A meeting minutes template gives every set of minutes the same bones: a heading, who was there, the quorum, interests declared, the last minutes approved, one numbered section per agenda item with its decision and actions, the next meeting and a signature line. The templates below are EdCitation's own, written for this guide, and each can be copied as plain text.
A general template comes first, then variants for a company board, charity trustees, a school governing board and a club, each field tied to a rule read at source on 26 September 2026, then an invented worked example. This is general information, not legal advice: your own articles, bylaws or standing orders come first, and your company secretary, clerk or lawyer answers for your body.
Taking the notes is in how to take meeting minutes, the contents in what to include in meeting minutes, and whether you need minutes in minutes, notes or an action log. EdCitation never writes minutes, though its free Cite a source will reference any report a minute names.
Meeting minutes template: the general version
Use this for any meeting that must keep minutes and has no set form of its own. Delete the lines your rules do not need.
[NAME OF BODY]
Minutes of the [kind of meeting]
held on [day, date] at [time] at [place, or platform if online]
Present: [name, role]; [name, role] (online)
In attendance: [name, role], items [x] to [y]
Apologies: [name]
Minutes taken by: [name]
1. Quorum: [number] present; quorum [number].
2. Declarations of interest
[Name]: [interest], item [x]. [Left at time / did not vote.]
3. Minutes of [date]: approved [as corrected] and signed by the chair.
4. Matters arising: action [number] [done / carried to date].
5. [Item]. Paper [number]: [title, author, date]
[Key points and reasons.]
RESOLVED / AGREED that [exact wording].
Vote: [for] for, [against] against, [abstained] abstained.
ACTION: [what], [who], by [date].
6. Next meeting: [date, time, place]
Signed: ____________________ (Chair) Date: __________
DRAFT until approved at the next meeting.
The last line follows the Chartered Governance Institute, which published its guidance as ICSA (2017): minutes are marked draft until approved, numbered in sequence, and written in reported speech. Keep the vote line only where your rules ask for counts.
Which rule asks for each field?
Each field answers to a statute, a regulator or a rulebook, and which one depends on the body. "Silent" means the sources we read say nothing, not that the field can go.
| Field | Company board (UK) | Charity trustees (England and Wales) | School governing board (England) | Club under Robert's Rules |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heading, how held | CGI guidance | CC48 | Silent | Silent |
| Quorum | Model article 11: two | Governing document | Regulation 14: half, rounded up | Bylaws |
| Interests | Section 177; model article 14 | CC48: who, steps taken | Regulation 16: disclose, withdraw | Silent |
| Last minutes | Section 249: chair authenticates | CC48: chair signs | Regulation 15(1): chair signs | No vote; "as corrected" |
| Discussion | CGI: key points, reasons | CC48: summary, full reasons | Silent | None |
| Decisions, votes | Model article 15 | CC48: exact wording, who voted how | Regulation 14(3) and (4) | 48:5(2) sets when counts go in |
| Keep for | 10 years (s. 248) | 6 years; 10 for a company | Retention guidelines | Bylaws |
CC48 is the Charity Commission's meeting guidance; the club column comes from Robert's Rules Association (2020), since the manual itself is sold in print and was not read here.
Company board minutes template (UK, with a US note)
Every UK company must minute all proceedings at directors' meetings and keep the minutes at least ten years (Companies Act 2006, s. 248).
[COMPANY NAME IN FULL] (company number [number])
Minutes of a meeting of the board of directors
held on [date] at [time, time zone] at [place / by video]
Directors present: [name] (Chair); [name] (by video, from [place])
In attendance: [name] (Company Secretary); [name, title], item [x]
Apologies: [name]
1. Quorum and notice: a quorum was present and notice was given.
2. Interests: [name] declared the nature and extent of an interest in
[transaction] and was not counted in the quorum or vote on item [x].
3. Minutes of [date]: approved and signed by the chair.
4. [Item]. Board paper [reference]
The board considered [paper], noting [key points and challenges].
IT WAS RESOLVED THAT [exact wording].
