Robert's Rules of Order Minutes Template (12th Edition)

"Who seconded that?" is the question new secretaries dread most, and under Robert's Rules it barely matters. The book tells you to record who made a motion, not who seconded it. Plenty of organizations that say they follow Robert's Rules get this wrong, along with half a dozen other details: they summarize the debate, vote to approve the minutes, and sign off "Respectfully submitted."

If your bylaws name Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised as your parliamentary authority, your minutes have a defined shape. The current edition is the 12th, published in September 2020, and its section on minutes (section 48) says what goes in the first paragraph, what each motion entry contains, which votes need a count, and how the minutes get approved.

This guide turns those rules into a Robert's Rules of Order minutes template you can paste into a document today. You get each element explained, the template itself, and a filled sample showing the entries people usually fumble: a point of order, a motion that died for lack of a second, a counted vote and a ballot election. Then comes the chair's script for approving minutes, which under the 12th edition involves no vote at all.

What Robert's Rules says minutes are

The official Robert's Rules website answers this in one line in its FAQ: minutes are "a record of what was done at a meeting, not a record of what was said." The same answer adds that summarizing the discussion is not just unnecessary but improper.

That single rule settles most arguments. No "after lengthy discussion." No paraphrase of the treasurer's concerns. No adjectives. If a sentence describes talk rather than action, it does not belong.

Robert's Rules also lets an organization ask for more. The 12th edition added a provision that an assembly can decide to include information beyond what the book prescribes, for one meeting or as a standing practice, according to the official summary of changes in the 12th edition. That is why many organizations add a quorum line or attendance list. Check your bylaws and standing rules first, then follow the book for everything else.

If your group doesn't use Robert's Rules, our general meeting minutes template offers four lighter formats.

The first paragraph: five things to record

Robert's Rules puts the identifying facts in the opening paragraph, not in a header block. Professional Registered Parliamentarian Jim Slaughter's minutes checklist, keyed to the 12th edition, lists them:

1. The kind of meeting: regular, special, or adjourned (a continuation of an earlier meeting).
2. The name of the organization.
3. The date and time, and the place if it isn't always the same.
4. Whether the regular chair and secretary were present, or who substituted for them.
5. Whether the minutes of the previous meeting were approved, and whether as read or as corrected.

That's the whole opening. Attendance and a quorum statement are extras your organization can choose to add.

The body: one paragraph per subject

After the opening, each subject gets its own paragraph. The checklist is short, and every item is about what the assembly did:

• Every main motion, in the wording in which it was adopted or otherwise disposed of, with amendments worked in. A motion that was postponed, referred to a committee, or laid on the table goes in too, with what happened to it.
• The name of the mover. Not the seconder.
• Secondary motions (such as amendments or a motion to refer) only when they weren't lost or withdrawn and the record needs them to make sense.
• Every notice of a motion, such as notice that a bylaws amendment will be moved at the next meeting. Some motions require previous notice to pass by majority, so this entry can decide whether a later vote is valid.
• Every point of order and appeal, whether sustained or lost, with the reason the chair gave for the ruling.
• The time of adjournment as the final paragraph.

Robert's Rules' Official Interpretation 2006-7 adds a detail that surprises people: "All main motions which are moved during the course of a meeting (excepting only those which are withdrawn by the maker) should be recorded in the minutes." That includes a motion nobody seconded. Record it and its fate: "died for lack of a second."

Votes: when to record the numbers

Most votes need only the result: "adopted" or "lost." Robert's Rules asks for numbers in specific cases, and the 12th edition made those cases clearer:

If the chair announces "the motion is adopted" without a count, don't invent one. Write what was announced.

Reports, guest speakers, and what stays out

Reports and speakers trip up careful secretaries because the material is interesting. The rule doesn't bend:

• Officer and committee reports: the name of the person reporting and any action taken on the report. If the assembly orders a report entered in the minutes, the 12th edition lets the secretary attach it rather than copy it in.
• Guest speakers: the speaker's name and subject. No summary of the talk.
• Leave out: the seconder's name, motions withdrawn by their maker, opinions, and any summary of debate.
• Signature: the secretary signs. "Respectfully submitted" isn't needed; Slaughter's checklist calls for the signature alone.

