Meeting Minutes Template and Format (Free Word, Google Docs)

Item	Owner	Time	What we need to leave with
Call to order, attendance and quorum	Chair, secretary	5 min	Quorum confirmed and recorded
Approval of previous minutes	Secretary	5 min	Approved as written or as corrected
Reports	Treasurer, committee chairs	20 min	Reports received, questions noted
Old business	Chair	15 min	Each open item closed, moved forward or given an owner
New business	Chair	25 min	Each motion voted on, tabled or referred
Action items and next meeting date	Secretary	5 min	Every action has one owner and a date
Adjournment	Chair	1 min	Time recorded

Motion or decision	Moved / seconded	Result
Spend up to $600 on four raised beds for accessible plots	Tom Becker / Luis Ortega	Carried 6 to 1
Offer the two unused plots to the waiting list if holders do not reply by Nov 1	Jen Park / Dana Wells	Carried unanimously
Winter watering schedule	No motion	Discussed. Decision deferred to November.

Item	Owner	Due
Get two quotes for raised beds	Tom Becker	Oct 29
Email holders of the unused plots	Jen Park	Oct 18
Draft two winter watering options	Luis Ortega	Nov 12

Meeting minutes format

Most minutes, sometimes called MoM (minutes of meeting), follow the same format: a header, then the business in the order it happened, with one short entry for each item. Write in the past tense, record what was done rather than what was said, and keep each motion in the exact words the group voted on. The usual order, which this template follows:

Header: the name of the group, the kind of meeting (regular, special or annual), and the date, time and place.
Attendance: who was present and absent, any guests, and whether there was a quorum.
Call to order: the time, and who presided.
Approval of the previous minutes: approved as written, or as corrected.
Reports: one or two lines each, with the report itself attached.
Motions and decisions: the exact wording, who made the motion, and the result.
Action items: what, who, and by when.
Next meeting, the time of adjournment, and who took the minutes.

Using this template in Word

Download the .docx with the Word button above, or copy the template and paste it into a blank Word document. Then:

A downloaded file opens in Protected View, a read-only mode. Click Enable Editing in the yellow bar before you type.
Fill in what never changes: the group's name, the usual location, the officers and the quorum number from your bylaws. Keep the section titles in Word's heading styles (Home tab, Styles gallery), so View > Navigation Pane lists every section and you can jump to the motions in a long set of minutes.
Save it as a Word template. In Word for Windows, choose File > Save As, pick Word Template in the Save as type list and save; it goes to the Custom Office Templates folder, and next time you start from File > New > Personal (the button may say Custom). On a Mac, use File > Save as Template, then File > New from Template. Word for the web can't save templates, so keep a blank .docx in OneDrive and make a copy each time.
Until the group approves the minutes, add a DRAFT watermark from Design > Watermark, and turn on Review > Track Changes before you send the draft out, so every correction shows who made it.
After approval, accept or reject the tracked changes, remove the watermark, fill in the approval line and save a PDF with File > Save As (or Save a Copy), choosing PDF as the file type.

Using this template in Google Docs

Click Copy template, open a blank Google Doc and paste. Then:

If a section title comes across as plain bold text, select it and choose Format > Paragraph styles > Heading 2. View > Show outline then lists every section on the left.
Keep one blank doc named something like "TEMPLATE, board minutes" with the group's name, location, officers and quorum number filled in. For each meeting, choose File > Make a copy and name the copy with the meeting date.
Before the meeting, copy each agenda item under Old business or the motions table, so during the meeting you only write results.
Share the draft as Commenter, or as Editor and ask people to switch from Editing to Suggesting in the menu at the top right. Corrections then show as suggestions you accept or reject one by one, or all at once from Tools > Review suggested edits.
Once the group approves the minutes, fill in the approval line, use Share to change everyone else to Viewer, and choose File > Download > PDF to keep a copy for your records.

When to use this template

Your group votes on things or needs a record that others will rely on later.
Minutes have to be approved at the next meeting.
Draft minutes go out for corrections and come back as five different versions by email. The Word and Google Docs steps below keep every correction in one file.
You are the secretary for the first time and want the standard order.
You have rough notes and want a first draft fast: the notes to minutes tool sorts tagged lines into this layout.

Real examples

Minutes that real organizations have published, with what each one does well. Open the original to read it in full.

First page of the NIDDK Advisory Council minutes for May 13, 2026, with the call to order and members present by role

National Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases Advisory Council (NIH)

233rd meeting, held in person and online · May 13, 2026

What it does well

Says how the meeting was held (in person and online), when it started, and who attended by role: members, ex officio members, an expert and staff.
Each closed session gives the legal reason it was closed and records that members with a conflict left for that discussion and vote.
Ends with the chair's certification that the minutes are accurate and complete, which federal advisory committees must have.

