What is a notice of meeting?

A notice of meeting is the formal message that calls a meeting. It gives the date, time and place, says what kind of meeting it is, and lists the business. Your bylaws, and sometimes the law, decide how far ahead it must go out and what it must say.

What should a meeting notice include?

The organization's name, the type of meeting, the date, time and time zone, the place and any remote link, the purpose or business, who called it, and the date it was sent. Add motion text, election details, proxy rules and the quorum when they apply.

How many days' notice is required for a meeting?

It depends on your bylaws and the law that applies. Delaware stockholder meetings need 10 to 60 days, New York nonprofit members' meetings 10 to 50 days, and California HOA board meetings at least 4 days. Check your own documents first.

Can a special meeting discuss items not in the notice?

Generally no. Under Robert's Rules, business at a special meeting is limited to what the call names, and action outside it must be ratified later. Some statutes, such as California's open meeting law for public agencies, say the same.

Can I send a meeting notice by email?

Yes, if your bylaws or the law allow it, or the member has agreed to get notices by email. If your bylaws say "mailed" and nothing else, check before you rely on email alone.

What happens if notice of a meeting wasn't given properly?

Decisions made at the meeting can be challenged. Some groups fix it by ratifying the decisions at a properly noticed meeting. Some laws also let a member waive notice: Delaware's section 229 counts a signed written waiver, or attending without objecting at the start. Ask a lawyer when the stakes are high.

Meeting Notice: Template and What to Include

Priya is the secretary of a 60-member hiking club. In March the board called a special meeting to approve a $2,500 trail-maintenance grant, and her email said only "Special meeting, Thursday 7 pm, community hall."

At the meeting, someone moved to raise the annual dues too. It passed 14 to 3. Two weeks later a member who'd stayed home asked a fair question: how could the club vote on dues at a meeting nobody was told was about dues? (Priya and her club are an illustration, not a real case.)

That's the job of a meeting notice: it tells every member who can attend when and where the meeting is, and what it will decide. Get it right and nobody can say they were shut out. Get it wrong and a vote can be challenged, or have to be taken again.

You probably have a notice you copy from last year. This guide checks it against what the rules ask for. You'll get a checklist of what to include, four templates to copy, notice periods from named laws, and how to prove the notice went out.

This is general information, not legal advice. Your bylaws and the law that governs your organization have the final word, so check them, and ask a lawyer when money or a dispute is at stake.

What is a meeting notice?

A meeting notice (also called a notice of meeting) is the formal message that calls a meeting of a board, the members, or a committee. The secretary usually sends it, on the chair's or the board's instructions.

It isn't the same as a calendar invite. An invite asks people to turn up. A notice is what your bylaws, and sometimes the law, require before a group can make binding decisions. If the notice is late, goes to the wrong people, or leaves out something it had to say, the decisions made at that meeting can be challenged.

Three documents usually travel together:

The notice: when, where and what kind of meeting, plus the business to be decided
The agenda: the order of business (see our meeting agenda template for formats)
The papers: reports, financial statements, the text of any motion members will vote on

For a small board, all three can go in one email. For a members' meeting, the notice often stands alone and the papers follow or sit on a website.

What to include in a meeting notice

Every meeting notice should answer six questions. Leave one out and someone has a reason to say they weren't properly told.

Include	Why it matters
Organization name and type of meeting (regular, special, annual, board, members)	The type decides the notice period and what business is allowed
Date, start time and time zone	Remote attendees in other time zones miss meetings over this
Place, and how to join remotely	Delaware's statute lists the means of remote communication as part of a stockholder meeting notice
Purpose, or the business to be decided	Required for special meetings under Robert's Rules and the statutes below
Who called the meeting and on whose authority	New York's nonprofit law requires the notice of a members' meeting, other than the annual one, to say who is calling it
Date sent, sender's name and a contact	This is your proof of timing if anyone asks later

Add these when they apply:

The text of any motion that needs previous notice. Under Robert's Rules, amending the bylaws or rescinding an earlier decision needs previous notice, so quote the proposed wording in the notice.
Election details: the seats, the candidates, how nominations from the floor work.
Proxy and absentee voting rules, if your bylaws allow them, with the form and the deadline.
The quorum members need to reach. If turnout is often low, saying the number helps. Our guide on what a quorum is shows how to count it.
Where the papers are: a link, an attachment, or "copies at the office from May 1."
Accessibility: how to ask for an accommodation. California's open meeting law makes this part of a public agency's posted agenda.

