Charity board minutes template (UK) — free, with a plain-English guide

Updated July 2026 · Reviewed against Charity Commission guidance · 5-minute read

Minutes are the only lasting record of your board's decisions — and one of the first things the Charity Commission, an auditor or a new trustee will ask to see. Yet nobody becomes a trustee to write them. This free template gives you a layout that captures what matters, skips what doesn't, and takes minutes that hold up years later.

Minutes of the meeting of the Board of Trustees

[Charity name] · Registered charity no. [number] · [date, time, place/video]

Present[names + roles] · Apologies: [names] · Quorum confirmed: [yes/no]

DeclarationsConflicts of interest declared and how they were managed

Item 4Discussion summary · DECISION: [what was agreed, by whom] · ACTION: [who, what, by when]

Decision logNumbered list of every decision, for the record

Action logOwner · action · due date · status — carried to the next agenda

ApprovalSigned by the Chair as a true record at the following meeting

What minutes must record — and what they needn't

There's no statutory format for charity minutes, but the Charity Commission expects boards to be able to evidence their decisions and how conflicts were handled. In practice, good minutes always capture: who attended and whether the meeting was quorate; declarations of interest and what was done about them; each decision, stated precisely; each action with an owner and a date; and anything trustees explicitly asked to be minuted.

What they needn't be: a transcript. "The board discussed the reserves policy at length" is enough narrative; the decision is the record. Attribute views to named trustees only when someone asks to be recorded — minutes that read like Hansard get written late and read never.

Five habits that make minutes painless

Write decisions in the room. Agree the exact wording aloud before moving on — it takes thirty seconds and ends "what did we actually decide?" forever.
Number decisions and actions. "2026-07-D3" is findable in five years; "the discussion about the roof" is not.
Circulate within a week. Accuracy decays fast; a draft in 3 days gets better corrections than a perfect version in 3 weeks.
Keep an action log that rolls forward. The log, not memory, opens the next meeting.
Approve and lock. Once signed as a true record, the minutes don't change — corrections go in the next meeting's minutes.

Where The Committee Room fits: it does the habits for you — drafts the minutes from a recording in your template, numbers every decision, chases every action, and locks the approved record. This template is the manual version, free forever.

Frequently asked questions

How long do we have to keep minutes?

Keep board minutes permanently — they're the charity's institutional memory and may be needed for legal, property or safeguarding history long after everyone present has moved on. Committee minutes: at least 10 years is a common policy.

Do we have to share minutes with members or the public?

Not usually — charities aren't generally obliged to publish board minutes, but your governing document may give members rights, and CIOs and charitable companies have specific rules about member resolutions. Many boards publish a summary as good practice.

Can minutes be taken by someone who isn't a trustee?

Yes — a minute-taker needn't be a trustee, and it often improves both the minutes and the meeting. The board remains responsible for approving them as accurate.

Are digital minutes and e-signatures acceptable?

Yes. There's no requirement for wet-ink signatures on charity minutes; what matters is a clear, tamper-evident record of approval by the chair.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. For unusual situations — disputes, investigations, mergers — take professional advice. Sources: Charity Commission guidance CC3 (The Essential Trustee) and CC48 (Charities and Meetings).