Kezia Farnham

Senior Manager

How to take minutes at a board meeting: A 15-step guide

According to the Spencer Stuart Director Pulse Survey, board directors spend an average of 200 hours per year on board work. How do they keep all the discussions, meetings and action items straight? Board meeting minutes — the official record of every meeting.

Knowing how to take minutes at a board meeting is both an art and a science. It’s understanding what good governance means to your organization, applying your own touch to include the right amount of information and following a board-approved process to keep all directors in the loop.

While board meeting minutes and their takers aren’t always the boardroom stars, they serve a critical function, without which meetings are less effective and even non-compliant.

This article will explain the key to great minute-taking, including:

• What board meeting minutes are
• What differentiates minutes from board meeting notes
• Why board meeting minutes are important
• Types of meeting minutes
• Example board meeting minutes (with a template)
• How to take meeting minutes before, during and after board meetings
• Best practices for taking minutes
• How AI transforms meeting minute preparation
• A look at the real-world impact of strong meeting minutes

What are board meeting minutes?

Board meeting minutes are the official written record of discussions, decisions and actions taken during a board meeting. They serve as a legal document that outlines key motions, votes and resolutions, ensuring transparency and accountability within the organization.

Unlike informal meeting notes, minutes become part of the corporate record once approved. Courts and regulators can request them during audits, litigation or compliance reviews. This makes accurate minute-taking essential for demonstrating that boards upheld their fiduciary duties and engaged in proper deliberation.

Board meeting notes versus meeting minutes

Board meeting notes and meeting minutes are closely related but serve different purposes with varying formality levels. Understanding this distinction is essential for proper governance documentation.

Notes are informal records that anyone can take during a meeting. The corporate secretary might use them as raw material when drafting official minutes. Notes remain either for the note-taker's personal reference or for drafting purposes—they don't enter the corporate record.

Minutes, by contrast, are formal legal documents. They follow a standardized format, require board approval and become part of the organization's permanent record. Unlike notes, minutes are legally binding and can be subpoenaed in legal proceedings.

Despite these differences, both serve essential roles in the governance process. AI-powered board portal software can now translate notes into official meeting minutes, making good note-taking the foundation for effective minute documentation.

Why are board meeting minutes important?

Meeting minutes are critical accountability and compliance tools. They record the conversations, reports and decisions the board engages in during each meeting — serving those who miss a meeting while also fulfilling legal requirements.

Most states have laws that dictate corporate board minutes should remain on file, with just five states leaving minute-taking practices to corporations themselves. Public-facing boards face additional requirements under state open meeting laws, which often mandate not only recording minutes but also publishing them for public access.

Meeting minutes help prove compliance with these laws and make the board's actions more defensible. They can also help the board prove they engaged in sufficient deliberation if a decision leads to an unfavorable outcome that ends in litigation.

10 reasons why board minutes are mission-critical

Effective meeting minutes catalyze organizational management. They streamline action before, during and after meetings while keeping boards and stakeholders on track. The transition to digital governance platforms has amplified their importance — directors can now access minutes anytime, anywhere.

Before the meeting:

1. Meeting preparation: Secretaries and board chairs rely on previous meeting minutes to prepare upcoming agendas. Minutes provide context and continuity, helping organizers identify unfinished business and inviting attendees to review past decisions.
2. Communication: Boards organize their thoughts ahead of meetings through minutes. They serve as the single document directors need to anticipate agenda items, discussion topics and assigned tasks.

During the meeting:

1. Record-keeping: Minutes provide the official record for discussions, decisions and action items. Thorough minutes ensure directors have a permanent reference point for everything that occurred.
2. Compliance: Meeting minutes are a regulatory requirement. Regulators may audit them as part of the corporate record, and accurate minutes demonstrate that proper board procedures were followed. For public boards, open meeting laws often require publishing open session minutes as well.