5. For noting: [report] was received and its contents noted.
6. Written resolutions since [date]: [subject], filed with these minutes.
The heading follows the Institute's list, with the company number and remote directors' locations as its optional extras (ICSA, 2017). Section 177 asks for an interest's nature and extent; model article 14 then keeps that director out of the quorum and vote unless an exception applies. Line 6 exists because article 15 requires a written record, kept ten years, of every unanimous or majority decision, and article 8 lets a unanimous decision be a written resolution.
For a Delaware corporation, the quorum is a majority of all directors unless the certificate or bylaws set another figure, never below one third (8 Del. C. §141(b)); consents given without a meeting are filed with the minutes (§141(f)); and one officer records the proceedings (§142(a)).
Charity trustees' meeting minutes template (England and Wales)
The Charity Commission for England and Wales (2024) calls minutes the written legal record of a meeting and lists what they should hold. This variant gives each item a line.
[CHARITY NAME] (registered charity number [number])
Minutes of the trustees' meeting held on [date] at [time], [venue]
Trustees present: [name] (Chair); [name] (Treasurer); [name]
In attendance: [name] (Secretary); [name] (adviser, item [x])
Apologies: [name]
1. Quorum: [number] present; quorum under clause [x] is [number].
2. Conflicts of interest: [name], [conflict]; steps taken: [ ].
3. Minutes of [date]: approved and signed. [Objection noted: ]
4. [Item]. Paper [number]
Discussion: [summary]
Information relied on: [papers, figures]
Specialist advice: [who / none taken]
Decision: RESOLVED that [exact wording]
Reasons: [full reasons]
Votes: For [names]. Against [names]. Abstained [names].
Actions: [what], [who], by [date]
5. Next meeting: [date, time, venue]
The information, advice and reasons lines come from CC48, which wants more detail for complex or high-risk decisions, and who voted and how unless the poll was private. An objection trustees cannot resolve is noted before the chair signs. The registered number is our addition.
For a US nonprofit, California's public benefit corporations must keep minutes of members, board and board committees (Cal. Corp. Code §6320), and Form 990 asks whether each meeting was documented by the later of the next meeting or 60 days afterwards (Internal Revenue Service, 2026).
School governing board minutes template (maintained schools in England)
Under regulation 15 of the 2013 Regulations, a maintained school's clerk makes sure minutes exist and that the chair signs them, once the board approves them, at its next meeting.
[SCHOOL NAME]
Minutes of the governing board meeting held on [date] at [time], [place]
Governors present: [name] (Chair); [name] (Headteacher); [name, category]
Associate members: [name]
In attendance: [name] (Clerk)
Apologies: [name]: absence [consented to / not consented to]
1. Quorum: [number] of [number] serving governors; quorum [number].
2. Interests: [name] disclosed [interest] in item [x], withdrew, did not vote.
3. Minutes of [date]: approved and signed by the chair.
4. Chair's action: [decision, date, why delay would have harmed].
5. [Item]: [key points]. AGREED that [wording].
Vote: [for / against / abstained]. [Casting vote used.]
ACTION: [what], [who], by [date].
6. Confidential items: minuted separately; withheld from inspection.
The quorum excludes vacancies, and the chair has a casting vote (regulation 14). Anyone with a conflict discloses it, withdraws and does not vote (regulation 16); the Department for Education (2026) repeats that duty and asks for chair's action to be recorded in the minutes. The apologies line matters: a governor, unless in office by virtue of another post, who misses meetings for six months without the board's consent is disqualified (2012 Regulations, schedule 4, paragraph 9). Material on named staff, named pupils or other confidential matters may be withheld from the minutes open to inspection (regulation 15(3)), hence line 6. We did not read the rules for academies.
Club or society committee minutes template
Under Robert's Rules, minutes record what was done, not what was said, so this variant has no discussion line (Robert's Rules Association, n.d.-a).
[CLUB OR SOCIETY NAME]
Minutes of the [regular / special] meeting of the [committee] held on
[date] at [time], [place]. The chair, [name], presided; the secretary,
[name], was present. Members present: [number]; quorum [number].
