A briefing note tells a busy decision maker, in two pages or less, what an issue is, where it stands, what the choices are and what you advise. To write a briefing note, head it with the subject and whether it is for decision or for information, state the purpose first, give only the background the reader lacks, lay out the options, and close with a recommendation and a contact.
This guide is published by EdCitation. Every source was read on 26 September 2026: Canadian, British, Scottish and Australian government guidance and four universities' pages, each dated below, because departments revise their templates.
EdCitation never writes anyone's briefing notes. What it does is read a briefing-note assignment, or a department's written instructions, into a list of requirements with Check your paper; below is a real run, misreadings and all. The evidence is where Find sources and Cite a source come in: one searches published research, the other takes a DOI or title and returns the reference as the publisher recorded it. Policy memos have a guide of their own.
What is a briefing note, and who reads it?
A briefing note is a short document that explains an issue, summarises analysis or gives advice to someone who must act on it. That is close to the Province of British Columbia (2026) definition, which names the readers there: the Premier, ministers, ministers of state and deputy ministers.
- Ministers and senior officials. Under the Access to Information Act, Canada's federal government publishes the titles and numbers of memoranda its ministers and deputy heads receive, Cabinet confidences excepted. On the day we looked, the register listed 67,681 notes for information, 60,243 for decision and 30,988 for signature (Government of Canada, n.d.).
- Boards. The University of Calgary's Secretariat keeps a briefing note template for items going to its Board of Governors and General Faculties Council.
- Managers and chairs. Manitoba Education (n.d.) gives the example of an executive assistant briefing a chairperson before a board meeting.
What sets a briefing note apart from a policy memo is the setting: a fixed layout, a tracking number and a line saying what action is wanted. In UK departments the decision paper is called a "submission".
What are the parts of a briefing note?
A briefing note has a heading, then purpose, background, current status, considerations or options, a recommendation and a contact. Offices rename, merge or reorder some of them.
Heading and purpose
The heading names reader, writer and date, gives the subject in plain words, and says whether the note is for decision, information or signature. Manitoba Education (n.d.) lists name, date and subject as the first three parts. The purpose then says, in a sentence or two, what the reader is asked to do. The Department for Work and Pensions (2011) template caps its "Issue" section at 100 words.
Background and current status
Background gives earlier decisions, the policy in force and the key figures; current status says where things stand and who has been consulted. One Scottish minister's published preferences ask officials to leave out background the minister already knows (Scottish Government, 2026).
Considerations, recommendation and contact
Considerations cover cost, risk, law, stakeholders and communications; a decision note sets out two or three options with the case for and against each. The Victorian Public Sector Commission (2022) asks every brief for analysis, evidence, consultation, any legal requirement for the power the minister would use, risks and options. The recommendation follows, each one numbered if there are several, and the note ends with the writer's contact and, in many offices, who cleared it.
| Section | What goes in | Length | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heading | Reader, writer, date, subject; decision, information or signature | A few lines | Manitoba Education (n.d.); Government of Canada (n.d.) |
| Purpose or issue | What the note is about and what the reader must do | 100 words at most in the DWP template | Department for Work and Pensions (2011) |
| Background | Earlier decisions, policy in force, key facts, each cited (Cite a source) | Only what the reader lacks | Scottish Government (2026) |
| Current status | Where things stand, consultation so far | No source we read sets one | DWP meeting-brief guidance (2011) |
| Considerations or options | Cost, risk, law, stakeholders; options with pros and cons | Inside the DWP's two A4 pages of discussion | Victorian Public Sector Commission (2022) |
| Recommendation | The action advised and why, each numbered | Short | Department for Work and Pensions (2011) |
| Contact | Writer's contact; who cleared it | One or two lines | Manitoba Education (n.d.) |
| Whole note | All of the above | Generally two pages at most | Australian Public Service Commission (2021) |
Check your paper builds a list like this from written instructions.
