Minutes of a Meeting or Session: What Must They Include, and How Should They Be Written?

Quick Overview

Proper minutes of a meeting or session should always include the date, time, and location; the name of the organization; a list of attendees; the agenda; a summary of the proceedings; decisions made; tasks assigned with the responsible persons; voting results; attachments; and the signatures of authorized persons. For certain types of minutes, such as those from a municipal council meeting or an association’s general meeting, it is also necessary to comply with specific legal requirements or provisions set forth in the bylaws.

Briefly, before the meeting, prepare the following in particular:

• a list of participants and their positions,
• the approved agenda,
• space for recording resolutions and voting results,
• a section for tasks, responsible persons, and deadlines,
• signatures of the minute-taker, verifiers, or chairperson.

If you’re not sure whether your minutes from a meeting, association, homeowners’ association, or session include all the necessary elements, you can have them reviewed by a lawyer—we’ll point out any errors that could later call the adopted decisions into question.

Do you remember the movie *The Owners*, in which Klára Melíšková tirelessly insists on having everything in writing and ensuring that everything is legally valid? This comedy-drama sketches the reality of homeowners’ association meetings, where the minutes serve as a source of humorous discussion among the participants.

We take minutes at meetings, during hastily convened consultations, at city council sessions, and at homeowners’ association meetings. It’s often true that if it’s not on paper, it doesn’t exist. That’s why it’s necessary to keep minutes carefully—not just as evidence—and to adhere to certain requirements. Some of these are even mandated by law, and the minute-taker has a responsible role.

General Requirements for Minutes

Let’s start with the basics. No minutes should lack a few essential elements that ensure their transparency and make it easier for anyone who needs to find something in them to navigate the document. These include, in particular, the following information:

• First and foremost, include identifying details. This means recording the date, time, and location where the meeting took place. Next, add the name of the organization or institution for which you are keeping the meeting minutes.
• Next, list the attendees. In the list of those present, also note their roles (e.g., chair, minute-taker, verifier).
• Next, record the agenda. Write a brief summary of the items discussed.
• Now comes the most important part— the content of the meeting. Summarize the discussion for each agenda item. Record decisions, resolutions, and specific tasks, including who is responsible for carrying them out.
• And finally, the conclusion. Include the time the meeting ended in the minutes. The signatures of the minute-taker, the verifiers, and the chairperson should not be missing.

If you follow this general structure, you shouldn’t have any major problems with the minutes. However, certain specific types of minutes—such as meeting minutes or minutes from an association’s membership meeting—have additional specific requirements. We’ll look at those now.

We know from experience that problems usually don’t arise at the moment when everyone agrees with a decision, but only later—for example, when a member of the association, a unit owner, or a representative begins to object that an item was not voted on properly or that the minutes do not reflect the actual course of the meeting. That is why it is worth recording not only the result but also the exact wording of the resolution, the number of votes, and any objections.

How to Properly Take Minutes of an Association’s Membership Meeting

The minutes of an association’s membership meeting carry significant legal weight because they document the decisions made by the membership. Under the Civil Code, associations are required to retain these minutes in case of an audit or to resolve disputes. The minutes must be prepared within 30 days of the meeting.

Required Information:

• Convener and method of convening: Who convened the meeting and how (e.g., in writing, by email).
• Date and time: When the meeting took place.
• Chairperson: Who opened the meeting and who presided over it.
• Quorum: Information on whether the meeting had a quorum, i.e., whether the required number of members was present.
• Election of Officers: Which additional officers (e.g., secretary, minutes verifier) were elected by the members’ meeting.
• Resolutions: What resolutions were adopted, including the exact wording of these resolutions.
• Brief summary of the discussion: The minutes should also include a summary of the discussion on the items under consideration.
• Signatures of the secretary and the verifiers.

Unless otherwise specified in the bylaws, members of the association have the right to inspect the meeting minutes.

All members must receive timely information about all important matters concerning the association’s activities. If the governing body fails to inform members about important issues, members may demand corrective action or even initiate the removal of the governing body.

What a Proper Meeting Minutes Look Like

Meeting minutes are used during meetings of corporate bodies, work teams, or interdisciplinary groups. They are a concise yet informative document that summarizes the key points of the discussion and the conclusions reached.

