Meeting minutes template with a filled example
Copy the blank meeting minutes template below into your notes before the meeting. It gives decisions, actions, and unanswered questions their own places, so a useful suggestion does not become a promise nobody made.
What did we decide?
Enable JavaScript to fill in the interactive template. The copyable examples are available below.
Record the meeting details, the outcome of each agenda item, and each agreed action with its owner and due date. Write “Not agreed” or “Owner to confirm” wherever the discussion leaves a gap. The copyable template and filled example below suit everyday project meetings; formal board and statutory records follow your organisation’s own format.
Copy the meeting minutes template
MEETING MINUTES Meeting: [name / purpose] Date and time: [date, start–end, time zone] Location: [room or meeting link] Present: [names] Notes by: [name] Status: Draft — awaiting review AGENDA ITEM: [topic] Context: [what readers need to understand the outcome] Decision: [what was agreed, or “Not agreed”] Reason / conditions: [key reason or dependency, if stated] ACTIONS [ID] [specific task] | Owner: [name / to confirm] Due: [full date / not agreed] | Status: [open / waiting / done] OPEN QUESTIONS [question] | Next step: [agreed step / not agreed] SOURCE MATERIAL [recording / document name and relevant reference] NEXT REVIEW [date / not scheduled] Corrections: [what changed, who confirmed it, and when]Download text file
Repeat the agenda-item section for each topic. Keep the action list together if people will use it to plan their week. Copying this text does not create tasks or reminders in any app.
Before the discussion, use the meeting agenda planner to arrange the topics and time limits. Keep the plan separate from the decisions recorded in your minutes.
A filled example: a project review
The group below has chosen a smaller test before a launch and has left two things unsettled. Those gaps are the interesting part: watch where the minute says “Not agreed” rather than inventing an answer.
MEETING MINUTES Meeting: Booking-page project review Date and time: 8 September 2026, 10:00–10:25, Singapore time Location: Studio meeting room Present: Ada, Ben, Jo Notes by: Jo Status: Draft — awaiting review AGENDA ITEM: Test scope Context: The date filter needs another usability check. Decision: Test the revised date filter before setting a launch date. Reason: The team wants to check whether participants can find available dates. ACTIONS A1 Prepare the revised prototype | Owner: Ada Due: 11 September 2026 | Status: Open A2 Draft three test tasks | Owner: Jo Due: Not agreed | Status: Open OPEN QUESTIONS Who will recruit participants? | Next step: Not agreed When will the page launch? | Next step: Review after testing SOURCE MATERIAL Example project-review notes, agenda item “Test scope” NEXT REVIEW Not scheduled Corrections: None recordedDownload text file
Notice what stays unresolved. Jo has accepted a task without a deadline. Nobody has accepted recruitment. The minutes preserve those differences instead of assigning work to the nearest name in the conversation.
Separate a decision, an action, and a proposal
| What you hear | Where it belongs |
|---|---|
| “We agreed to test before launch.” | Decision: test first; launch date still open. |
| “I’ll have the prototype ready by 11 September.” | Action: prepare prototype, with the speaker as owner and the stated date. |
| “Could Ben recruit the participants?” | Proposal or open question until Ben’s responsibility is confirmed. |
| “That should be possible next week.” | Tentative estimate; confirm the task and date before recording a commitment. |
A decision records a choice. An action records work someone has agreed to do. A proposal may become either, but only after the meeting resolves it. These labels are the template’s editorial conventions, not a claim that every organisation uses the same terminology.
Keep the reason for a decision when it helps a reader understand a trade-off. “Test before launch because the date filter remains uncertain” is more useful later than “Discussed the filter.” Avoid adding your own explanation if nobody gave one.
Confirm the details before people leave
- Read back the decision in one sentence. Ask whether a condition or exception is missing.
- For each action, confirm the expected output and the person responsible. “Look into it” rarely tells the owner what finishing means.
- Ask for a full due date when timing matters. If people use different time zones, include the zone for a specific delivery time.
- Leave unresolved fields visible. Add a next step only when someone agrees to it.
In the example, asking “When should Jo’s test tasks be ready?” would close a real gap. If the meeting ends before anyone answers, the honest due date remains “Not agreed.” Do not convert your preferred schedule into the group’s commitment.
- A1OutputPrepare the revised prototypeOwnerAdaDue11 September 2026StatusOpen
- A2OutputDraft three test tasksOwnerJoDueNot agreedStatusOpen
When should Jo’s test tasks be ready?
Working from a recording instead of live notes changes the job from listening to filtering. Turning a transcript into minutes shows one raw excerpt beside the lines it produced, and the rule behind every cut.
Review the draft while the discussion is fresh
Chorley Council’s minute-taking guidance emphasises outcomes and responsibilities, with enough background for someone who missed the meeting. West Dunbartonshire Council also recommends writing the record promptly. The template and examples here are our own application of those practical principles.
- Compare each decision with your notes and any permitted recording. Check qualifications such as “only if,” “after,” and “not yet.”
- Verify names, numbers, action owners, and dates. Keep an unclear detail flagged until someone confirms it.
- Send the draft to the appropriate participants for corrections. Keep later updates identifiable instead of silently rewriting the original outcome.
- At the next review, carry open actions forward with their current status. Mark work complete when completion is confirmed.
If you record an in-person meeting in Phrase, the audio stays beside an editable note, so a disputed figure is one tap from the moment it was said. Recording-to-note processing uses cloud services. One conversion is free, and Pro includes the rest along with the AI features, at the allowance shown in the app.
Sources & editorial notes
Sources were checked on September 8, 2026. Steps for Apple features follow Apple’s current documentation, linked below. The conditions change with each iOS release.
- Chorley Council: How to hold meetings Practical guidance on recording decisions, responsibilities, and enough context for absent readers.
- West Dunbartonshire Council: Taking a minute of your meeting Agenda-based minutes, action responsibility, and writing up notes promptly.
Published by Eversight, the makers of Phrase. Our editorial approach · Suggest a correction