How to Take Meeting Minutes with Robert's Rules of Order
Article X, Section 60 of "Robert's Rules of Order Revised" defines the purpose and form of "Minutes," the written record of the proceedings of a meeting of a deliberative assembly. The minutes---also known as the "Record" or the "Journal"---provide continuity to the assembly's deliberations by the parliamentary procedure of reading the previous meeting's minutes as the first item of business at the next meeting. The secretary of the assembly---or the designated substitute in the absence of the secretary---is responsible for the taking, safeguarding and reading the minutes.
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Things You'll Need
- Robert's Rules of Order
- Pens with high-quality black ink or computer with word-processing software
- Well-bound record book
Instructions
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How to Take Meeting Minutes with Robert's Rules of Order
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Record the type of meeting. The types of meeting are "regular" (or "stated"), "special" (or "called"), "adjourned regular," or "adjourned special." Regular meetings are the periodic meetings convened to conduct the general business of the assembly. Regular meetings are typically held weekly, monthly, quarterly, or at other predefined period as established by the assembly's by-laws. Special meetings are convened off-schedule to consider only specific agenda items that are identified by the call of the meeting. Adjourned regular and adjourned special meetings are continuations of previous, interrupted meetings of the indicated type.
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Record the name of the assembly, the date and location of the meeting (when it is not always the same), and the presence of the regular chairperson and secretary (or the names of their substitutes in their absence).
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Record the disposition of the reading of the minutes of the previous meeting: "approved," "approved as corrected," or "reading dispensed with." Include the date of the previous meeting if that meeting was other than a "regular" type meeting. If the minutes of the previous meeting are approved as corrected, make those corrections directly in the text of the previous minutes. The minutes of the current meeting should simply state that the minutes were "approved as corrected." If the reading of the minutes is dispensed with as the first order of business, the assembly may afterwards call for a reading when no other business is pending. If not read during the current meeting, the minutes should be read at the next meeting of the assembly before the reading of the later minutes.
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Record the business conducted during the meeting. Record all of the "Main"---or "Principal"--- motions except withdrawn motions. It is general practice to record the name of the member who makes a main motion and the fact that the motion was seconded, but not the name of the seconding member. Record all points of order and appeals and whether they were sustained or lost. Record all other classes of motions---"Privileged," "Incidental," and "Subsidiary"---that were not lost or withdrawn. Do not record or summarize what was discussed by the assembly in the minutes. Only record what was done---not said---at a meeting.
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Record the motion and time of adjournment. If your assembly does not formally approve minutes after their reading at the next meeting, write "Approved" and the date. Finally, sign the minutes over your title, "Secretary" or "Acting Secretary" as appropriate. If required by the by-laws, the presiding officer should also sign the minutes over the appropriate title. If the minutes are to be published, they should always be signed by the presiding officer and the secretary.
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Tips & Warnings
Article X, Section 60 of "Robert's Rules of Order, Revised for Deliberative Assemblies" includes an example of the prescribed form of meeting minutes. The copyright on the 1915 version of Robert's Rules has expired and is in the public domain. Refer to the References and Resources sections for links to on-line versions of the 1915 text.
If you take minutes using a computer with a word processing application, print out a hard-copy record of the minutes immediately after the meeting's adjournment. If you take minutes using a stenograph machine or in manual shorthand, transcribe the minutes into a hard-copy record immediately after the meeting's adjournment. Include a page footer in the hard-copy record in the form of "Page N of NN" to record the number and sequence of the pages. Secure the hard copy of the minutes in a binder with the minutes from previous meetings in chronological order. It is good practice for recovery purposes to maintain a backup archive of any electronic versions of the minutes and store them in a separate physical location from the hard-copy record.
