Minutes

Content of Minutes

First Paragraph

• Type of meeting (regular, special, adjourned regular, or adjourned special)
• Name of the organization
• Date and time of the meeting and the place (if it is not always the same)
• Notation of the regular presiding officer’s and secretary’s presence or that of their substitutes
• Action taken on the minutes of the previous meet­ing(s), i.e., whether they were approved as read or as corrected (a previous meeting’s minutes should never be approved at a special meeting)

Body (separate paragraph for each motion)

• All main motions or motions to bring a question again before the assembly
• Name of the maker of each motion (but not the seconder)
• Final wording of each motion (including any amend­ments) and whether each motion was adopted, lost, or temporarily disposed of (e.g., postponed or referred to a committee). Generally, motions that are withdrawn should not be included in the minutes
• All notices of motions
• All points of order and appeals, whether sustained or lost, along with the chair’s reasons for the ruling

Last Paragraph

• Notes the hour of adjournment

Signature

• Signature and title of the person writing the minutes (in some organizations, the president also signs)

Reading and Approval of Minutes

• The assembly may dispense with the reading of the minutes by a majority vote.
• If members receive a draft of the minutes prior to a meeting, the secretary need not read them aloud.
• When an assembly approves the minutes, the secretary should write the word “Approved” with his or her initials and the date at the bottom.
• After adoption, an assembly may amend the minutes upon the discovery of an error or omission. Such an amendment requires a two-thirds vote, a majority vote with previous notice, or a majority vote of the entire membership, whichever is easiest to obtain.