Minutes of a general meeting: what they must contain, with a template

Minutes are the only surviving evidence of what a general meeting decided. A year later nobody remembers the discussion, the board has changed, and the question is whether the meeting really approved the levy and whether the amendment was carried by the majority the bylaws require. Everything else in the minutes is courtesy; that part is the point.

What follows is a structure with sample wording. It is not a legal form, and it does not replace whatever your bylaws or the law for your type of association require. Some rule sets are quite specific about minutes. The statutes of a registered German association are expected to say how resolutions are recorded. In a German owners' association the minutes are signed by the chair of the meeting and by one owner, and where an advisory council has been appointed, also by its chair or their deputy. French co-ownership law prescribes what the record must contain, including the names of the owners who voted against or abstained and the votes they held. Check the rules for your own type of association before adopting any template, including this one.

What has to be in them

• That the meeting was properly convened: when and how the notice went out, and that it complied with the bylaws.
• Who was there: members present, members attending remotely, members represented by proxy, and the total votes those represent.
• That the meeting was competent to decide, as a finding by the chair.
• Each agenda item, in order, with the proposal as put to the vote, in its exact wording where it changes the bylaws.
• The numbers: for, against, abstaining, and the total that could have been cast.
• The chair's finding that the item was carried or not carried, and the rule applied.
• Elections: who stood, how the vote was taken, the result, and the term each person was elected for.
• Signatures, and the date the minutes were signed.

Discussion is summarised, not transcribed. A member who wants a dissent on the record can ask for it, and the chair should allow a short statement in the member's own words rather than paraphrasing it.

A template structure

Heading

• Name of the association, registration number if it has one.
• "Minutes of the ordinary general meeting held on 14 March 2027 at 19:00, at the community house, Main Street 4, and online."

1. Election of a chair for the meeting

• "The board proposed Anna Lind as chair. Anna Lind was elected unopposed."
• "The chair established that the meeting had been convened by email and notice board on 21 February 2027, that is 22 days before the meeting, in accordance with article 7 of the bylaws, and that the meeting was therefore validly convened. No objection was made."
• "The chair established that 312 members were entitled to vote, that 74 members attended in person, 41 attended online and 22 were represented by proxy, a total of 137 votes represented, and that the meeting was competent to decide. See quorum at general meetings for the findings on attendance."
• "N. N. was appointed minute-taker and M. M. and P. P. as tellers."

2. The board's report

• One paragraph on what the report covered and the main points raised in the discussion.
• "The report was approved by 118 votes for, 6 against and 13 abstentions."

3. Accounts and 4. Budget and subscription

• Name the figures decided: the result, the subscription for the coming year, any levy, with the amount and the date it falls due.
• "The budget was adopted with a subscription of EUR 240 per unit for 2027, by 101 votes for, 24 against and 12 abstentions."

5. Proposals

• One numbered sub-item per proposal, with the proposer and the text as put.
• "Proposal 5.2, from the board: amendment of article 12 of the bylaws so that the second sentence reads: [full text]. The chair noted that the proposal was set out in full in the notice, that under article 18 an amendment requires two thirds of the votes cast and the attendance of at least one third of the members, and that both conditions were met."
• "An amendment moved from the floor to change 'six weeks' to 'four weeks' was put first and carried by 89 to 31. The proposal as amended was then carried by 121 votes for, 14 against and 2 abstentions, that is 121 of the 135 votes cast, or 89.6%."
• Where a proposal was withdrawn or ruled out of order, say so and why. See voting on bylaw amendments.

6. Elections

• "Three seats on the board were up for election. Four members stood: [names]. The chair ordered a secret ballot. Votes cast: 135. [Name] 96, [name] 88, [name] 71, [name] 52. [First three names] were elected for two years."
• Record substitutes, auditors and the advisory council the same way, with terms.

7. Any other business

• "No decisions were taken under this item." Say it explicitly; it closes off later argument about whether something was agreed.

Close and signatures

• "The chair closed the meeting at 21:35 and thanked the members for their attendance."
• Signature blocks for the chair and the minute-taker, and for anyone else the bylaws require, with the date of signature.
• List of appendices: the notice, the attendance list, the accounts as adopted, the proposals as put, and the voting record.

The voting record as an appendix

If the vote was taken in a voting system, do not retype the numbers and hope they match. Put the summary in the minutes and attach the system record as a numbered appendix. A usable record shows the number of eligible voters and the total votes they represent, the item as it was put, when voting opened and closed, how many voted, the distribution including abstentions, any weights and proxies applied, and the majority rule used. For secret items it shows all of that without showing who voted how; see the guide on secret ballots online. The point of the appendix is that a member who doubts a figure can be handed something rather than told to trust the board.

Signing, circulating and keeping

Who signs comes from the bylaws. Chair and minute-taker is the common minimum, and some rule sets add one or two members, or the whole board. Set an internal deadline for signing while memories are fresh; two to four weeks works well. An electronic signature is generally acceptable where the bylaws do not require a handwritten one, and a scanned signed copy in the association's files is worth more than an unsigned document in a shared drive.

Circulate the minutes to all members, not only those who attended, and say plainly that objections should be raised with the board by a stated date. That is not a formal approval procedure unless your bylaws create one, but it turns silence into something useful.

How long to keep them is usually a matter of practice rather than a rule you can cite, unless your bylaws, your accounting rules or a register set a period. The common practice is to keep them indefinitely, and there is a good reason for it. Minutes are the chain of title for every rule the association operates under: the current bylaws can only be proved through the meetings that amended them, and a board election three years ago may have to be evidenced to a bank or a register. Keep the notices and attendance lists with them. Bear in mind that attendance lists and proxies contain personal data, so store them with the same care as the member register and apply whatever retention policy you have. The step-by-step guide covers the rest of the meeting workflow.