How to Take Meeting Minutes

Samples of Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

Feb 7, 2007

Meeting minutes are a record of what happened at a meeting. Find out how to write good meeting minutes with these tips and sample template.

Taking minutes at a meeting is not always a popular activity, but it is an important one. The meeting minutes serve as a record of what action the board of directors has taken. In the eyes of the IRS, courts, and auditors board meeting minutes are legal documents. Nonetheless, there is no single format to take minutes. You can do what makes sense for you and your group. However, following these tips can help make writing meeting minutes easier:

Remember that meeting minutes are for future and outside readers as much as they are for the people present. Make sure whatever you write down will be clear to people coming into the process at a later time.
Typing meeting minutes on a laptop can make the process quicker and easier; however, a pen and paper work well, too, and might keep you from writing down too much information.
Make a note of who is present. If necessary, pass around a sign-in sheet.
Use the meeting agenda as an outline for the minutes.
Details do not belong in meeting minutes. Do write down any motions and decisions made and the key findings of any committee reports.
Use bullet points to make the minutes easier to read. Each bullet statement should represent a different finding, discussion, or decision. Use nested bullets (bulleted statements within a bullet) if appropriate.
Make a note of issues that were tabled until future meetings; this will serve as an important reminder to the board of things that still need to be done.
Transcribe or review minutes as soon as possible after the meeting, while your memory of what happened is still fresh.
Before you submit the meeting minutes, proofread for typos and omissions.

Follow the format of the sample meeting minute template below to help you record meeting minutes.

Name of Organization

Board Meeting Minutes: Month Day, Year

Time and location

Present:Name board members in attendance

Absent: Name absent board members. You may want to subdivide this category into people with and without proxies.

Others Present: List any organizational staff and guests and their affiliations here

Proceedings:

Meeting called to orderat (time) by (person, usually chair)
Minutes from (prior meeting date) amended and approved.
Subcommittee Reports – (highlights of information presented and discussions had)
Any action taken. For instance, MOTION to (do action); seconded and passed.
Meeting adjourned at (time)

Future Business:

Here is a place to remind people of:

conversations that were tabled until next time,
possible agendas for upcoming meetings,
assignments that board members have taken on

Minutes submitted by (name)

The copyright of the article How to Take Meeting Minutes in Non-Profit Governance is owned by Estela Kennen. Permission to republish How to Take Meeting Minutes in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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Comments

May 7, 2008 6:07 AM

Guest :

Thank you for this valuable information.

May 13, 2008 8:19 AM

Guest :

a clear description with an example made better understanding

Aug 14, 2008 8:42 PM

Guest :

Thank you for the precise and simple instructions to keep mins in a meeting, this was much appreciated.

Aug 21, 2008 2:50 PM

Guest :

This is really a good way to put it. Its not to wordy. People can actually understand it.

Thanks

Aug 22, 2008 5:56 AM

Guest :

Where else can one get such valuable tips other than your
site.I am truly better informed with the skills acquired.

Mooreino- Abuja, Nigeria.

Aug 26, 2008 10:05 AM

Guest :

wow!!! i cant beleive this is online! thnk u so much!!!!

Sep 1, 2008 9:48 PM

Guest :

Very concise. Thank you.

Sep 2, 2008 5:05 PM

Guest :

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

Sep 4, 2008 8:19 AM

Guest :

This is exactly what I was looking for! Thank you emmensely for this very useful information!!

Sep 4, 2008 10:46 AM

Guest :

Thank you for giving the idea and information.

Sep 10, 2008 8:27 AM

Guest :

Thank you for providing such great info, very useful.

Sep 15, 2008 9:30 PM

Guest :

The newly appointed secretary without a clue really appreciated this site. Thank you, my minutes will be done correctly and on time
Sharon,
BC, Canada

Sep 16, 2008 8:18 AM

Estela Kennen :

*Grin* Glad I could help. So many well-intentioned people offer to be board secretary and then realize, "Yikes, I have no idea what I got myself into." But it doesn't have to be a painful experience, and in fact can be a very valuable one -- for the organization and yourself.

I should also add that approved minutes should be kept in chronological order in a binder (one of those three-hole punch). Ideally, ALL board members should have such a binder, but there needs to be at least one to serve as a permanent record.

