What’s the difference between meeting minutes and meeting notes?

Minutes are the shared record of a meeting. They say who attended, what was decided and who will do what by when, and they go to everyone. Notes are anyone’s own reminders, in any form, and usually stay with the person who wrote them.

What should meeting minutes include?

The meeting’s name, date, time and place, who attended and who was absent, a short summary of each agenda item, the decisions, and each action with its owner, deadline and status. Board minutes add more, such as quorum, motions and votes.

Do meeting minutes need to be word for word?

No. Minutes record what was decided and agreed, with the main points of the discussion. They aren’t a transcript. Say who said what only when it matters, such as who made a motion at a board meeting.

How soon should you send meeting minutes?

The same day or the next, while everyone still remembers the meeting and before the first action is due. Ask people to send any corrections, and make them before you file the minutes.

Does it work in Word and Google Docs?

Yes. The Word file opens in Word. For Google Docs, upload it to Google Drive and open it there. The headings, lists, tables and highlighted placeholders come across.

Meeting Minutes Template for Word and Google Docs, with Action Items

This free meeting minutes template has the meeting details, attendees, agenda and discussion, decisions and an action-item table with an owner, deadline and status for each action. Download it for Word, or open it in Google Docs.

Meeting minutes: [Team or organization]

Meeting details

Meeting
Date
Time
Place or link
Chair
Note taker

Attendees

Present

[Name], [role]
[Name], [role]
[Name], [role]

Absent

[Name], [role]

Agenda and discussion

1. Actions from the last meeting

[Go through the open actions by their ID. Note each update, such as done, blocked or a new deadline the owner agreed.]

2. [Agenda item]

[The main points, and where the group ended up, in two or three sentences.]

3. [Agenda item]

[The main points, and where the group ended up, in two or three sentences.]

4. Any other business

[Anything raised that wasn’t on the agenda, or “None”.]

Decisions

[What was decided, in one sentence, as it was agreed]
[What was decided]

Action items

Status: Open, Reported complete, Confirmed complete, Blocked or Needs clarification.

ID	Action	Owner	Deadline	Status
[A1]	[What will be done]	[Name]	[Date]	Open

Next meeting

Date
Time
Place or link

For a board meeting

Board minutes usually record more than team minutes. Your bylaws may say what yours must include. Most boards also record:

Attendance and quorum: which directors were present, who else attended and why, and whether there was a quorum
Approval of the last meeting’s minutes, with any corrections
Conflicts of interest: who declared one, and whether they left the room for that item
Motions: the exact wording, who made each one and who seconded it
Votes: whether each motion passed or failed, and the count if your rules ask for it
Reports and papers the board received, by name
Approval: the secretary signs the minutes, and the board approves them at its next meeting

This is general guidance, not legal advice. [Delete this section for a team meeting.]

The whole template. Replace the words in [brackets] with your own. Updated 14 Nov 2026.

What goes in each section

Meeting details	The meeting’s name, its date, its start and end time, and the room or video link. The chair runs the meeting; the note taker writes these minutes.
Attendees	Everyone who came, with their role, under Present. Under Absent, whoever was expected but couldn’t come, and whether they sent apologies.
Agenda and discussion	One part for each agenda item, in the agenda’s order, starting with the actions from the last meeting. For each, two or three sentences: the main points and where the group ended up. Not a word-for-word record.
Decisions	Each decision in one sentence, as it was agreed, so nobody has to work it out from the discussion. A question still open isn’t a decision: leave it under its agenda item.
Action items	One row for each action someone agreed to take. Keep its ID, such as A1, from meeting to meeting. Owner is the person who agreed to do it, or Unconfirmed if nobody did. Deadline is a date, not “next week”. Reported complete means the owner says it’s done; Confirmed complete means it has been checked the way your team agreed.
Next meeting	The date, time and place of the next meeting, if it’s set.
For a board meeting	Delete it for a team meeting. For a board, add each item where it belongs: quorum under Attendees, approval of the last minutes as the first agenda item, and each motion and vote under Decisions.

Example: Meeting minutes, filled in

A fictional example, filled in. The names and details are made up.

Meeting minutes: Cedar Office

Meeting details

Meeting: Weekly office team meeting
Date: 2026-10-08
Time: 10:00 to 10:40
Place or link: Meeting room, with a video link for remote staff
Chair: Noor, office manager
Note taker: Omar, office assistant

Attendees

Present

Noor, office manager (chair)
Omar, office assistant (note taker)
Sam, account manager
Priya, finance

Absent

Lena, office coordinator (sent apologies)

Agenda and discussion

1. Actions from the last meeting

A1, the room plan for the client workshop: Noor said she sent it to Lena this morning. Lena is away today and hasn’t confirmed she has it, so A1 is Reported complete until she does.

2. Client workshop on 2026-10-22

Sam confirmed six guests from the client. With Noor and Sam that makes eight, which the meeting room seats. Lunch will come from the usual caterer. Sam said the projector lost its signal twice last week, and that someone should check the cables before the workshop. Nobody took it on.

3. Front desk cover over the holidays

Priya asked who will cover the front desk from 2026-12-21 to 2027-01-01. The team agreed to share it on a rota. Omar will draft one for the next meeting.

4. Any other business

None.

Decisions

The client workshop runs in the meeting room on 2026-10-22, from 09:30 to 12:30, for eight people.
Lunch for the workshop comes from the usual caterer, within $20 a head.
The team shares the front desk over the holidays, on a rota.

Action items

Status: Open, Reported complete, Confirmed complete, Blocked or Needs clarification.

ID	Action	Owner	Deadline	Status
A1	Send the room plan for the workshop to Lena	Noor	2026-10-08	Reported complete
A2	Send the invitation and agenda to the six guests	Sam	2026-10-12	Open
A3	Order lunch for eight from the usual caterer	Priya	2026-10-15	Open
A4	Draft the front desk rota for the holidays	Omar	2026-10-15	Open
A5	Check the projector cables before the workshop	Unconfirmed	Unconfirmed	Needs clarification

Next meeting

Date: 2026-10-15
Time: 10:00 to 10:40
Place or link: Meeting room, with a video link for remote staff

Tips

Read each decision and action aloud before the meeting ends, so everyone agrees on the wording, the owner and the deadline.
Only put a name in Owner if that person agreed to the action. If nobody did, write Unconfirmed and raise it at the next meeting.
Write each deadline as a date, such as 2026-10-15, not “Friday” or “next week”.
Keep each action’s ID until it’s done, and start each meeting with the actions from the last one.
Save each set of minutes in one shared folder, with its date in the file name, such as “2026-10-08 Office team minutes”.

Meeting minutes questions

What’s the difference between meeting minutes and meeting notes?: Minutes are the shared record of a meeting. They say who attended, what was decided and who will do what by when, and they go to everyone. Notes are anyone’s own reminders, in any form, and usually stay with the person who wrote them.
What should meeting minutes include?: The meeting’s name, date, time and place, who attended and who was absent, a short summary of each agenda item, the decisions, and each action with its owner, deadline and status. Board minutes add more, such as quorum, motions and votes.
Do meeting minutes need to be word for word?: No. Minutes record what was decided and agreed, with the main points of the discussion. They aren’t a transcript. Say who said what only when it matters, such as who made a motion at a board meeting.
How soon should you send meeting minutes?: The same day or the next, while everyone still remembers the meeting and before the first action is due. Ask people to send any corrections, and make them before you file the minutes.
Does it work in Word and Google Docs?: Yes. The Word file opens in Word. For Google Docs, upload it to Google Drive and open it there. The headings, lists, tables and highlighted placeholders come across.