How to Write Meeting Minutes: Template and Example

Meeting minutes record what was decided, not everything that was said. Write down the meeting's name, date and attendees, then for each agenda item the outcome: decisions, votes, and action items with an owner and a due date. Send them within a day, while everyone still remembers.

Write your meeting minutes in a few minutesAnswer a few questions, preview it free. $7 to download, no subscription.Start free

What minutes must record

Part	What to write	Formal meetings only?
Heading	Organisation, meeting name, date, start time, place or video link.	No
Attendance	Who was present, who sent apologies, who chaired and who took the minutes.	No
Quorum	Whether enough voting members were present for decisions to count.	Yes
Previous minutes	Whether the last minutes were approved, with any corrections.	Yes
Each agenda item	One or two sentences of context, then the outcome.	No
Decisions and votes	The exact decision. For motions: who proposed, who seconded, and the result.	Votes: yes
Action items	What, who, by when.	No
Next meeting	Date and time, if set.	No
Close	Time the meeting ended; signature or approval line for formal bodies.	Signature: yes

Minutes are not a transcript

The most common mistake is writing down the conversation. Minutes are a record of what was done: what was decided, and who will do what. A long discussion that ended in a decision becomes one line with that decision.

Be precise where it matters. "Launch moved to June 15; Maria to update the client by Friday" is useful a month later. "Launch timeline discussed" is not.

How to take and write them

Start from the agenda. Put each item in your notes before the meeting, so you only fill in outcomes.
Note decisions and actions as they happen, with names and dates. Ask the chair to repeat a decision if it is unclear.
Write them up the same day. Turn your notes into full sentences in the structure above.
Stay neutral. Third person, past tense, no opinions: "The team agreed", not "we finally agreed".
Send them to everyone who attended and anyone with an action item.
For formal bodies, keep them as a draft until they are approved at the next meeting, then file the approved copy.

Team meeting or formal meeting?

A team meeting needs the heading, attendance, decisions and action items; a short bullet list is fine. Boards, committees, nonprofits, homeowners' associations and clubs need more: quorum, approval of the previous minutes, motions with the proposer, seconder and result, and a signature. Under Robert's Rules of Order, which many such groups follow, minutes record what was done at the meeting, not what members said.

Example: team meeting minutes

Example — team meeting minutes

Brightside Studio — Weekly Project Meeting

Tuesday, November 4, 2026, 10:00, Zoom

Present: Maria Lopez (chair), Tom Reed, Aisha Khan. Apologies: Ben Ortiz. Minutes: Tom Reed.

1. Client website launch

The launch was planned for June 1 but the client's content is two weeks late. Decision: launch moved to June 15. Maria to tell the client by Friday, November 7.

2. New hire onboarding

Aisha presented the onboarding checklist. Decision: checklist approved as written. Aisha to share it with the team by November 5.

3. Holiday schedule

Deferred to the next meeting; Ben to bring the draft rota.

Action items: Maria — client update, Nov 7. Aisha — share checklist, Nov 5. Ben — holiday rota, next meeting.

Next meeting: Tuesday, November 11, 10:00. Meeting closed at 10:40.

Turn your notes into minutes

The meeting minutes template asks for the organisation, date, who attended and your rough notes, and writes them up in the structure above: decisions, votes and an action list with owners. The preview is free; downloading the minutes as PDF or Word costs $7, with no subscription.

FastDocAI meeting minutes form asking for the organisation, meeting date and attendees — The meeting minutes form in FastDocAI: paste your notes, get the minutes.

Common questions

Who should take the minutes? Someone who is not running the meeting. The chair cannot lead the discussion and record it well at the same time.

How long should minutes be? As short as the decisions allow. One page is typical for a one-hour team meeting.

Do minutes need to be approved? For boards and committees, yes: they are approved, with any corrections, at the next meeting. For team meetings, sending them out is enough.