After the meeting:

1. Accountability: When directors commit to specific tasks, minutes document those assignments. This creates clear ownership and facilitates follow-through on key processes.
2. Corporate record: After approval, minutes become part of the permanent corporate record. This historical account of board decisions proves invaluable for future strategic planning.
3. Follow-up: Minutes facilitate collaboration between board members. Directors can review documented tasks and deadlines to ensure decisions are implemented as planned.
4. Transparency: Meeting minutes give stakeholders insight into board deliberations. This builds trust and assures shareholders or the community that directors are acting in their best interest.
5. Efficiency: Well-documented minutes make future meetings more productive. They save time reviewing prior decisions and eliminate repetitive discussions.
6. Dispute resolution: If directors misremember or misunderstand previous discussions, minutes resolve conflicts and keep everyone aligned on what was actually decided.

For global organizations, minutes also bridge geographic distances. Ridgeback Resources, a private petroleum producer headquartered in Alberta, Canada, uses digital tools to keep board directors informed worldwide.

"With Diligent, now it takes me less than an hour to prepare and distribute meeting materials. Everything's integrated," says Catherine Cipriano, executive assistant at Ridgeback Resources.

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Minutes as your competitive edge

Prepare and send meeting minutes in just a few clicks, fueling better board decision-making.

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Minutes as your competitive edge

Prepare and send meeting minutes in just a few clicks, fueling better board decision-making.

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The 2 types of meeting minutes

There are two types of minutes based on the session: open or closed. How to take minutes at a board meeting depends on the session.

1. Open session minutes: These are records of meetings open to the public, shareholders and employees and include all the discussions and decisions.
2. Closed session minutes: These minutes allude to private portions of a board or executive board meeting and include sensitive information like legal and financial challenges.

What information do board meeting minutes contain?

Board meeting minutes contain a plethora of information. Part of knowing how to take minutes at a board meeting is understanding which details to include and how to represent them in writing effectively.

Minutes may vary slightly depending on the state and the organization, but they typically include:

• Date, time and location of the meeting
• Names of attendees (present, absent and participating remotely)
• Confirmation of quorum
• Approval of previous meeting minutes
• Summary of discussions and key points
• Motions made and who initiated them
• Voting outcomes (for, against, abstaining)
• Declarations of conflicts of interest
• Action items with assigned responsibilities
• Adjournment time and name of minute-taker

What to exclude from board meeting minutes

The balancing act of board meeting minutes is that, while they should be comprehensive, they shouldn’t be a play-by-play of the meeting. A board member may get heated, or a debate may run long, but those details shouldn’t make it into the minutes.

Keep minutes factual, concise and legally sound, leaving out information like:

• Subjective or emotional language: Leave out opinions, personal remarks or adjectives, such as “Jane was frustrated” or “This was a poorly thought-out proposal.” Stick to factual, neutral language that emphasizes the content of discussions and decisions rather than the board’s sentiment at that moment.
• Detailed debates, discussions or direct quotes: Summarize key points and decisions rather than transcribing every comment or argument. Minutes should read more like “The board discussed budget priorities and agreed on allocations” rather than “John and Rosa argued about budget priorities for 15 minutes” or “Barbara says, ‘Office supplies are overrepresented in the budget.’”
• Confidential or sensitive information: Some issues shouldn’t leave the boardroom, especially because more people than just the board can typically access minutes. Avoid personnel issues like performance reviews or disciplinary actions. You should also exclude confidential legal or financial matters unless including them is essential for compliance.
• Unofficial or off-the-record conversations: Board members often engage in side conversations or informational discussions about board business that are not on the agenda. Don’t record those; stick only to agenda-driven matters.
• Legal conclusions or assumptions: Improper wording, such as “This policy may violate labor laws,” can easily imply legal liability. Avoid these statements where possible. If the board does raise a legal concern, note that they consulted legal counsel.
• Future speculation or unconfirmed actions: Only include voted-on or finalized motions. This streamlines the minutes and avoids confusion about which decisions were made and which will arise in future meetings. Instead of “We will likely approve funding next quarter,” say, “The board will revisit funding next quarter.”

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Perfect your meeting minutes

Avoid common meeting minutes mistakes. Discover 15 do’s and don’ts in our blog to ensure your meeting minutes are accurate and effective.

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Perfect your meeting minutes

Avoid common meeting minutes mistakes. Discover 15 do’s and don’ts in our blog to ensure your meeting minutes are accurate and effective.