How long should a briefing note be?
A briefing note is usually two pages or less, but that is the most common figure, not a universal rule:
- The Australian Public Service Commission (2021) says ministerial briefs "should generally be no more than two pages".
- The DWP fits title, issue, recommendation and timing on one page and holds the discussion to two A4 pages, readable in under five minutes.
- Manitoba says a briefing paper will "seldom exceed two pages".
- The University of Calgary (2015) tips allow three pages but prefer one or two.
- An Ontario Ministry of Finance interview task, reproduced by Queen's University School of Policy Studies (2021), set two pages plus one or two data appendices.
An office template or a course's word limit beats every figure above; our word-count guide covers what counts.
Is a briefing note for decision or for information?
A briefing note is for decision when the reader must choose, approve or sign, and for information when they only need to know; the heading says which. Canada's register adds "for signature" as a third label, and Calgary's board template adds "discussion".
The label changes the ending. A decision note needs options, a recommendation and often a line to sign. An information note can end with next steps. The DWP still asks for a recommendation line when the ask is only to "read for information", so the reader knows nothing more is expected.
How do governments teach briefing notes?
Governments teach the form through public service schools, department templates and published guidance.
Canada
The Canada School of Public Service (2022) runs a one-hour online course, Writing Briefing Notes, built on four steps: plan, research, draft and review. A job aid modified in December 2024 links to departments' own templates (Canada School of Public Service, 2024). We read the catalogue descriptions, not the course. British Columbia publishes monthly summaries of notes prepared for ministers, 60 days after each month ends, and Manitoba's teacher note adds a "Cautionary Notes" section for sensitive points.
The United Kingdom
UK departments call the decision paper a submission and keep "briefing" for the pack before a meeting. The fullest published template we found is the DWP's, released under Freedom of Information in February 2011 and now held on GOV.UK: issue, recommendation, timing (routine, typically five working days, or urgent), then discussion of impact, finance, evidence, risk, handling and legal points, and clearance. It is fifteen years old and names coalition-era processes, so treat it as one department's practice.
The Scottish Government release of 31 March 2026 is current: officials state a purpose, a recommendation and a timescale, and mark priority as immediate, urgent or routine. The Civil Service Policy Profession (2022) standards describe the skill as presenting information so someone else can understand a subject quickly. We found no current cross-government template on GOV.UK.
Australia
Working with Ministers, from the Australian Public Service Commission (2021), says briefs give ministers information, advice and decision points, are cleared by senior executives, and should show well-researched options, the evidence and the consultation done. Victoria's guidance adds that a written brief is the record of the advice a government received.
What do briefing-note assignments at university ask for?
University briefing-note assignments set their own length, sections and sources, and those override any government template.
- Royal Roads University, LRNT521, due 6 April 2026. A note of at most 1,000 words to a new senior decision maker, plus a background appendix of at most 1,500 words, in APA style, covering the issue, background, current situation and concerns, impact on learning, and recommendations (Royal Roads University, 2026).
- Trent University Academic Skills (n.d.). Executive summary, issue definition, policy background, best practices from other jurisdictions, options with one recommendation, and references grouped by kind.
Queen's School of Policy Studies, preparing students for the same task at job interviews, advises defining the issue in one sentence. The marking rubric matters as much as the brief: our guide to briefs and rubrics.
Our briefing note template
This template is EdCitation's own, drawn from the sources above, not any government's form. Use your office's or course's template where one exists.
BRIEFING NOTE FOR DECISION / FOR INFORMATION
To: [Minister, senior official, board or committee]
From: [Branch or unit] Cleared by: [senior official, title]
Date: [Day Month Year] Reference: [tracking number]
Subject: [The issue in plain words]
PURPOSE [Why the reader has this now; decide, sign or note.]
BACKGROUND [Only what the reader lacks, each figure sourced.]
CURRENT STATUS [Where things stand; who has been consulted.]