Worth doing differently

No list of members absent and no quorum statement.
Section VIII, the executive closed session, is a heading with nothing under it. If nothing can be recorded, one line saying the session took place and whether any action was taken is enough.

I hereby certify that, to the best of my knowledge, the foregoing summary minutes are accurate and complete.

View the originalWork of the US federal government, public domain (17 U.S.C. §105)

First page of the Multnomah County ACSI minutes for June 24, 2026, with the next meeting date, members present and a Decisions made list

Multnomah County Advisory Committee on Sustainability & Innovation

Quarterly meeting (online) · June 24, 2026

What it does well

A "Decisions made" list at the top gives the three outcomes before any discussion.
The next meeting's date and time sit in the header, where people look for them.
Names who moved the motion and who voted for it.

Worth doing differently

One member is listed twice under members present, and the vote names four members in favor plus the mover out of eight present, with nothing on the other three. Record every vote, or the count for, against and abstaining.
The one next step names a subcommittee and "Staff" but no person or date. The template's Action items section has room for both.

Derron moved to approve the brief with the mentioned changes and additions of graphics. Maleek, Abby, Annabelle, and Briar voted in favor.

View the originalPublished by Multnomah County; short excerpt quoted with a link. An intern's name covered in the image.

Questions people ask

Do meeting minutes need to be approved?: For boards, committees and most nonprofits, yes. Minutes are usually circulated as a draft and approved at the next meeting. Check your bylaws for the exact process.
How detailed should minutes be?: Record decisions, not debate. Most groups only need the motion, the result and the action items. Long summaries of who said what create arguments later and rarely help anyone. How to write meeting minutes covers what to leave out.
What is the difference between minutes and meeting notes?: Minutes are a formal, approved record of decisions. Notes are an informal working document for the team. Many teams only need notes. Groups that vote or answer to members need minutes. Meeting notes vs minutes compares the two in more detail.
Does Word or Google Docs have its own minutes template?: Word does: go to File > New and search for minutes to see Microsoft's online templates (the search needs an internet connection). Google Docs has a Meeting notes block: type @, choose Meeting notes and pick a calendar event, and Docs fills in the event's details. Both suit informal notes better than a formal record, so check for room for attendance and quorum, the exact wording of each motion and the vote result before you use one.
Should approved minutes be kept as a Word file, a Google Doc or a PDF?: Keep the .docx or the doc as your working copy and file a PDF of each approved set, because a shared doc can still be edited by anyone with Editor access and a Word file can change by accident. Some groups also print and sign the approved minutes for a minute book. Your bylaws or operating rules decide what is required.
Can several people take minutes in the same doc?: It works better when one person writes and everyone else suggests corrections afterward. Two people typing in the same section during a vote is how a motion ends up recorded twice with different wording.

Sources

Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, 12th ed. (2020), §48:2, §48:4(5) and §48:15Minutes record what was done, not what was said. Corrections go into the minutes being approved; the next minutes say only "approved as corrected".
Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, 12th ed. (2020), §40:12 and §44:9(a)No business without a quorum. An abstention is not a vote, so it doesn't count toward a majority of votes cast.
41 CFR 102-3.165 (federal advisory committees)Only for committees under the Federal Advisory Committee Act: detailed minutes, including closed sessions, with the people present and each matter and resolution; the chair certifies them within 90 days.
What is Protected View? (Microsoft Support)Downloaded files open in Protected View, and Enable Editing in the yellow bar lets you edit.
Create a template (Microsoft Support)File > Save As > Word Template, File > New > Personal (or Custom), and the Mac Save as Template steps.
Track changes in Word (Microsoft Support)Turning on Track Changes from the Review tab, and accepting or rejecting changes.
Add a DRAFT watermark (Microsoft Support)Design > Watermark and the DRAFT preset.
Save or convert to PDF or XPS in Office desktop apps (Microsoft Support)File > Save a Copy (or Save As) with PDF as the file type.
Add a title, heading, or table of contents in a document (Google Docs Editors Help)Applying Heading styles with Format > Paragraph styles.
Create, view, or download a file (Google Docs Editors Help)File > Make a copy, and File > Download to save a file in another format.
Suggest edits in Google Docs (Google Docs Editors Help)Switching from Editing to Suggesting at the top right, and Tools > Review suggested edits.
Share files from Google Drive (Google Docs Editors Help)The Share button and the Viewer, Commenter and Editor roles.

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Meeting minutes template

Attendance and quorum

Call to order

Approval of previous minutes

Reports

Old business

Motions and decisions

Action items

Next meeting

Adjournment

Approval

Attendance and quorum

Call to order

Approval of previous minutes

Reports

Old business

Motions and decisions

Action items

Next meeting

Adjournment

Approval

Meeting minutes format

Using this template in Word

Using this template in Google Docs

When to use this template

Real examples

National Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases Advisory Council (NIH)

Multnomah County Advisory Committee on Sustainability & Innovation

Questions people ask

Sources

Related templates