Discover more

Board meeting minutes legal requirements

Accurate and compliant board meetings are key legal tools. Following legal requirements for board meeting minutes helps demonstrate that the board has upheld its fiduciary duty, held itself accountable and engaged in good governance practices.

Below are essential legal considerations every board should understand when preparing for and recording meeting minutes.

1. Notice requirements: Give proper notice to all board members before a meeting. Your bylaws and state laws define what “proper notice” entails; notice should also specify the date, time, location (or virtual platform) and meeting agenda. If you fail to provide adequate notice, you could unintentionally invalidate decisions made during the meeting.
2. Quorum and voting requirements: A quorum — the minimum number of directors required to conduct official business — must be present to validate any board action. Quorum rules are set by the organization’s bylaws or state statutes. Once you establish a quorum, voting may proceed. Motions generally require a majority vote to pass unless otherwise specified.
3. Documentation and record-keeping: Meeting minutes should accurately reflect the board’s actions and discussions. Include the names of attendees, any motions made, votes taken and a summary of key discussions.
   Have the board approve the minutes, then store them as part of your organization’s permanent records, as they may be legally required in audits, litigation or compliance reviews.
4. Virtual and hybrid meeting legalities: Many states now allow virtual or hybrid board meetings, provided the organization meets certain conditions. This can include ensuring all participants can hear and be heard, documenting attendance and following notice and quorum rules. It’s essential to check your state’s laws and update bylaws to accommodate remote participation.

How legal requirements for board minutes vary by jurisdiction

While the above legal requirements are a solid starting point, the specific rules and regulations governing how you take and store minutes can vary significantly. Below is a summary of how board minute regulations differ across the U.S., UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

United States

In the U.S., legal requirements for board minutes are generally governed by state law and the organization’s bylaws. There’s no federal mandate on content or format, but courts often treat approved minutes as legal evidence. Many states require both nonprofits and corporations to keep written records of all board actions and to retain them permanently. Requirements for quorum, notice and remote participation vary widely by state.

All states have passed laws that pertain to nonprofit corporations, for-profit corporations and other types of organizations. Most states have laws on the books that require corporations to keep meeting minutes with other corporate documents and records. A handful of states leave the responsibility for recording and retaining minutes up to the corporations. Those states are:

• Delaware
• Kansas
• Nevada
• North Dakota
• Oklahoma

United Kingdom

The UK’s Companies Act 2006 requires companies to keep all board and general meeting minutes for at least 10 years. Minutes must record the proceedings and any resolutions passed. Although the format is flexible, directors can be held liable if proper records are not maintained. The Charity Commission also expects accurate minute-keeping for accountability and regulatory compliance for charities.

Canada

The federal Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act (CNCA) and Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA) mandate that corporations and nonprofits maintain detailed records of board meetings, including resolutions and votes. Provincial laws may also apply. Minutes must be stored at the registered office and made available to directors and, in some cases, members. Retention periods can range from six to 10 years, depending on jurisdiction.

Australia

Under the Corporations Act 2001, Australian companies must keep minutes of board meetings within one month of the meeting date. Minutes should document attendees, discussions, resolutions and declarations of interest. These must be retained for at least seven years. Failure to maintain proper records can result in penalties for directors. For nonprofits, additional rules may apply depending on whether they are incorporated associations or companies limited by guarantee.

New Zealand

In New Zealand, the Companies Act 1993 requires directors to ensure minutes of board meetings are kept and retained for at least seven years. Minutes must include decisions and resolutions and be available for directors to inspect. Charitable organizations registered with Charities Services are also expected to keep proper records for accountability and transparency.

Why legal compliance in meeting minutes matters

Meeting minutes do summarize what the board discussed during a meeting, but they are also a legal record of an organization’s decisions and governance. Adhering to board meeting minute legal requirements protects the board, the organization and its stakeholders. Here’s why compliance is essential:

1. Legal protection: Well-documented minutes can prove that the board acted responsibly and in good faith, especially in legal disputes, audits or regulatory reviews. Inaccurate or missing minutes can expose directors to liability or invalidate decisions.
2. Fiduciary accountability: Board members have fiduciary duties to act in the organization's best interest. Minutes help demonstrate that these duties — care, loyalty and obedience — were fulfilled by capturing deliberations, votes and conflicts of interest.
3. Regulatory compliance: In many jurisdictions, maintaining board minutes is a legal requirement for corporations, nonprofits and associations. Failure to comply with record-keeping laws can result in fines, penalties or loss of good standing with regulatory bodies.
4. Transparency and institutional memory: Accurate minutes support internal transparency, especially during leadership transitions. They also serve as a reference for past decisions, helping boards stay consistent and accountable over time.
5. Stakeholder confidence: When stakeholders — funders, investors, members, community members or regulators — see that an organization keeps detailed, compliant minutes, it reinforces their trust in its governance and integrity.