Once the notice is out, the next job is the minutes. If you're the one taking them, ParrotNotes can record the meeting with everyone's agreement and give you a transcript and a summary to write from.

Meeting notice templates you can copy

Copy the one that fits, replace everything in [brackets], and delete any line your bylaws don't need. Each template ends with a line for the date it was sent, which is your record of timing.

1. Regular board meeting notice

NOTICE OF REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
[Organization name]

The regular meeting of the Board of Directors of [organization name]
will be held on [day, date] at [start time, time zone].

Location: [address and room]
Join remotely: [video link, meeting ID, dial-in number]

The agenda and board papers are attached. Items include:
1. Approval of the minutes of [date of last meeting]
2. Treasurer's report for [month or quarter]
3. [Item for decision]
4. [Item for discussion]

Quorum for this meeting: [number] directors.
If you can't attend, please tell [name] by [date].

[Name], Secretary
[email] | [phone]
Sent on [date] by [email / post / board portal]

2. Special meeting notice

A special meeting can only deal with the business named in the notice, so the purpose section matters most. Write every item out in full.

NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEETING OF [THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS / THE MEMBERS]
[Organization name]

A special meeting of [the Board of Directors / the members] of
[organization name] is called by [the President / the Board /
members holding (number or %) of the votes, under Article (X),
Section (Y) of the bylaws].

Date and time: [day, date, start time, time zone]
Place: [address]  |  Remote: [link and dial-in]

Purpose of the meeting. The only business to be considered is:
1. [Exact item, e.g. "To consider and vote on a grant of up to
   $2,500 to the Ridge Trail maintenance fund."]
2. [Exact item, with the full text of any resolution attached]

No other business will be taken up at this meeting.

[Name], Secretary
[email] | [phone]
Sent on [date] by [method]

3. Annual members' meeting (AGM) notice

NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
[Organization name]

Notice is given that the Annual General Meeting of [organization
name] will be held on [day, date] at [start time, time zone] at
[address]. Members may also join at [link].

Business:
1. Approval of the minutes of the [year] Annual General Meeting
2. President's annual report
3. Treasurer's report and financial statements for [year]
4. Election of [officers / directors]: [number] seats
   Candidates: [names]. Nominations from the floor: [allowed / not allowed]
5. [Proposed bylaw amendment: full text attached / below]
6. [Any other business the bylaws allow at an AGM]

Voting: members in good standing on [record date] may vote.
[Proxies are allowed. Return the attached form to (name)
by (date and time).]

Quorum: [number or %] of members, present [in person or by proxy].
Papers: [link or "attached"].

By order of the Board,
[Name], Secretary
Sent on [date] by [method]

When the AGM is over, you'll need the record. Our annual general meeting minutes template follows the same order of business.

4. HOA board meeting notice

NOTICE OF [OPEN / EXECUTIVE SESSION] BOARD MEETING
[Association name]

The Board of Directors will meet on [day, date] at [start time]
at [location]. Homeowners may attend the open session
[in person / at (link)].

Agenda:
1. Call to order and quorum
2. Homeowner comment period ([number] minutes)
3. Approval of the minutes of [date]
4. Financial report
5. [Item for board action, described in plain words]
6. [Item for board action]
7. Adjournment
[Executive session (closed): (general topic, e.g. "delinquent
assessments" or "contract negotiation")]

Posted at [location] and sent by [method] on [date].
[Name], Secretary, on behalf of the Board

In California, the agenda has to travel with the notice, so this template keeps them together. For the record afterwards, see our HOA meeting minutes template.

How much notice do you need to give for a meeting?

Start with your bylaws or articles. Most groups find their notice period there, and the number in your documents is usually the one you must meet. Where a statute sets a minimum, check it too, because your documents can lengthen that period but usually can't shorten it.