OPTIONS [Two or three, with the case for and against each.]
RECOMMENDATION [The option advised and why.]
Approved [ ] Not approved [ ] Signature ______
CONTACT [Name, title, telephone] Attachments: [titles]
A briefing note example (invented)
The city, committee, dates and local figures are invented; only the cited study is real.
BRIEFING NOTE FOR DECISION
To: Transport Committee, City of Eastvale (invented)
From: Road Safety Team Cleared by: Director of Transport
Date: 12 October 2026 Reference: EV-TR-0417
Subject: A 20 mph limit on residential streets in two wards
PURPOSE Approval to consult on 20 mph limits in two wards
from January 2027.
BACKGROUND Injuries on residential streets in the wards: [local
figure, source]. A London study of 20 mph zones found
[finding, page] (Grundy et al., 2009).
STATUS Police and bus operator consulted in September; no
budget yet assigned.
OPTIONS 1. Two-ward trial: low cost, measurable, slower.
2. City-wide limit: faster, untested locally.
3. No change: no cost; injury rate unchanged.
RECOMMEND Option 1, with results reported by March 2028.
CONTACT Road Safety Officer, Road Safety Team
The brackets stay until each figure has been read in its source.
How to write a briefing note, step by step
- Turn the request or assignment into a list of rules: length, sections, style, deadline. Check your paper does this free.
- Decide whether the note is for decision, information or signature.
- Write the purpose in two sentences before anything else.
- Search for evidence in Find sources; turn each source you keep into a reference with Cite a source.
- Draft background and current status, cutting what the reader already knows.
- Set out the options, then the recommendation.
- Add contact and clearance, then cut to the length allowed.
- Run the reference list through Verify references before the note goes up.
Where does EdCitation help with a briefing note?
EdCitation helps with the instructions and the evidence, never the writing. For the sources a note relies on, EdCitation is the strongest tool we know: each reference is looked up in the publisher's record, never composed, which a chatbot cannot promise. All of this is free with no account.
The Royal Roads assignment in Check your paper
We pasted the Royal Roads assignment (604 words) into Check your paper. It gave back two rules, quoting the sentence behind each: Word count, at most 1,000, from "Your briefing note must be a maximum of 1000 words.", and Citation style, APA, from the sentence asking for APA standards.
It set aside 11 sentences for the reader, among them the appendix's 1,500-word limit, the line saying the reference list is not counted, the required parts with their lead-in, "Your briefing note should include the following: an overview of the issue being examined; background information; assessment of the current situation and key concerns; identification of impact on learning, teaching, or education; recommendations/considerations for moving forward.", and the sentence requiring an AI Transparency Statement from anyone who uses generative AI. The parts did not become a required-headings rule, so tick them off yourself.
Evidence for the example
Find sources searched "20 mph zones road casualties", most cited first, and reported 3,113,098 matches. The top six were all on the question, led by Grundy and colleagues' 2009 study in the BMJ and a 2014 umbrella review in the Journal of Public Health. Given the study's DOI, Cite a source produced, with journal and volume italic on the page:
Grundy, C., Steinbach, R., Edwards, P., Green, J., Armstrong, B., & Wilkinson, P. (2009). Effect of 20 mph traffic speed zones on road injuries in London, 1986-2006: Controlled interrupted time series analysis. BMJ, 339, Article b4469. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.b4469
All six authors came from the Crossref record, with "Article b4469" where the journal numbers articles instead of pages; the retraction screen found nothing. Mechanics QA, part of Pro ($8 a month), holds the formatting to the chosen style; Theoretics QA, part of Max ($24 a month), weighs a finished note against its assignment, quoting it and changing nothing. Pricing has the details.
Quick questions
Which sections does a briefing note need?
Heading, purpose, background, current status, considerations or options, recommendation and contact. Office templates rename or merge some of them.
How long is a briefing note?