Example board meeting minutes

Once you understand what to include and exclude in your meeting minutes, the next best step is to see what best-in-class meetings look like. Here are example board meeting minutes from a hypothetical board meeting:

Board of Directors meeting minutes

The XYZ Company

Date: March 12, 2025

Time: 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. EST

Location: Virtual

1. Call to order

Board Chair Angela Smith called the meeting to order at 3:02 p.m.

2. Roll call

Present:

• Angela Smith (Chair)
• David Lopez (Treasurer)
• Priya Desai (Secretary)
• Monica Chang (Board member)
• Tom White (Board member)

Absent:

• Rachel Kim (Vice Chair)

Staff Present:

• James Ellis, Chief Executive Officer
• Sarah Tran, Chief Marketing Officer

3. Approval of minutes

The minutes from the February 12, 2025, board meeting were reviewed.

Motion: To approve the minutes as submitted.

Moved by: Priya Desai | Seconded by: Tom White

Outcome: Motion carried unanimously

4. Financial report

David Lopez presented the February financial statements.

• Revenue and expenses are on track with the budget.
• Cash reserves remain stable at six months of operating expenses.

Motion: To accept the financial report as presented.

Moved by: Monica Chang | Seconded by: Priya Desai

Outcome: Motion carried unanimously

5. New business

Marketing strategy update

Sarah Tran shared updates on Q2 marketing efforts.

• A new national campaign is in development.
• Board members were asked to review the three campaign concepts by April.

6. Old business

Bylaws review: The governance committee is still reviewing revisions. Final recommendations will be presented at the April meeting.

7. Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 4:28 p.m.

Motion: To adjourn the meeting.

Moved by: Monica Chang | Seconded by: Tom White

Outcome: Motion carried unanimously.

Minutes submitted by:

Priya Desai, Board Secretary

Date: March 14, 2025

Board meeting minutes template

With the help of a template and a transparent, step-by-step process, you can end the stress of minute-taking. Based on the example above, use this template to guide the minutes for your next meeting:

How to take minutes at a board meeting: 15 steps

Though you take the minutes at the board meeting, this phrasing is a misnomer. Minute-takers play a vital role in preparing for and reflecting on the meeting.

Knowing how to take minutes at a board meeting means understanding the role of minute-takers before, during and after the board meeting.

Before the meeting

1. Consult on the agenda: Secretaries and minute-takers may not create the agenda, but they should consider its design. Ensuring the agenda is well organized will make minute-taking easier.
2. Obtain a copy of the final agenda: Once the agenda is finalized, request a copy. The more familiar you are with the meeting, the more effectively you can record key moments because you’ll know exactly what’s coming.
3. Create a structured outline: Use the agenda to format your minutes. This allows you to focus less on the minutes’ elements and more on what the board says and does.
4. Review board governance: Understanding how to take minutes based on company policies is an essential element of how to take minutes at a board meeting. Whether the board follows Robert’s Rules of Order or has their own expectations, the minutes must comply.
5. Review previous meeting minutes: Meetings often build on prior discussions. Refreshing yourself on previous minutes helps you record how conversations evolve and connect to earlier decisions.

During the meeting

1. Take attendance: Pass around a sign-in sheet or mark names off a list as people enter the room. This will help you include an accurate attendance list with the final minutes.
2. Follow your outline: Your job is to flush out your already created outline with board meeting notes. Following the outline makes keeping the minutes on topic easier, even if the board discussion strays.
3. Focus on outcomes, not wording: Meeting minutes are a summary, not a transcript. Rather than recording board statements word-for-word, convey key arguments and the outcome.
4. Include rationale: Remember to include details about why the board took the actions it did. This allows the board to defend itself if those decisions are later questioned.
5. Ask questions: Speak up if anything the board discusses is unclear. Ask for clarification or even read back a portion of your minutes to validate their accuracy.

