This free meeting minutes template comes as six Word files. Use the general template for most meetings, and the board template when you need motions and votes. Each file has a blank page and a filled example, so you can copy the structure and see what a finished page looks like. They work in Google Docs too: upload the file to Drive and open it with Docs.
The same files double as a meeting notes template. The sections below explain how minutes and notes differ, so you can choose before you download. You may also see this document called a minutes of meeting template or MoM template. It is the same thing. If you would rather not take minutes by hand at all, skip to how Comu turns a recording into a finished note, with no typing and no template to fill in.
Free meeting minutes template Word downloads
Each file has two pages. Page one is blank. Page two is the same template filled in with made-up details, so you can see how much to write. Planning the meeting first? Our meeting agenda template page has five free Word files for the agenda that comes before the minutes.
| Template | Best for | Download |
|---|---|---|
| General meeting minutes | Any meeting with decisions and action items | Word file |
| Board meeting minutes | Boards, committees, and groups that vote | Word file |
| Weekly team meeting notes | Recurring team check-ins | Word file |
| Project meeting notes | Status, risks, and milestones | Word file |
| 1:1 meeting notes | Manager and team member meetings | Word file |
| Client meeting notes | Calls with customers and prospects | Word file |
All six are plain Word tables with no macros. Change the headings, delete the rows you do not need, and save your own copy. If you prefer a spreadsheet, paste the action items table into Excel or Google Sheets, since it is a simple three column table. The Word files are the only formats we offer. Short on time? Let a recording write the minutes for you.
Meeting minutes vs meeting notes
Meeting minutes are the official record of what a group decided. Meeting notes are your own working record of what was discussed. Minutes are written for people who were not there and for the file. Notes are written for yourself or your team.
| Meeting minutes | Meeting notes | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | A formal record | A working record |
| Focus | What was decided and done | What was discussed |
| Audience | Members, the file, sometimes auditors | You and your team |
| Tone | Neutral, brief, no opinions | Whatever helps you remember |
| Approved by others | Yes, usually at the next meeting | No |
| Typical use | Boards, committees, formal meetings | Team meetings, 1:1s, client calls |
If a meeting passes motions or someone may need to prove a decision later, write minutes. If you only need to remember what was said and who owes what, write notes. The board template is built for minutes. The other five lean toward notes, though all six can be used either way.
Meeting minutes format: what to include
Under Robert's Rules of Order, minutes record what was done, not what was said. The City of Madison attorney's guide to taking minutes puts it this way: "brevity is the soul of good minutes. Minutes are to reflect what was done at the meeting, not what was said."
The same guide lists what complete minutes contain:
- The type of meeting: regular, special, or adjourned
- The name of the group
- The date, time, and place
- The chair
- Whether the previous minutes were approved
- Each main motion, including amendments, and the vote on it
- Secondary motions and what happened to them
- Reports and what happened to them
- Points of order and appeals
- The time the meeting ended
Many organizations add attendance and the names of the people who made and seconded each motion. The Madison guide asks for both, along with the voting method and a note that a quorum was present. Wikipedia's article on minutes describes the same core: the body that met, the place, the date, who was present, and every formal motion, whether or not it passed.
For a team meeting that does not vote, a shorter version works: who attended, what was decided, and who does what by when. That is what the general template covers.
A simple meeting minutes format you can copy
If you want the format without downloading anything, copy this layout into any document:
- Heading: group name, meeting type, date, time, and place
- Attendance: who was present, who was absent, and who chaired
- Previous minutes: approved, approved with changes, or deferred
- Items: one line per agenda item with the decision made
- Motions: the exact wording, who moved and seconded, and the vote
- Action items: what, who, and by when
- Close: the next meeting date and the time the meeting ended
- Sign-off: who wrote the minutes, and the date they were approved
The board template follows a similar order and adds a reports section. The general template leaves out motions and sign-off.
Board meeting minutes template: quorum, motions, and votes
A group that votes needs more than a list of decisions. The board template adds fields for the points the Madison guide asks for: whether a quorum was present, the wording of each motion, who moved and seconded it, the count for, against, and abstaining, and the result. It also has a line for conflicts declared, a line for the secretary who wrote the minutes, and a line for the date the minutes were approved.