These rules show how much the answer varies (all checked against the statute text as of November 2026):

Rule	Meeting	Notice period	Must also state
Delaware §222	Corporation stockholder meetings	10 to 60 days before	Place, date, hour, remote access; purpose if special
New York N-PCL §605	Nonprofit members' meetings	10 to 50 days (in person, first-class mail, email); 30 to 60 by other mail	Place, date, hour; purpose if special
California Civil Code §4920	HOA board meetings	At least 4 days; 2 days if executive session only; none for an emergency meeting	The agenda
Florida §720.306	HOA members' meetings	At least 14 days, unless the bylaws provide otherwise	Purpose if special
California Gov. Code §54954.2	Public agency regular meetings	Agenda posted 72 hours before	Brief description of each item
California Gov. Code §54956	Public agency special meetings	Received 24 hours before	The business to be considered
UK Companies Act s.307	Company general meetings	14 days; 21 days for a public company's AGM	Time, date, place and general nature of business (s.311)

These are examples, not a survey. Your state or country, your type of organization and your own documents may say something different.

Two details are easy to miss. First, the windows have a maximum as well as a minimum: a Delaware stockholder notice sent 70 days early is as wrong as one sent 5 days late. Second, how you count matters. "At least 14 days before" usually means 14 full days, so work back from the meeting date and add a day or two for post.

What if your documents and the law say nothing? Robert's Rules asks for notice far enough in advance for members to receive it and plan to attend, which depends on how often you meet and how far people travel. Then write a number into your bylaws, so nobody has to argue about "reasonable" again.

Special meeting notices: the purpose line decides what you can vote on

A special meeting is any meeting outside the regular schedule. Its notice carries an extra rule: the meeting can only deal with what the notice says.

Robert's Rules: business at a special meeting is limited to the business named in the call, under RONR (12th ed.) 9:15. Action outside it has to be ratified at a later, properly noticed meeting.
Delaware and New York both require a special meeting notice to state its purpose (§222, §605).
California public agencies: the notice must specify the business, and "no other business shall be considered".

Back to Priya's club. The $2,500 grant was named in the call, so that vote can stand. The dues increase wasn't, so it should go on the next regular or properly called meeting and be voted on again. The fix is to put it in that meeting's notice, with the proposed amount written out.

So write each purpose as the motion people will vote on. "To discuss finances" protects nobody. "To consider a dues increase from $40 to $55 a year, starting July 1" tells every member whether they need to be there.

How to send a meeting notice and prove you sent it

Use the method your bylaws name. If they say "mailed", email alone may not count unless the bylaws, the law or each member's written consent allows it. Common methods:

Email to the address each member gave you for notices
Post for members who haven't agreed to email
A board portal or members' website, if your bylaws name it
Posting on a notice board or website, which open meeting laws often require for public bodies

Then keep proof. Florida HOA law asks for an affidavit from the person who gave notice, filed in the association's records. Even where nothing like that is required, keep these:

A copy of the notice exactly as sent
The distribution list, and the date and method
Bounce-backs and returned mail, with what you did about them

Then record it in the minutes. One line does it: "Notice of this meeting was sent by email to all members on May 2, 2026." Our board meeting minutes template has a slot for it.

Take Marcus, treasurer of a residents' association with 140 homes. (He's an illustration too.) A homeowner disputed a vote on a $9,000 roof repair, saying he never got the notice. Marcus pulled the sent email, the list showing that homeowner's address, and the minutes line recording the send date. The complaint went no further, and the work went ahead on schedule.

A recording helps here as well. When the chair confirms notice and quorum aloud at the start, a recording made with everyone's agreement captures it. ParrotNotes turns that recording into a transcript you can quote when you write up the minutes.

Mistakes that put votes at risk

Leaving out the purpose of a special meeting. The most common reason a vote gets questioned.
Counting the days wrong. Count back from the meeting date, and remember maximums too.
Sending to an old list. New members, changed emails and members who asked for post all count.
"Any other business" at a special meeting. It can't add items the call didn't name.
Not attaching the motion text when a bylaw amendment needs previous notice.
Moving the meeting without a new notice. A new date, time or place generally needs fresh notice; check your bylaws before you rely on a short one.

Some boards handle routine items with one vote. If yours does, list the items in the notice and explain how a director can pull one; our guide to the consent agenda shows how.

Meeting notice: the short version

A meeting notice tells members when, where and what. For a special meeting, the "what" limits the business.
Check your bylaws first, then the law for your type of organization. The notice period can have a minimum and a maximum.
Write purposes as the motions you'll vote on, and attach any text that needs previous notice.
Keep a copy, the list, and the send date, and record notice in the minutes.

Pick the template above that matches your next meeting and fill it in today. And if you'll be taking the minutes, try ParrotNotes free to record the meeting and start the write-up from a transcript instead of a notepad.