After the meeting

1. Finalize the minutes: While the meeting’s proceedings are still fresh in your mind, make any final amendments. Review your minutes to ensure they reflect the meeting and the board’s decisions. You can also ask the meeting leader to clarify details or add context.
2. Collect additional documents: Supplemental materials like reports don’t need to appear within the minutes, but they should be an attachment. Gather anything you’ll need to include with the minutes.
3. Get sign-off: Check in with the meeting leader one last time to verify that the minutes are accurate and complete and include all the required details.
4. Distribute the minutes: Secretaries and minute takers are also responsible for providing all attendees present and absent with a copy of the minutes. Some organizations still use password-protected PDFs, but a board portal is your most secure option.
5. Save and back up the minutes: A critical part of learning how to take minutes at a board meeting is deciding where to store them. Back them up to an external hard drive or a secure cloud service to retrieve them if your system crashes.

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Take better minutes faster

Streamline your minute-taking and become the strategic partner your board needs with AI built directly into Diligent Boards.

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Take better minutes faster

Streamline your minute-taking and become the strategic partner your board needs with AI built directly into Diligent Boards.

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Best practices for taking board meeting minutes

Meeting minutes are more than notes, so adopting best practices can help you learn how to take minutes at a board meeting that amplifies board effectiveness.

These include:

1. Establish compliant policies and procedures: Start by creating clear, written guidelines for how boards record, approve and store meeting minutes. This should include who is responsible for taking minutes, what information must be captured (e.g., motions, votes, conflicts of interest) and timelines for finalizing and distributing them. Align your procedures with applicable laws and your organization’s bylaws to ensure consistency, accountability and legal compliance.
2. Prepare, prepare, prepare: Taking board meeting minutes is all about preparation, from reviewing the agenda to asking the board president about reports, attendees, guests and more, so you can focus on the minutes, not the surprises.
3. Review previous meeting minutes: Meetings often pick up where the last meeting left off. Refresh yourself on the details of previous meetings so you can effectively record how the discussion evolves.
4. Track key actions: The board may also leave a meeting with a plan of action. Use the minutes to record their proposed next steps and how they should follow up. This pushes the board to follow through on key processes between meetings.
5. Be consistent: From meeting to meeting, use the same meeting minutes format, distribute them in the same way and follow the board’s accepted language conventions. This makes the minutes more compliant and useful to board directors because they know what to expect.
6. Check for errors: Correcting your spelling and grammar is a simple yet critical step. Making mistakes while taking the minutes is normal, as is abbreviating words or phrases so you don’t miss key takeaways. Review the minutes to ensure no mistakes remain in the final copy. Errors can undermine the credibility of the minutes.
7. Conduct legal audits and reviews periodically: Regularly review your board meeting minutes and related processes to ensure they comply with current laws, regulations and organizational bylaws. Periodic legal audits — either internal or with counsel — can identify gaps, outdated practices or areas of risk before they become issues. This proactive approach helps maintain governance integrity and reduces the likelihood of legal complications down the line.
8. Adopt an amendment process: Board members may request amendments to the minutes. Document the amendments and note why they were necessary. The idea here isn’t to allow board members to doctor the minutes but to welcome requests to ensure they are as accurate as possible.

How AI transforms board meeting minute preparation

For every minute a meeting lasts, corporate secretaries can spend hours gathering documents and refining the meeting minutes. Part of learning how to take minutes during a meeting is learning how to streamline time-intensive processes like artificial intelligence.

According to Diligent Institute's AI board readiness report, two-thirds of surveyed directors now use AI in their board work in some capacity, with meeting preparation ranking as the most popular use case at 50%. As adoption accelerates, purpose-built AI tools are enabling corporate secretaries to step beyond minute-taking into more strategic roles.