1. The minutes of [date] were approved [as corrected].
2. Reports: [officer or committee], [received / attached].
3. Motion: that [exact wording]. [Adopted / Lost]. [Count: x to y.]
4. Notice given of a motion for the next meeting: [wording].
5. Adjourned at [time]. [Signature, as bylaws require]
Line 1 carries no vote: the association's summary of the 12th edition says minutes are declared approved once no further corrections are offered, and that an assembly may ask for different information (Robert's Rules Association, 2020). The association's bylaws clause for adopting the manual makes it govern only where consistent with the bylaws (Robert's Rules Association, n.d.-b), so your bylaws win over this template.
A worked example: an invented charity trustees' meeting
Everything in this example is invented: the charity, the funder, the people and the figures. People appear by role.
THE TOY LIBRARY (an invented charity)
Minutes of the trustees' meeting held on Wednesday 9 September 2026
at 7.00 pm in the community room
Trustees present: Chair; Treasurer; Trustees A, B, C and D
In attendance: Secretary (minutes)
Apologies: Trustee E
1. Quorum: six present; quorum under clause 12 is four.
2. Conflicts: Trustee B sits on Funder X's grants panel (item 4); left
at 7.20 pm, returned at 7.45 pm. Five remained, above the quorum.
3. Minutes of 8 July 2026: approved with one correction (item 5: the
open day is 3 October, not 3 November) and signed.
4. Grant offer from Funder X. Paper 4
Discussion: £6,000 a year for two years, conditional on Saturday
opening and a quarterly report.
Information relied on: paper 4, the offer letter; paper 5, the
treasurer's cash-flow forecast.
Specialist advice: none taken.
Decision: RESOLVED that the charity accepts the offer on its terms.
Reasons: it pays for Saturday opening, which members asked for, and
the forecast keeps reserves above the policy minimum.
Votes: For Chair, Treasurer, Trustees A and C. Abstained Trustee D.
Actions: Secretary to return the acceptance by 30 September 2026;
Trustee A to draft a Saturday rota by 14 October 2026.
5. Next meeting: Wednesday 11 November 2026, 7.00 pm.
The quorum is checked again when Trustee B leaves, "none taken" answers the advice field instead of skipping it, and the reasons line says why while the debate shrinks to a sentence.
How do you adapt a template to your standing orders?
Read every rule your body works under, then change the template until each requirement has a line and nothing contradicts them.
- Collect the statute over your body, its articles, constitution or bylaws, and its standing orders or terms of reference.
- Mark every sentence on minutes, records, quorum, voting, interests or signatures.
- Give each requirement its own line, in the rule's own words.
- Set the quorum line to the rule's figure and any condition on it.
- Remove what your rules exclude.
- Have the secretary or clerk confirm the layout, and recheck it when the rules change.
A real example: the Charity Commission's own board
The Commission's standing orders for its board (Charity Commission for England and Wales, 2025) require the minutes to name every member present, anyone else present, apologies, anyone who withdrew over an actual or apparent conflict, and any declaration of interest (article 4.9.4). Decisions are resolutions recorded in the minutes (4.6.1); a member may ask for their vote or abstention to be recorded (4.6.7); and the quorum rises with the board's size and needs a legally qualified member (4.7.1). Adapted, the general template gains a "Withdrew for a conflict" line, a quorum line naming the qualified member, and a line for votes recorded on request.
A template is not the minutes
ICSA (2017) warns that minutes drafted in advance must still match what happened, lose needless boilerplate, and come from a meeting actually held, "not fabricated". Fill a template after the meeting, never before.
What does EdCitation do for minutes, and what does it not?
EdCitation does not take notes, write minutes or fill in a template, and it does not judge whether minutes meet the law. For citing the documents a minute points to, it is the best tool we know: it takes each detail from the page or the publisher's record, and lets you see and fix what it took, rather than composing an entry, which matters in a record that becomes evidence once a company's chair authenticates it.