Sep 16, 2008 8:12 PM

Guest :

The description is very good. I could be enhanced with an example.

Sep 24, 2008 4:57 AM

Guest :

This is great stuff.I must say that I have immensely benefited from the sagacious,educative and informative article.

Tawanda Katehwe, Zimbabwe

Sep 27, 2008 11:32 AM

Guest :

thank you for this. this is brilliant.

Oct 1, 2008 12:21 PM

Guest :

Someone told me recently that minute notebooks technically ought to be bound to prevent pages from being added as might be possible with a 3 hole punch notebook. He also said that this was a legal obligation even though most people don't do it. Does anyone know if this is true?

Oct 1, 2008 12:23 PM

Guest :

I am so happy to find instruction, that I can understand.
I will be confident in any Executive Meeting I attend. Thank you.

Oct 1, 2008 1:05 PM

Estela Kennen :

There is no blanket law stating that meeting minutes should be bound. Perhaps in your jurisdiction, for your type of organization, there is such a law.

There is a benefit to binding meeting minutes: security. But there are also benefits to having them in a 3-hole punch: lower cost, ease of photocopying, etc. If you want the official meeting minutes to be secure AND in a 3-hole punch, you can always have them signed or even notarized (with raised seal, date, etc.)

Oct 2, 2008 10:30 AM

Guest :

Your article is great. This is exactly how I was preparing the minutes for our Board Meeting when I took this position a few months ago. With new recent members to the Board, there have been some changes. I've had to re-do the minutes because a few members want to see their questions and response to the questions on minutes. I don't think this is appropriate. I've been very frustrated and am to the point where I just don't want to do this job anymore.

Any suggestions?

Oct 3, 2008 6:43 AM

Guest :

Not resourceful yet

Oct 3, 2008 3:24 PM

Estela Kennen :

I am sorry you are having trouble with some members of the board. Unfortunately, that is all too common. Perhaps you can find a middle ground -- keep board minutes the way they were, for instance, but also have someone (not necessarily you) transcribe specific Q&As, brainstorming ideas, or whatever detail board members are wanting. If the board members want every detail, every time, then it may be better for you to say you are not up to the task anymore and step down from your position now. That may be better than allowing any frustration and bad feelings to mount and get in the way of whatever cause you have all come together for in the first place. Let us know how things turn out.

Oct 14, 2008 10:37 AM

Guest :

thank you for this helpfull information

Oct 21, 2008 6:09 PM

Guest :

Thank you for this simple break down. This is really helpful. I have just one question on how to write minutes. What tense is used to write minutes (present or past)? Is there a general rule for that?

Thanks!

Oct 21, 2008 6:21 PM

Estela Kennen :

Tense is usually in the past, unless the minutes are referring to something static, ongoing, or yet to occur. For instance, "Executive report concludes that..." because the report says the same thing every time someone looks at it. Hope that helps.

Oct 24, 2008 10:27 AM

Guest :

thank u very much. it was very helpful

Oct 29, 2008 6:16 PM

Guest :

Thank you for this information. It really helps me a lot.

Nov 21, 2008 8:45 PM

Guest :

thanks Estela for the valuable info

Nov 24, 2008 5:52 AM

Guest :

As a newcomer to the "minute taking" world, I wanted to let you know that this helped tremendously. It's to the point & easy to comprehend. Thank you!

Nov 26, 2008 3:31 AM

Guest :

very gd info thnks.

Dec 2, 2008 8:26 PM

Guest :

thank you so much! my principal asked me to be the new school board secretary and i didnt have a clue! now i feel more confident at taking the minutes.

Dec 10, 2008 1:11 PM

Guest :

Excellent and so helpful! Thank you!

Jan 5, 2009 10:23 PM

Guest :

Ya comments are nice....
Is discussion items in the MoM should be in past tense?

Jan 11, 2009 5:15 PM

Guest :

Thanks for these ideas, just what is required for a "newbie" secretary of an old guys motorcycle club. Regards, Stephen.

Jan 19, 2009 7:54 AM

Guest :

thanks amillion tymes,u've done me a great deal............GORDODS

Jan 22, 2009 11:01 AM

Guest :

Thank you. I wish I had found this over a year ago.

Jan 28, 2009 11:44 AM

Guest :

good.much more explanations expected.
Varma,India.