“In our research, we’re seeing a sense of cautious optimism from corporate secretaries and general counsel for using GenAI in their work,” says Dottie Schindlinger, Executive Director of Diligent Institute. “They see the benefits of having more efficient processes, but are concerned about the potential for inaccurate results because of GenAI 'hallucinations' and about the potential for data privacy risk. The good news is that there are purpose-built GenAI tools for governance professionals that help to greatly reduce both of these risks.”

Diligent Boards, part of the Diligent One Platform, addresses these challenges through integrated AI capabilities specifically designed for governance professionals:

• Smart Minutes: Transforms rough meeting notes into polished legal prose with a single click. Review AI-suggested text and apply it directly within the platform, reducing formatting time from hours to minutes.
• Smart Builder: Synthesizes raw information into professional board materials automatically, eliminating weeks of manual preparation. Organizations report reducing board prep time by up to 80%.

• Smart Prep: Generates tailored discussion questions and insights for each director, ensuring meetings focus on strategic priorities rather than routine updates.
• Action Tracker: Converts notes into trackable action items automatically, creating accountability and ensuring follow-through on board commitments.

The platform's secure architecture addresses data privacy concerns that governance professionals often cite when evaluating AI tools.

All processing occurs within an enterprise-grade security infrastructure with SOC2 Type II certification and support for data residency requirements across jurisdictions.

How to use AI for board meeting minutes: A step-by-step guide

Part of learning how to take minutes during a meeting is learning how to streamline time-intensive processes. Here's how to convert notes to polished minutes using Diligent Boards:

1. Review your meeting notes: Read your notes, determining which sections are sufficient for formal meeting minutes and which need polishing. Check carefully—individual lines could need rewriting even if most of the section would be approved.
2. Highlight the text you want to convert: Once you've identified text to refine, highlight it with your cursor. You can also convert an entire section at once.
3. Change notes to minutes: With the click of a button, transfer the selected text into more complete legal prose.
4. Make revisions: Copy the AI-suggested minutes for external use or apply the text directly within the minute-taking tool to edit within the board portal.
5. Convert your entire document: Work through every section until your notes are fully polished and ready to distribute for broader board review.

For organizations managing multiple boards or subsidiaries across regions, these capabilities scale without proportional headcount increases. The result: corporate secretaries can evolve from administrative support into strategic governance partners.

The real-world impact of thorough board meeting minutes

Imagine joining a company with a seasoned workforce that is loyal to the company but entrenched in legacy governance processes. This was the scenario Eric Myers inherited when he began his tenure as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at ELCO Mutual Life and Annuity, a trusted insurance and financial services provider.

“We were using one file-sharing product, which just didn’t work well. I would get calls and emails from directors saying they couldn’t access or open their files,” Myers says.

This inefficiency burdened Myers and the IT department, distracting them from more critical tasks. Streamlining ELCO’s approach to governance — board meeting minutes included — was about unleashing the board and the company’s full potential. Myers started by adopting Diligent Boards.

“I could set up books for all the meetings, publish them and share drafts with certain people for feedback before finalizing,” he says.

Diligent’s new AI-generated meetings feature further transformed the value of board materials.

However, the time savings only scratch the surface of AI-powered minutes’ many benefits.

“Having something that tells the board, ‘Hey, this is where you need to go, this is what you should focus on,’ is very helpful,” Myers says.

This helps the board prepare effectively and empowers them to engage with targeted insights meaningfully, leading to a more productive board.

Turn board meeting minutes into a strategic advantage

Once you learn how to take minutes at a board meeting, the minutes become more than a record — they’re a tool that keeps the board effective, on track and in compliance. While corporate and board secretaries are easily underestimated, the reality is that an effective secretary who takes equally effective meeting minutes can make the difference between a successful board and an inefficient one.

Board portal software can also give boards the boost they need. It offers a secure place to take, distribute and store minutes so secretaries and board members alike can make the most of every meeting — and the many critical tasks in between.

Learn more about Board Management from Diligent, part of the Diligent One Platform, or request a demo to see Diligent in action.

FAQs about board meeting minutes

Who takes minutes at a board meeting?

The board secretary is typically responsible for recording minutes, but sometimes, an appointed staff member or third-party service may take on the role. AI tools are also pushing the boundaries on how boards take minutes.