Usually two pages or less. The Australian Public Service Commission says generally no more than two; the University of Calgary allows three but prefers one or two.
What is the difference between a briefing note for decision and for information?
A note for decision asks the reader to choose or approve and carries options and a recommendation. A note for information tells the reader something and asks for no action.
Is a UK ministerial submission a briefing note?
In function, yes. UK departments call the written request for a decision a submission, and use "briefing" for the pack before a meeting or visit.
Can EdCitation write my briefing note?
No. Every word of a briefing note is yours; EdCitation writes none of it. It reads the instructions into a checklist with Check your paper and looks up the sources you cite.
References
- Australian Public Service Commission. (2021, November 16). Working with ministers: Strengthening partnerships. https://www.apsc.gov.au/publication/working-ministers
- Canada School of Public Service. (2022). Writing briefing notes (TRN118) [Course description]. https://catalogue.csps-efpc.gc.ca/product?catalog=TRN118&cm_locale=en
- Canada School of Public Service. (2024). How to write a briefing note (FON1-J01) [Job aid description]. https://catalogue.csps-efpc.gc.ca/product?catalog=FON1-J01&cm_locale=en
- Civil Service Policy Profession. (2022). Policy Profession Standards: Annex: Detailed descriptors [PDF]. GOV.UK. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6246c68de90e075f08be4229/UPDATED_PP_Standards_annex_v6_acc.pdf
- Department for Work and Pensions. (2011). Freedom of Information request 248/2011: Ministerial submission template and guidance [PDF]. GOV.UK. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7f4e1be5274a2e87db50bc/foi-248-2011-ministerial-sub.pdf
- Government of Canada. (n.d.). Briefing note titles and numbers. Open Government Portal. https://search.open.canada.ca/briefingt/
- Grundy, C., Steinbach, R., Edwards, P., Green, J., Armstrong, B., & Wilkinson, P. (2009). Effect of 20 mph traffic speed zones on road injuries in London, 1986-2006: Controlled interrupted time series analysis. BMJ, 339, Article b4469. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.b4469
- Manitoba Education. (n.d.). Developing a briefing paper (Teacher note TN 21) [PDF]. https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/socstud/frame_found_sr2/tns/tn-21.pdf
- Province of British Columbia. (2026, March 11). Briefing note summaries. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/about-the-bc-government/open-government/open-information/government-information-regularly-released/ministerial-briefing-note-summaries
- Queen's University School of Policy Studies. (2021). 2.6 Quick reference: Briefing note/policy brief writing for job applications [PDF]. GovTalk. https://www.queensu.ca/sps/sites/spswww/files/uploaded_files/GovTalk/2_6%20BN_%20JobApplications.pdf
- Royal Roads University. (2026). Assignment 3: Briefing note (individual). LRNT521, Master of Arts in Learning and Technology. https://malat-coursesite.royalroads.ca/lrnt521/assessment/assignment-3/
- Scottish Government. (2026, March 31). Ministerial preferences: FOI release (FOI/202600501881). https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202600501881/
- Trent University Academic Skills. (n.d.). How to write a policy assignment. https://www.trentu.ca/academicskills/how-guides/how-write-university/how-approach-any-assignment/how-write-policy-assignment
- University of Calgary, University Secretariat. (2015). Tips for writing Secretariat briefing notes [Word document]. https://www.ucalgary.ca/secretariat/sites/default/files/teams/1/GFC/Tips%20for%20Writing%20Briefing%20Notes%202015.docx
- University of Calgary, University Secretariat. (2026). Briefing note template [Word document]. https://www.ucalgary.ca/secretariat/board-governors/briefing-note-templates
- Victorian Public Sector Commission. (2022, October 28). How to brief your minister. https://www.vpsc.vic.gov.au/working-public-sector/conduct-integrity-and-values/working-ministers/informing-and-advising-ministers/advice-officers-and-executives/how-brief-your-minister