Board meeting minutes template
Board minutes are the written record of a meeting of a company's directors: who attended, whether the meeting was quorate, what was discussed and what was resolved. These minutes cover declarations of interest, the previous minutes, each agenda item with its resolutions and actions, and, where they happen, approving a transaction, a change of director and an interim dividend. The chair signs them, and the company keeps them for at least ten years.
Made by DocuWeave. Use at your own discretion.
What changes each time
13 values. Everything else is your wording, kept exactly.
The meeting
- Company and number
- Place, date and start time
- Directors present
- Others in attendance
- Apologies
- Quorum
Business
- Declared interest
- Previous minutes
- One entry per agenda item
- Transaction approved
- Interim dividend per share
Close
- Next meeting
- Closing time
The rules it usually needs
Written in plain English when the template is set up.
- One of several wordings
“The quorum statement says either that a quorum was present or that it was not, with what the directors present did.”
The secretary's notes said the meeting was quorate with a quorum of 2, so the quorate wording was used.
- One of several wordings
“Either no director declared an interest, or the declaration is recorded with whether that director counted in the quorum and voted.”
One director declared an interest in the lease as a director of the landlord, and did not count or vote on that item.
- Once for each item
“A line for each director present and each other attendee, and an entry for each agenda item.”
Two further directors, two attendees and one general agenda item were recorded.
- Only when…
“Include the transaction approval only if a transaction was approved.”
Once the lease was named, the approval paragraph was included.
- The AI decides from the paperwork
“Include the dividend and director-change items only if the paperwork shows them.”
The notes recorded an interim dividend and said no director was appointed or resigned, so the dividend was included and the directors item left out, with those reasons shown.
One worked example, start to finish
The board meeting minutes in DocuWeave, from upload to approval.
1The document uploaded
The board minutes, a Word file, uploaded as they are.
- 2
The template it became
It found 22 sections and 46 values, and asked 14 questions before publishing. The dividend item appears only when the board declared one.
3The paperwork dropped in
The agenda email, the board pack extract and the company secretary's notes of the meeting.
4What was found, with sources
36 of 43 values filled from the paperwork, each with the passage it came from.
5What it asked
2 things for a person: the start time, which the agenda and the notes gave differently, and who else attended.
6The approved output
Approved, with Word and PDF downloads.
A free board meeting minutes to download
- Board minutes, filled with fictional details (Word)
- Board minutes, filled with fictional details (PDF)
Use it as it is, or upload it to DocuWeave and make it a template.
DocuWeave is not a law firm. A general template for common situations in England and Wales. It is not tailored to you and we do not update it when the law changes, so check it suits your situation before you use it. Terms.
Made by DocuWeave. Use at your own discretion.
Questions people ask
Does a company have to keep board minutes?
Yes. A company must keep minutes of all meetings of its directors, and keep them for at least ten years from the date of the meeting.
Who signs board minutes?
The chair of the meeting signs them, usually once the board has approved them as a correct record at the next meeting.
What happens if a meeting is not quorate?
No business can be done except, under the model articles, calling another meeting. These minutes then record only that, and end.
How is a director's conflict of interest recorded?
The minutes record the declaration, that its nature and extent were noted, and whether that director counted in the quorum and voted, as the articles allow.
Can an interim dividend be declared by the board?
Usually, yes, under the articles, but only out of profits available for distribution. These minutes record the accounts the board relied on.
Use this template
It opens in DocuWeave as a template you can check, change and publish. Nothing is used until you do.