Citing the policy a minute refers to
Given the address of the Department for Education's governance guide on 26 September 2026, Cite a source returned:
Department for Education. (2026, July 15). Maintained schools: Governance guide. GOV.UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/maintained-schools-governance-guide/maintained-schools-governance-guide
Author, title and date are right: 15 July 2026 is the guide's latest update on GOV.UK, the version a board now reads, though it was first published on 19 November 2025. See citing a website in APA 7.
Standing orders as a checklist: what Check your paper returned
We pasted the Commission's full standing orders, about 2,470 words, into Check your paper. The checklist came back empty, with 17 sentences set aside as not checked, among them "4.9.4 The record of the minutes shall include:" without the five items under it. Articles 4.6.1 and 4.6.7, both on what the minutes record, appeared in neither list. A second run with only those minutes articles returned no rules either. So the tool does not yet turn standing orders into a minutes checklist; use the procedure above. It is built for assignment instructions, and a tender brief with page limits and required sections suits it far better (see reading an assignment brief).
For a board paper's evidence, Find sources searches about 300 million published works, and Verify references sorts a list into verified, doubtful and not found, with retracted papers flagged and anything it could not check labelled that way, never as missing. These three cost nothing and need no account. Checking a paper is what Pro ($8 a month) and Max ($24) are for; see pricing.
Quick questions
Is there a free meeting minutes template I can copy?
Yes. The templates in this guide are EdCitation's own, free to copy and change; fill the brackets after the meeting.
Can one template serve every meeting?
The general one suits most meetings; a board, charity, school or club should start from its own variant and adapt it to its standing orders.
Should a minutes template have a discussion section?
It depends on your rules. Charity Commission guidance asks for a summary and full reasons; Robert's Rules records only what was done.
Who signs minutes written from a template?
For a UK company, a charity in England and Wales and a maintained school in England, the chair signs once the minutes are approved. A club follows its bylaws.
Can EdCitation fill in the template for me?
No. The minutes stay yours to write; EdCitation's free Cite a source only supplies the reference for a report they mention.
References
- Cal. Corp. Code § 6320 (2005). https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CORP§ionNum=6320
- Charity Commission for England and Wales. (2024, July 19). Charity meetings (CC48). GOV.UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charities-and-meetings-cc48/charities-and-meetings
- Charity Commission for England and Wales. (2025, October 15). Appendix 4: Standing orders for board and committee meetings. GOV.UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charity-commission-governance-framework/appendix-4-standing-orders-for-board-and-committee-meetings
- Companies Act 2006, c. 46. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/section/248
- Companies (Model Articles) Regulations 2008, SI 2008/3229. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2008/3229/schedule/1
- Del. Code Ann. tit. 8, §§ 141–142 (2026). https://delcode.delaware.gov/title8/c001/sc04/index.html
- Department for Education. (2026, July 15). Maintained schools: Governance guide. GOV.UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/maintained-schools-governance-guide/maintained-schools-governance-guide
- ICSA: The Governance Institute. (2017). Minute taking [Guidance note]. The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland. https://www.cgi.org.uk/media/mpjeexxj/minute-taking.pdf
- Internal Revenue Service. (2026, April 30). Instructions for Form 990: Return of organization exempt from income tax (2025). https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i990
- Robert's Rules Association. (n.d.-a). Frequently asked questions. Official Robert's Rules of Order website. https://robertsrules.com/frequently-asked-questions/
- Robert's Rules Association. (n.d.-b). How to adopt. Official Robert's Rules of Order website. https://robertsrules.com/how-to-adopt/
- Robert's Rules Association. (2020). What's new in the 12th edition of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised [PDF]. https://robertsrules.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/CHANGES-IN-12TH-ED-Adopted-by-Authorship-Team-SG-v2.pdf
- School Governance (Constitution) (England) Regulations 2012, SI 2012/1034. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/1034/schedule/4
- School Governance (Roles, Procedures and Allowances) (England) Regulations 2013, SI 2013/1624. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/1624/part/4