Meeting minutes, whether from a company’s general meeting or a municipal council session, must include certain mandatory elements. These elements may vary slightly depending on the type of meeting, but generally include:

What They Should Include:

• Identification of the company or municipality: The business name and company name (in the case of a general meeting) or the name of the municipality.
• Date and time of the meeting.
• Persons present at the meeting: The names of the chairperson and the secretary, and a list of members present, including those excused and those unexcused.
• Approved agenda.
• Proceedings: A brief description of the discussion of each agenda item. A record of the discussion, including the names of those who spoke.
• Resolutions: Adopted resolutions, including the results of the vote (how many voted in favor, against, and who abstained). Also include the content of any protests or objections raised by members.
• Signatures: The minutes must be signed by the chairperson and the secretary, as well as any other certifying officers (e.g., the mayor and deputy mayor in the case of a municipality).
• Attachments: Any proposals and statements submitted at the meeting or other documents related to decision-making (e.g., contracts, supporting materials for decision-making).

Minutes of the City Council Meeting

Minutes of a municipal council meeting typically have stricter requirements, as they serve as an official document for the public. Their format is governed by the Municipalities Act and may also be further specified by internal guidelines. Minutes of municipal council meetings often play a key role in informing the public and serve as documentation of local government decisions. Furthermore, these minutes are often publicly available, so they should be as accurate and concise as possible.

The minutes of a municipal council meeting must be prepared within 15 days of the meeting. These minutes must be kept at the municipal office for public inspection.

Required elements of municipal council meeting minutes:

• Number of members present: The minutes must state the number of council members present. This serves to verify that a quorum was present. At the same time, the minutes should include a list of names of members who were present, excused, and unexcused.
• Approved agenda: The approved agenda that was discussed must be included.
• Voting Process and Results: The minutes must also include a description of the voting process, the specific results (how many voted in favor, against, and who abstained), and any discussion regarding individual agenda items.
• Adopted Resolutions: The minutes must include all adopted resolutions with their exact wording. Sometimes a resolution is too lengthy; in such cases, it may be included as an appendix.
• Signatures: The minutes must be signed by the mayor or deputy mayor and at least two designated verifiers.
• Date and Location: As with other minutes, the date and location of the meeting must be stated here as well.
• Changes in the number of attendees: If there is a change in the number of members present during the meeting itself, the minute-taker is required to record this change.
• Name of the minute-taker: It should be clear from the minutes who prepared them.

Meeting Minutes

Meetings tend to be fast-paced and dynamic. To make note-taking easier, it’s a good idea to have a pre-prepared meeting minutes template, for example in Word format. You can also take notes in a pre-prepared table. This ensures that no important topic is overlooked and that you record all necessary information.

Key parts of the minutes:

• Meeting title and objective – For example, “Weekly IT Team Meeting – Incident Resolution.”
• Overview of topics discussed – A brief but clear summary.
• Conclusions and decisions reached – Including responsibilities and deadlines.
• Task overview – Who is responsible for what and when it is due.
• Next steps – What will happen after the meeting.

The Role of the Minutes Taker

The minute-taker is the person responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the minutes. Their main tasks include recording information quickly and accurately, ideally during the meeting itself. Furthermore, the minute-taker must structure the minutes according to the prescribed template. At the same time, the minute-taker must ensure clarity and comprehensibility by using simple and formal language. Before final approval, the minute-taker must verify the accuracy of all information in the minutes.

In some cases, the minute-taker may have technical tools at their disposal, such as a voice recorder, for possible (retrospective) verification.

Tips for minute-takers:

• Use abbreviations to take notes more quickly.
• Decide in advance what is essential and what can be omitted.
• Review and complete the minutes as soon as possible after the meeting.

Avoid these common mistakes when taking minutes

The most common problem with meeting minutes is that they lack essential information, such as the date, location, or decisions made. If the minute-taker does not structure the minutes properly, the result is a chaotic and unclear document that few people can make sense of. It is also important to meet the mandatory deadline for submitting the minutes, which does not always happen. Last but not least, poor minutes contain unclear information that prevents unambiguous understanding or comprehensibility even after a long period of time.

In practice, we most often encounter minutes that contain only a general statement such as “the proposal was approved,” but fail to include the exact wording of the resolution, the result of the vote, or who voted against it. It is precisely these details that can determine whether the minutes will be admissible as evidence.

Summary

The minutes of a meeting, session, conference, association members’ meeting, or council session are intended to serve as an accurate and verifiable record of what was discussed and decided. They should always include the date, time, and location; a list of participants; the agenda; the course of the proceedings; adopted resolutions; voting results; tasks; attachments; and the signatures of the persons who prepared or verified the minutes. For associations, it is also necessary to comply with the bylaws and the Civil Code; for municipal councils, the Municipalities Act and internal rules of procedure must be followed. The most common mistake is a minutes document that is too general and lacks the exact wording of resolutions, voting results, or objections. Carefully maintained minutes help prevent disputes and can serve as important evidence if it later becomes necessary to determine what was actually approved.