Jan 28, 2009 4:04 PM

Guest :

I like the idea of the example, you can give tips but if you can't even see what the tips apply to, they're pretty useless.
Thankyou :)

Feb 1, 2009 5:38 PM

Guest :

Thank you for this simple format,truly helps.

Feb 5, 2009 8:56 AM

Guest :

I already do these things when taking notes for the minutes. Apparently my supervisor still seems to have a problem with what I am typing. I am not sure what it is that she is looking for. We both have been over how I type the minutes time and time again. I receive more negative criticism from her then criticism. I am at the end of my rope. Do you have any other suggestions that may help?

Feb 12, 2009 7:17 AM

Estela Kennen :

I am sorry you find yourself in such an unpleasant situation.
-- If you believe you are taking minutes correctly, perhaps you could show your supervisor minutes from other organizations and note how they parallel yours.
-- Or would it be possible to have a neutral third party come in and help? Perhaps such a person could give you criticism in a way that you find helpful, and at the same time could tell your supervisor when her expectations are unreasonable or inappropriate.
-- Perhaps your boss can create a template for you, and then all you need to do is add the details. That way, you can be sure you're doing it the way she likes.
-- As a final result, how important is minute-taking to your job? Perhaps you and your boss could decide that someone else should take minutes from now on... or at least for the time being.
I hope you can work something out. Let us know what happens!

Feb 16, 2009 6:50 AM

Guest :

Thanks for this info...I just got a job cos of it.

Feb 25, 2009 8:49 PM

Guest :

It is valuable for all the officials that your effort is remarkable

Mar 7, 2009 6:49 PM

Guest :

Thank you so much!

Mar 10, 2009 1:11 PM

Guest :

Thanks! This was very helpful! I'm taking my first set of minutes in a little over an hour, and I'm nervous about it. I've printed this article to help remind me of these points.

Mar 19, 2009 2:33 PM

Guest :

This is very informative. Thank you

Apr 2, 2009 7:33 AM

Guest :

After the secretary has written and sent copies of the minutes to all members, one member in particular will write changes he wants, instructs the secretary to make them and the secretary sends out a new copies of the minutes. I know that this is improper. Any suggestions on how to stop this without a lot of hurt feelings?

Apr 2, 2009 9:07 PM

Estela Kennen :

I would take two approaches to this situation:
1- The secretary and the member (and, probably, another member like the chair or vice) get together to talk about what's going on. Is it an issue of typos? Do the secretary and the member have different understandings about how much detail should be included? If everyone can agree on what the minutes should be like, that can help solve the dilemma. (The entire board might be needed to clarify this.)

2 - There should always be a portion of the meeting agenda to review and approve meeting minutes. This is the proper venue for changes to be suggested, and approved by the full board. You can remind the board that this is just standard protocol and needs to be followed.

Good luck!

Apr 3, 2009 8:25 AM

Jonathan Milward :

Woah, massive response from this. I lost a temp job once cos I was so overwhelmed by taking minutes to a meeting on a subject I had no clue about whatsoever. Wish I'd read this article beforehand. Was a crap job to be fair though :-p

Apr 3, 2009 8:26 AM

Jonathan Milward :

Sorry, I meant that particular job, not taking minutes in general.

Apr 14, 2009 9:56 AM

Guest :

Very clear and to the point -best explanation I've found so far. Thanks.

Apr 17, 2009 1:55 AM

Guest :

fantastic info to understand, thank you. It is so much clearer to me now.

Apr 29, 2009 6:57 AM

Guest :

wow! thanks a lot. this info is really what i need. i've been trying to find ways of doing a report out of the documentation i did in a seminar. and i just don't have a single idea. i always caught myself feeling empty.

May 22, 2009 2:21 AM

Guest :

thanks its really helpful

May 29, 2009 10:03 AM

Guest :

Thank you! First time as a board secretary and was unable to look at prior minutes. Starting to get panicky until I found this.

Jun 4, 2009 11:12 PM

Guest :

i have grasp some knowledge on how to write minutes in the meeting. my first time to do it. thank you!

Jun 13, 2009 2:05 PM

Guest :

Thank you very much for this valuable tips you had shared.

Jun 19, 2009 1:18 AM

Guest :

it is help full keep it up

Jul 8, 2009 11:07 AM

Guest :

Thanks sooo much I was really wasnt sure what to do write but after reading this I no I did well.