Keep the motion wording exactly as it was adopted. Leave out the debate that led to it. If a motion fails, record it too: Wikipedia notes that when a formal motion is proposed and seconded, it is recorded whether or not it passes.
Meeting summary vs meeting minutes
A meeting summary is a short recap, usually sent right after the meeting to people who attended and people who missed it. It lists the decisions and next steps in a few lines. It skips attendance, motions, and formal approval. Minutes are the record. The summary is the message.
A simple meeting summary template has four parts: the purpose of the meeting, what was decided, action items with owners and dates, and the next meeting. The general template's items and action items sections give you the middle two parts, so you can paste them into an email, add one line on the purpose and the next meeting date, and send it as the summary. If you already have the minutes, the summary is just a shorter version of them.
Which meeting minutes or meeting notes template should you use?
| If your meeting is | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A regular business meeting | General meeting minutes | Attendance, decisions, and action items on one page |
| A board or committee that votes | Board meeting minutes | Fields for quorum, motion wording, mover, seconder, and vote count |
| A weekly team check-in | Weekly team meeting notes | Updates by person, blockers, and priorities |
| A project with milestones | Project meeting notes | Milestone status, risks, and decisions |
| A one-on-one with a direct report | 1:1 meeting notes | Topics from both sides, growth, and follow-ups |
| A call with a customer | Client meeting notes | Client needs, concerns, and commitments from both sides |
How to write meeting minutes in five steps
- Prepare before the meeting. Copy the template, fill in the title, date, and expected attendees, and paste in the agenda items. The agenda becomes the skeleton of the minutes.
- Record attendance first. Note who is present and absent. For a group that votes, note whether a quorum is present.
- Capture decisions, not conversation. Write what was agreed in one sentence per item. Leave out who said what unless the group needs it on record.
- List action items with an owner and a date. An action with no owner usually does not get done. Read the list aloud before the meeting ends. If you would rather not track these by hand, see how a recording does it for you.
- Send them soon and get them approved. Send the draft within a day or two while people remember the meeting, and ask attendees to reply only if something is wrong. Formal groups approve the minutes at the next meeting, and the approval goes in that meeting's record.
Common mistakes in meeting minutes
- Writing the discussion instead of the decision. The minutes get long and nobody reads them.
- Leaving an action item without an owner or a date. It looks assigned but belongs to no one.
- Waiting a week to send them. Memories fade, and people stop checking.
- Recording opinions or side remarks. Keep minutes neutral, and leave out who said what unless the group needs it on record.
- Rewording a motion. In a group that votes, record the words that were adopted.
How to take meeting notes
Notes need less structure than minutes, but the same few habits help.
- Write down decisions and tasks first. Everything else is optional.
- Mark action items as you hear them. A star or "TODO" beside the line saves a search later.
- Note the reason for a decision. In a month, "we chose option B" is less useful than "we chose option B because option A needs a vendor we cannot start with until May."
- Capture questions that are still open. They become the first item of the next meeting.
- Use the same layout every time. Pick a template for meeting notes that matches the meeting. The templates above give you one for each kind of meeting.
Meeting minutes examples
Each template's second page is a worked example. These are the three most useful to look at first.
General minutes. A product launch sync of four people. It records the date and time, who was present, the decision to launch on April 9, and two action items with owners and due dates. It fits on one page.
Board minutes. A community garden association's regular meeting. It records that four of five directors were present and a quorum existed, the exact wording of a motion to spend up to $1,800, who moved and seconded it, the vote of 4 to 0, and the time the meeting ended.
Client notes. A first call with a dental group. It records what the client needs, what was presented, one open question, and a commitment from each side with a due date.
In plain text, the core of the general example looks like this:
| Item | Decision |
|---|---|
| Launch date | Launch on April 9 |
| Support readiness | Priya finishes the help center articles by April 3 |
The action items are to finish the help center articles (Priya Nair, April 3) and to confirm the courier pickup (Leo Brandt, April 1). The meeting was adjourned at 10:45.