In either case, the person taking minutes should clearly understand board procedures and ensure accuracy in documenting key discussions, motions and decisions without excessive detail.

Are electronic or digital board meeting minutes legally valid?

Yes, electronic or digital board meeting minutes are legally valid in most jurisdictions, provided they meet certain standards. The minutes must be accurate, tamper-proof and stored in a secure, accessible format.

Many state and national laws — including those in the U.S., UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand — recognize digital records as legally acceptable if they are properly maintained and approved by the board.

It's important to ensure your organization’s bylaws allow for electronic documentation and that digital minutes follow the same procedures for review and approval as paper records. Always confirm specific requirements with legal counsel or regulatory authorities in your jurisdiction.

What is the difference between meeting minutes and a meeting summary?

Meeting minutes and a meeting summary are different in formality, detail and purpose. Meeting minutes are a formal, legal record of a meeting and follow a specific format. They must also be approved by the board at the next meeting and can be called upon in legal proceedings.

A meeting summary is a more casual, high-level overview. It’s flexible, focuses on the big picture and does not become part of the official corporate record.

Are board meeting minutes public?

The accessibility of board meeting minutes depends on the organization’s structure and regulations. Certain minutes may be required to be disclosed for publicly traded companies and government and education entities.

However, private corporations and nonprofits typically keep minutes confidential, sharing them only with board members and authorized stakeholders. Always check state laws and organizational bylaws to determine disclosure requirements.

Who should be responsible for finalizing and storing the notes?

The board secretary or administrator finalizes and stores the minutes. It’s part of their official duties to ensure minutes are accurate, formatted properly and meeting legal and organizational standards.

They will oversee the formal approval process and store the final version in the corporate records, usually using a secure board portal.

How can I extract key action items from board meeting notes?

To extract key items from your notes, skim through the notes, looking specifically for assignments, deadlines, decisions requiring follow-up or anything like a “next step” or “to do.” You can also turn vague notes like “discussed website redesign” into concise action items like “Bill to send website design RFP to vendors by October 4.”

This process can be tedious, but AI-powered meeting minutes software can often do this step for you. Input your board meeting notes, and AI can translate them into actionable meeting minutes in just one click.

What tools can be used to create and manage corporate meeting minutes?

Several digital tools can help streamline the creation, storage and management of board meeting minutes. Diligent Boards Minutes automatically captures key information to produce consistent minutes quickly, reducing formatting time, facilitating faster reviews and ensuring boards have thorough records on which to base their decisions.

How detailed should corporate meeting minutes be?

Corporate meeting minutes should be detailed enough to capture key discussions, decisions and action items while remaining concise and objective. They should include:

• The date, time and location of the meeting
• Names of attendees and absentees
• Motions made, votes cast, and resolutions passed
• Key points of discussion (without verbatim dialogue)
• Any follow-up actions assigned

Overly detailed or word-for-word transcriptions can create unnecessary legal exposure. Stick to factual, neutral language that accurately reflects the meeting’s outcomes.

How do you write a board meeting note?

To write a board meeting note, think about quickly recording what’s happening in the boardroom. Consider it a first draft before meeting minutes or a practical document for yourself or the team. Jot down attendees, agenda items and action items, along with who will be responsible for them.

Note also when a consensus is reached, whether an official vote took place or note. After the meeting, you can clean up your notes so they’re either more usable for the broader board or ready to translate into meeting minutes.

How should sensitive information be handled in corporate meeting minutes?

Sensitive information, such as legal discussions, personnel matters or proprietary business strategies, should be documented carefully to balance transparency with confidentiality. Some best practices include:

• Using general summaries instead of verbatim notes
• Creating a separate confidential appendix for sensitive topics
• Ensuring minutes align with legal and regulatory requirements
• Restricting access to authorized individuals only

Consult legal counsel to determine the best approach for handling confidential details when in doubt.

Are meeting notes available to all board members — and how quickly?

Informal board meeting notes can be shared shortly after the meeting, usually within a few days. The secretary or a fellow board member may email or upload them to the board portal.

It can take longer for more formal meeting minutes to become available; they are typically finalized and approved at the next board meeting, at which point the secretary will distribute and store them.

Ready to transform your board governance? Schedule a demo to see Diligent in action.