# Free Meeting Minutes Template

Source: https://lessmeeting.com/tools/meeting-minutes-template/

A free meeting minutes template, plus a worked example: what to include, how detailed to be, and who takes them. Download a fillable or printable PDF.

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A free, no-signup tool that builds a clean, printable meeting agenda and the page the minutes get written onto: fill in who's coming, what's being decided, and how long each topic gets, then download it as a fillable PDF or a printable one with ruled space to write.

The builder itself is an interactive tool; use it at [/tools/meeting-minutes-template/](/tools/meeting-minutes-template/). Opening it with `?agenda=<slug>` loads one of the [free meeting agenda templates](/tools/meeting-agenda-templates.md) as a starting point.

## What to include in meeting minutes

1. **Meeting name, date and time**, plus the location or video link. Minutes get read months later, out of context.
2. **Who was there, and who wasn't.** A present list and an apologies list. This is the line people go back to when a decision gets questioned.
3. **The agenda topics, as headings**, so the minutes have the same shape as the meeting.
4. **Discussion notes, kept short.** A line or two per topic, recording where the conversation landed.
5. **Decisions, stated once**, written so somebody who missed the meeting can't read them two ways.
6. **Action items with an owner and a date.** One line each: what, who, by when.
7. **When you're meeting next**, and anything carried forward to it.

## How to take minutes

- **Before:** start from the agenda so you're filling in a structure rather than inventing one live. Put the attendee list in before anyone arrives.
- **During:** write the owner and date at the moment someone agrees to something, while the room can still correct it.
- **After:** send within 24 hours, and close with a line inviting corrections.

## FAQ

**How detailed should meeting minutes be?** Aim for the conclusion of each topic rather than the conversation that got there. A line or two per agenda item, then the decisions and commitments in full.

**Who takes the minutes?** Whoever isn't leading the discussion. On a recurring meeting it's worth rotating the role.

**How soon should minutes be sent out?** Within 24 hours, while people still remember agreeing to things.

**What's the difference between meeting minutes and an agenda?** The agenda is written before the meeting and lists what will be covered, with a time limit per topic. Minutes are written during or just after and record what was said, decided and assigned. In practice the agenda is the page the minutes get written onto.

**Can I download the template as a PDF or Word doc?** The builder produces a fillable PDF and a printable one. For Word or Google Docs, build the agenda and copy the sections across.

**Do meeting minutes have to be formally approved?** For a board or any meeting with a legal or fiduciary record, yes: minutes are circulated with the next agenda and approved as the first item. For an internal team meeting, sending them and inviting corrections is enough.

**Does anything join the call to record it?** No. Nothing joins the meeting and nothing is recorded or transcribed. Notes are written by the people in the room, encrypted, and shared only with the attendees you choose.

Less Meeting keeps you organized past the one-time template: timed agendas that carry forward, action items that don't die in a doc, and meeting notes the whole team edits together in real time.