All the names, companies, and numbers in the examples are made up.
Turn a recording into meeting minutes without typing
Writing minutes by hand means listening and typing at once, and a fast discussion is hard to keep up with. Recording the meeting lets you get the notes afterward from a transcript instead, with nothing to fill in by hand. To record a Google Meet or Teams meeting first, read How to record Google Meet and Teams meetings.
Record only with permission. Tell the other person you are recording. Laws on recording calls differ by country, and you are responsible for following them. This is general information, not legal advice.
Here is how a recording maps to the template:
| Template section | What a transcript gives you |
|---|---|
| Attendees | Speaker labels show who spoke |
| Items discussed | The transcript and summary, ready to shorten |
| Decisions | Search the transcript for "agreed", "decided", "approved" |
| Action items | Pull every "I will" and "by Friday" into the table |
| Motion wording | Check the exact words against the recording |
Comu takes out the manual step. Its built-in summary templates already follow these meeting structures: who attended, what was decided, and who owns each action item. Record the meeting with a Comu recorder, and the app transcribes live, names the speakers, and turns the recording into a finished note in the template you choose. You do not type the minutes or build the template yourself. Actions pulls out each task with its owner and due date, and you can edit the summary before you share it. There are more than 30 built-in templates, and you can create as many of your own as you like. All of this is included on the free plan that comes with the device. Export the summary and the action items as TXT, Markdown, Word, or PDF. Whatever the tool produces, read it before you send it. AI-generated results are meant to assist you and may need review and adjustment before final use.
Comu Note Pro is the thin one at 3.1 mm. Comu Action Pro has six microphones and about 7 m of indoor pickup. For the wider set of features, read our guide to the features that come with Comu.
Common questions about meeting minutes and notes
What is the difference between meeting minutes and meeting notes?
Minutes are the formal record of what a group decided and did, usually approved at the next meeting. Notes are an informal record of what was discussed, kept for your own use or your team's. Minutes leave out opinions and debate. Notes can include anything that helps you remember.
How do you do minutes for a meeting?
Start from a template. Record the date, place, and who attended. For each item, write the decision in one sentence. List action items with an owner and a due date. Note when the meeting ended. Send the draft soon after, and get it approved at the next meeting if your group requires that.
Who is responsible for taking meeting minutes?
Usually a secretary, whom the group appoints or informally assigns. Wikipedia notes that minutes may be taken by a typist or court reporter, by an appointed or informal secretary taking notes, or from an audio or video recording. In a small team meeting, agree on who writes them before the meeting starts, so that it is not left to whoever is nearest the laptop.
What should meeting minutes include?
The group's name, the date, time, and place, who was present, the chair, whether the last minutes were approved, each motion and its outcome, reports, action items, and the time the meeting ended. A meeting that does not vote can shorten this to attendees, decisions, and action items.
How long should meeting minutes be?
As short as the meeting allows. There is no fixed length. A short team meeting may need half a page, and a long formal meeting several pages. If your minutes are longer than the meeting was worth, you are probably recording discussion instead of decisions.
Can I use these templates in Google Docs?
Yes. Upload the Word file to Google Drive, right-click it, and open it with Google Docs. Check the table layout after you open it, since Docs can change column widths. If you want a shared copy, use File, then Make a copy, so the original stays blank for the next meeting.
Can ChatGPT or another AI write meeting minutes?
An AI tool can draft minutes from a transcript or a recording, and it is faster than typing them yourself. It can also get names, numbers, or the wording of a motion wrong. Read the draft against the recording before you send it, and never let an AI tool's version stand for a formal vote record without checking.
Are meeting minutes legal documents?
Minutes are usually treated as the official record of what a group decided. Some organizations and public bodies have legal rules about what minutes must contain and how long to keep them, and those rules differ by place and by type of organization. Check your bylaws or ask your counsel. This page is general information, not legal advice.
Sources
Pages were checked on Oct 30, 2026.
- City of Madison Attorney's Office, Taking Committee Minutes (Robert's Rules of Order)
- Wikipedia, Minutes
- Comu, Comu Action Pro and Comu Note Pro