The Robert's Rules minutes template

Paste this into Word, Google Docs, or your notes app. Square brackets get replaced. Delete any section that didn't happen; never write "none" under a heading just to fill it.

[NAME OF ORGANIZATION]
Minutes of the [regular / special / adjourned] meeting

The [regular / special / adjourned] meeting of [name of organization]
was held on [day, date], at [place, if not the usual one]. The meeting
was called to order at [time] by [name, President], presiding.
[The Secretary was present. / In the Secretary's absence, (name)
acted as secretary.]
[Optional, if your rules ask for it: Members present: (number).
A quorum was present.]
The minutes of the [date] meeting were [approved as read /
approved as corrected / not read; their reading was postponed to (date)].

REPORTS OF OFFICERS
[Name], Treasurer, reported [cash on hand / key figure]. The report
was placed on file.

REPORTS OF COMMITTEES
On behalf of the [name] Committee, [name] reported [subject].
[Action taken on any recommendation, as a motion below.]

UNFINISHED BUSINESS
The motion "[final wording]," postponed from the [date] meeting,
was [adopted / lost / adopted as amended].

NEW BUSINESS
[Name] moved "[final wording, with amendments worked in]."
The motion was [adopted / lost / adopted by a counted vote of X to Y /
referred to the (name) Committee / postponed to (date)].

[Name] moved "[wording]." The motion died for lack of a second.

POINT OF ORDER
[Name] raised a point of order that [issue]. The chair ruled the
point [well taken / not well taken] because [reason given].
[An appeal was made; the decision of the chair was sustained /
reversed.]

NOTICE OF MOTION
[Name] gave notice that at the next meeting [he/she/they] will move
[motion, in summary].

ELECTION (if any)
Tellers' report:
  Number of votes cast ............ [ ]
  Necessary for election .......... [ ]
  [Candidate] received ............ [ ]
  [Candidate] received ............ [ ]
[Name] was declared elected.

PROGRAM
[Name of speaker], [role], spoke on [subject].

The meeting adjourned at [time].

[Name], Secretary
Approved: [date]

That's the whole Robert's Rules minutes template. Notice what it lacks: no discussion section, no seconder field, no closing courtesy line.

Want the exact wording of every motion waiting for you when you sit down to write? Download ParrotNotes free, record the meeting with the group's agreement, and fill in the template from the transcript. More on that below.

A filled sample: Robert's Rules minutes example

Here's the template completed for a fictional professional chapter. The organization, people and numbers are a composite invented to show the format, including the procedural entries that most samples skip.

TRI-COUNTY CHAPTER, ASSOCIATION OF OFFICE ADMINISTRATORS
Minutes of the regular meeting

The regular meeting of the Tri-County Chapter, Association of Office
Administrators, was held on Thursday, November 12, 2026, at the
Westbrook Library community room. The meeting was called to order
at 6:30 PM by Karen Liu, President, presiding. The Secretary was
present. Members present: 31. A quorum was present.
The minutes of the October 8 meeting were approved as corrected.

REPORTS OF OFFICERS
Marcus Bell, Treasurer, reported a balance of $8,420 on October 31.
The report was placed on file.

REPORTS OF COMMITTEES
On behalf of the Programs Committee, Dana Ortiz reported on plans
for the spring workshop. On the committee's recommendation, the
following motion was adopted: "That the chapter hold its spring
workshop on Saturday, April 10, 2027, at a cost not to exceed $2,500."

UNFINISHED BUSINESS
The motion "That the chapter offer two student scholarships of $500
each," postponed from the October 8 meeting, was adopted.

NEW BUSINESS
Ray Ahmed moved "That annual dues be raised from $60 to $75,
effective January 1, 2027." Amended to read "from $60 to $70."
The motion as amended was adopted by a counted vote of 18 to 13.

