the secretary, who notes them. Corrections are to the record (a wrong date, a misattributed motion), not to the decisions themselves.
At the next meeting, under "approval of previous minutes", the chair asks for corrections. The minutes are approved as written or as corrected, by motion or by general consent depending on your rules. The secretary then fills in the approval date on the previous minutes and files them.
After approval, the minutes are the official record. Changing them requires a motion to amend something previously adopted. Keep the approved version separate from the draft.
Retention is set by your bylaws, your funders and, for some organizations, by law. Treat approved minutes as permanent and keep them where the next secretary can find them.

Common mistakes

Writing a transcript. Minutes that run to four pages are not read, and the motions hide in them. Half a page per hour of meeting is a reasonable target.
Recording opinions with names. "Peter thinks the bid is too high" creates a grievance. "Members questioned the bid amount" records the same fact.
Missing the vote count. "Carried" without numbers hides a 4-3 vote that will matter when the decision is challenged.
Forgetting the quorum line. If it is not recorded, a later reader cannot tell whether the votes were valid.
Minutes that are never approved. A draft that was emailed and never put to the next meeting is not an official record of anything.

When to use a different template

For a board of directors, nonprofit board or HOA board, use the board meeting minutes template; it adds conflict-of-interest declarations, executive session handling and a signature line. For the meeting that produces the minutes, start with the meeting agenda template so the numbered items are ready before anyone speaks. If what you really need is a record of decisions across many meetings rather than the meetings themselves, the decision log template is the better shape.

Customization tips

Record the motion verbatim, the discussion in summary
The exact words of a motion are what gets enforced later. The discussion is context. Two or three lines per item is enough; if someone wants their position recorded, write "X asked that their objection be recorded" and one sentence of why.
Numbers, not adjectives
"Giving is down" will be argued about. "Giving is 12,400 dollars under budget, 7.7 percent" will not. Pull the figures from the report and attach the report itself rather than paraphrasing it.
Use Decision lines when your body does not vote
Staff meetings and steering committees rarely move and second. Keep the same template and replace the Motion line with a bold Decision line that states what was agreed and who carried it out. The minutes stay comparable across meetings.
Leave the approval line unfilled on purpose
The last line of the minutes records when they were approved, which cannot happen until the next meeting. Write the placeholder with the expected date so it is obvious the minutes are still a draft.
Protect names in sensitive items
Benevolence requests, personnel matters and disciplinary items should be minuted as having happened, with the decision and amount, without the names of the people concerned. State where the detail is held, as the church example does.
Fix the agenda numbering and keep it
Numbered sections let people cite "item 4.1 of the November minutes" in later meetings. Keep the same numbering every month even when a section is empty; write "None" under it.

In the app

How to do this in Scribelet

Open Desk Settings, then Templates, tap Add Template, paste the template above and set the category to Meeting. Keep {{date}} in the header so each set of minutes is dated when you create it.
Link the body in the title or header with [[Facilities Committee]]. The committee's note then lists every month's minutes in its backlinks panel, in order, which is the index a secretary otherwise maintains by hand.
Write the approval as a task: - [ ] Approve the November minutes at the December meeting @due(2026-12-02). It sits in the Tasks view and on your daily note until the meeting happens, and @remind(2026-12-01 18:00) sends a push reminder the evening before.
Attach the treasurer's report or the bid PDFs to the minutes note. Scribelet extracts the text so the figures are searchable later, and the minutes can summarize instead of retyping the report.
Ask the AI chat "when did the committee recommend the HVAC bid, and what was the vote?" and it answers from your minutes with a citation to the specific note.
If you are a Pro user and recorded the meeting with a voice note, Scribelet transcribes it and structures the result. Use that as the source for the discussion summaries, then write the motions in from your own notes. Minutes are not a transcript.

Templates, template variables and AI generation are documented in Note templates.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good meeting minutes template?

One that records the five things a reader will look for later: who was present and whether there was a quorum, that the previous minutes were approved, each motion with its mover, seconder and vote, the actions with owners and dates, and when the meeting ended. The template above has those in a fixed, numbered order. Everything else (reports, discussion) is kept short.

How do you approve meeting minutes?

The secretary circulates the draft within a few days. At the next meeting, under the item "Approval of previous minutes", the chair asks for corrections. If there are none, the minutes are approved as written, by motion and vote or by general consent depending on your rules. If there are corrections, they are read out, the minutes are approved as corrected, and the secretary amends the file and fills in the approval date. The draft is not the official record until that happens.

What is the difference between meeting minutes and meeting notes?

Minutes are an official record kept in a fixed format, usually required by bylaws, and approved by the body at the next meeting. Notes are a working document for the people doing the work, in whatever shorthand they share. A team sync needs the meeting notes template. A committee, council or PTO needs minutes.

How do I send minutes of a meeting by email?

Send the draft within two working days, to everyone who was present and everyone who was absent. Subject line: the body, the date and the word draft ("Facilities Committee minutes, 2026-11-04, draft"). Put the action items at the top of the email body so owners see theirs without opening the attachment, and say when corrections are due.

Can I get these meeting minutes examples as a PDF or in Word?

The template and every example on this page are plain text. Copy one, paste it into Word, Google Docs or any editor, and save or print to PDF from there. The headings, bold text and checkboxes carry over as Markdown; the [[wikilinks]] and @due() annotations are Scribelet features and will show as plain text elsewhere.

Minutes that can be found, cited and approved

Save this minutes template in Scribelet, link each month's minutes to the committee's note, and track the approval as a task with a due date. When someone asks what was voted on in March, ask your notes. Encrypted, free to start.

Set up your minutes template

or get the app

Download on theApp Store

Free plan, no credit card. See pricing

Meetings

Board Meeting Minutes Template

Board minutes are the legal record of what the board did: who was present, what was resolved, how each director voted, and what happened in executive session without saying what was said. Copy the template, or start from the nonprofit, HOA or company example.

Meetings

Meeting Notes Template

One structure that captures the three things people come back for: what was decided, who owns what by when, and the context that made the decision make sense. Copy it as-is, or pick the example closest to your meeting.

Meetings

Meeting Agenda Template

An agenda is a promise about how the time will be spent: what the meeting must produce, which topics get how many minutes, and who owns each one. Copy the template, or start from the agenda example closest to your meeting.

Work

Decision Log Template

A decision log is a running record of what was decided, why, by whom, and what you expected to happen. This template adds the two fields most logs leave out: who disagreed, and a date to check whether the decision worked. Copy it for a team, or use the decision journal example for your own choices.

Projects

Project Status Report Template

A status report tells readers in thirty seconds whether the project is on track, what changed since last time, and what you need from them. This template defines green, amber and red up front, so the color means the same thing every week.

Article

Internal documentation

From the Scribelet blog