Minutes of the meeting
The minutes appear here as you fill in the form: attendance, business, motions with their result, and actions.
Meeting minutes template
Fill in the form as the meeting goes, and the minutes write themselves on the sheet beside it: attendance, decisions, motions with their result, and who is doing what by when.
What goes in the minutes
Minutes are a record of what was done at a meeting, not of what was said. That is how Robert's Rules of Order puts it, and it keeps minutes short and fair: who chaired, who attended and sent apologies, whether the last minutes were approved, every motion in its exact wording with its mover and result, and the actions agreed.
Using the template
Fill in what applies and leave the rest blank: empty parts are left out, and the preview updates as you type. Add as many items, motions and actions as you need. Then print the sheet or save it as a PDF, or copy it as Markdown or plain text for an email or a shared document.
- Write the wording of a motion down before the vote and read it back.
- Record vote counts only when a count was taken; otherwise “Carried” is enough.
- Note late arrivals and early departures if they affect the quorum.
- Mark the minutes as a draft until the next meeting approves them.
Sources
- Robert's Rules Association, Frequently asked questions, questions 15 and 16 (minutes record what was done, not what was said; corrections and “approved as corrected”; RONR, 12th ed., 48:2, 48:4).
- Michigan State University Academic Governance, Writing minutes (essential elements, based on RONR 12th edition; seconders optional).
Questions
Should minutes record the discussion?
Generally not. Robert's Rules says minutes should mainly record what was done, not what was said. If your group wants a brief neutral note of the main points, keep it short and avoid quoting people.
Do I need to record who seconded?
Only if your group wants it. Guides based on Robert's Rules treat the seconder's name as optional, so the template leaves it out when that box is empty.
How are corrections made?
When the draft comes up for approval, corrections are made in its text, and the next minutes simply say the previous minutes were approved as corrected.
Where is my draft kept?
In this browser's local storage only, so it survives a reload. It can include people's names: clear the form when you finish on a shared computer.