Jul 15, 2009 7:13 PM

Guest :

Thank you for the tips.

Jul 16, 2009 10:35 AM

Guest :

Help! I need to get my Board Minutes typed up, however, during the last meeting, the chairman requested two amendments to the previous minutes (its protocol within our company for the CEO to check minutes before circulation). How should I present these changes (do I list the detail in the minutes or do I re-issue the previous minutes, or indeed both??). Help...

Jul 20, 2009 6:00 AM

Guest :

Hi Estela, Tks for the very useful info. Obviously almost everyone finds problems with minute taking at some time. I also now have a manager that is not happy with my reporting. May I have your permission to print out your article and some of the Q & A's to show him that our minutes are actually being done correctly?

Kind Regards, Julie - Nambiti RSA

Jul 30, 2009 12:24 PM

Guest :

cool

Aug 10, 2009 8:43 AM

Estela Kennen :

Re Reprint Permission:

Anyone can feel free to print out this article or forward this web page to their boss/subordinate/colleague/etc. It's just like tearing a page out from a magazine to show it to someone else.

Furthermore, I grant you permission to distribute this article for educational purposes to the members of a nonprofit board.

For any other uses/permissions, please contact me directly. Thank you!

E Kennen

Aug 12, 2009 10:30 PM

Guest :

Am so greatful for this article. thanks alot

Aug 25, 2009 12:13 AM

Guest :

Thankyou for sharing your knowledge. I am one of those people who shy away from being the minute taker.
Thank you for sharing your knowlege.

Sep 10, 2009 2:18 AM

Guest :

This was my key to a better minute taker.

Thank you.

Sep 12, 2009 3:46 PM

Guest :

thank you very much,it helps a lot to me..keep up the good work!

Sep 13, 2009 1:06 AM

Guest :

THank you for the information but if you can add the exact format of recording the events of the meeting then that will be additional help

Sep 14, 2009 7:02 PM

Guest :

i thought it would emphasize and dicuss the importance of taking the minutes of the meeting and it could be more comprehensive if there is an example illustrated on these page. But, it's concise though it hard to understand on how to do it and the format of taking the Minutes.,Thank you for the information that you showed.,

Sep 24, 2009 4:59 PM

Guest :

This is a very helpful information...I'll recommend this to my friends..

Oct 6, 2009 7:05 AM

Guest :

That was very helpful!! I guess writing minutes isn't so hard after all.

Oct 8, 2009 7:11 AM

Guest :

This is a great site. Precise and informative information. I'm one of those who volunteered to take on the responsibility, but knew little of what it entailed. Question: If at a board meeting it is agreed by a developer that he will provide a certain service, but after discussion among members and after the board meeting, the developer offers to provide money instead of the service, how should that be reflected in the minutes? At the next board meeting, should it be stated as a new item in the minutes the change of plan, or can we simply review the minutes of the previous meeting, and accept them with a change, meaning that it would be reflected in the previous month's meeting what was eventually agreed. Thank you.

Oct 8, 2009 7:49 AM

Estela Kennen :

Good question. The dilemma here is between simplicity/efficiency and accuracy. While I am definitely for simplicity, I also believe accuracy needs to trump it. Write in the first minutes what was known at the time (you can even add a little note saying "see X minutes for changes" if that helps) and write in the second minutes what actually happened.

It's important to this for various reasons: first, it's good not to get in the habit of cutting corners; second, if not all the board members attended both meetings, meshing might confuse them; third, you have a better paper trail if the third party (ie, contractor) has any questions or goes back on their word.

Hope that helps!

Oct 8, 2009 7:52 AM

Estela Kennen :

To all the people who read this article because they volunteered to take minutes/be the board secretary, and then realized they didn't know what they were doing: THANK YOU! Thank you for contributing, and thank you for being bold enough to take something new on. You fulfill a very important function. Record-keeping is a time-honored tradition (in fact, you could say history began when people started keeping records!)

The great thing about doing something you don't know how to do is that it's the best way to learn new skills. I wish you all great success!

Nov 4, 2009 4:07 PM

Guest :

Thanks for these informative pages! I am going to have a go at doing the minutes for the business meeting at our church that I go to and this site will certainly help me and give me confidence! Thanks again.

76 Comments