Meeting Minutes
Minutes that record who attended, what was decided and who does what by when, ready to share the same day.
Free. Fill in, print, save as PDF or download as Word without an account. Saving to your account needs a free account.
Country versions
- International
A template, not advice.
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What it is
Meeting minutes are the short written record of a meeting: who was there, what was discussed, what was decided and who will do what by when. Their value comes after the meeting. People who were absent can catch up, people who were present can check what they agreed to, and a later dispute about "what we decided" has something to point to.
This template has four parts that you can fill in during or right after the meeting: the details of the meeting, the attendee list with attendance, a table for topics, discussion and decisions, and an action list with an owner and a due date for every task. The length of the meeting is worked out from the start and end times. Print it, send it as a Word file, or export the tables to Excel.
When to use it
- After a team, project or client meeting where decisions were made.
- When several people leave a meeting with different ideas of who does what.
- When a client or manager asks for a written summary the same day.
- When you need a record you can attach to a project file.
How to fill it in
- Write the meeting title, date, start and end time, place and who chaired it.
- List the attendees and mark who attended, joined remotely, was excused or was absent.
- For each topic, note the key points of the discussion and the decision in one or two sentences.
- List every action with an owner and a due date. One owner per action.
- Share the minutes the same day, while everyone still remembers the meeting.
Common mistakes
- Writing down everything that was said instead of what was decided.
- Listing actions without an owner or a date, so nobody feels responsible.
- Sending the minutes days later, when nobody remembers enough to correct them.
- Recording opinions of named people that they would not want written down.
- Skipping the attendee list, which later makes it unclear who was told.
Steps at a glance
- Fill in
- Check the preview
- Save as PDF, Word or Excel
Country versions
Pick the country you need. Each version uses the wording and layout commonly found there; a version marked “check with local advice” should be read by someone who knows the local rules before it is used.
- International (XX): Written in English, Korean, Japanese, German
Designs
The same form in several designs. The fields and the wording stay the same; only the look changes.
- Ledger
- Banner
- Executive
- Classic
- Modern
- Formal
- Minimal
- Side band
- Compact
- Boxed form
- Warm
- Plain (black and white)
Your details fill it in
Fields that ask for your name, address or company details are filled from My details, so you do not type them again; you can still change any field for one form. Signed in, your details stay in your account; otherwise they stay in this browser only. A passport, identity or social security number is never saved.
Questions
- How detailed should minutes be?
- Detailed enough that someone who was absent understands the outcome, and short enough that people read it. Decisions and actions matter most; the discussion can be a line or two. Use the notes field for anything that does not fit.
- Do minutes have to be signed?
- For ordinary working meetings, usually not, but a signature line from the chair and the person who took the minutes makes the record clearer. Some organisations, such as company boards and associations, have their own rules for minutes; follow those where they apply.
- Can I add more rows?
- Yes. Each table has an add-row button in the editor, and the printed page grows with your content, so a long meeting simply takes a second page.
- Is this legal advice?
- No. It is a general template for working meetings. If your minutes have legal effect, as for a company board, check the requirements that apply to you.
- Is this form legal, tax or accounting advice?
- No. It is a template: it gives you the usual structure and wording, not advice. Rules differ by country and case, so have someone qualified read anything that matters before you sign, send or file it.
- Which countries and designs does it come in?
- It comes in 1 country versions: International. 12 designs.
A form is a template, not legal, tax or accounting advice. Rules differ by country and case.