Lisa Park moved "That the chapter move its meetings to Tuesdays."
The motion died for lack of a second.

POINT OF ORDER
Tom Reyes raised a point of order that the dues motion required
previous notice. The chair ruled the point not well taken because
the bylaws set dues by majority vote without notice. Mr. Reyes
appealed. The decision of the chair was sustained.

NOTICE OF MOTION
Dana Ortiz gave notice that at the December meeting she will move
to amend Article IV of the bylaws to allow electronic meetings.

ELECTION
Election of Vice President, to fill a vacancy. Tellers' report:
  Number of votes cast ............ 31
  Necessary for election .......... 16
  Angela Brooks received .......... 19
  Paul Grant received ............. 12
Angela Brooks was declared elected.

PROGRAM
Sam Whitaker, facilities manager at Westbrook Medical Group, spoke
on planning an office relocation.

The meeting adjourned at 8:02 PM.

Jordan Ellis, Secretary
Approved: December 10, 2026

Read it once as a member who missed the meeting. You know every decision, how close the dues vote was, why the point of order failed, and what's coming in December. You don't know who argued what, and the record is better for it.

Approving and correcting minutes the Robert's Rules way

Here's the 12th-edition detail most groups miss. Minutes are never adopted by a vote. The official summary of changes explains that "a vote is never properly taken on approval of the minutes," which "instead are declared adopted when there are no further corrections."

So the chair's script is short:

1. Chair: "The secretary will read the minutes." (Or, if they were sent in advance: "The minutes were distributed by email.")
2. Chair: "Are there any corrections to the minutes?"
3. A member offers a correction. If no one objects, the chair says: "The correction is made." If someone objects, the assembly votes on that correction.
4. Chair: "Are there any further corrections?" (pause) "There being none, the minutes stand approved as corrected." (Or "as read" if nothing changed.)

No motion to approve, no second, no vote. The 12th edition also confirms that the assembly can postpone approval, refer the draft to a committee, or dispense with reading at any point while the minutes are pending.

Corrections live in the minutes being corrected. Today's minutes only say the earlier set was "approved as corrected." If a mistake surfaces after approval, the FAQ explains, the assembly uses the motion to Amend Something Previously Adopted, and that action is recorded in the minutes of the meeting where it happens.

Boards have extra wrinkles, including executive sessions and recusals. Our board meeting minutes template covers those, and homeowners' associations will find open-session and owner-forum entries in the HOA meeting minutes template.

Let a recording fill in your Robert's Rules minutes

The hardest part of Robert's Rules minutes isn't the format. It's catching the final wording of an amended motion, the chair's reason for a ruling, and the count, all while the meeting moves on. A recording takes that pressure off.

Ask first. Put recording to the members once, record the decision in the minutes, remind everyone at the start of each meeting, and follow local recording law. If anyone objects, don't record.

Then put a phone running ParrotNotes on the head table. Afterwards you get a full transcript, an AI summary, and a list of action items. Each one maps onto the template:

• Motion wording: search the transcript for "I move" and copy what the chair restated before the vote.
• Point of order: the chair's reason for the ruling is right there in the transcript, word for word.
• Counts and tellers' reports: the chair's announcement gives the numbers.
• Follow-up tasks: the action items list feeds a separate tracker, like our action items template, since tasks aren't part of the minutes themselves.

If you'd rather start from rough notes, the free meeting minutes generator turns them into a first draft. Check every motion against the template before it goes out.

The Free plan gives you 100 minutes of recording a month, an AI summary on every recording, and five AI-powered recordings a month. ParrotNotes Pro costs $19.99 a month, or $14.99 a month billed annually, and includes 3,000 minutes a month, recordings up to 3 hours, and speaker identification, which helps attach the mover's name to each motion. It also transcribes 99+ languages with translation, useful for international associations that meet in more than one language. Recording works offline, so a library basement without Wi-Fi is fine; the transcript arrives once you're back online.

Copy the template before your next meeting

Robert's Rules minutes are short on purpose. Here's the core of it:

• Open with the kind of meeting, the organization, the date and place, the presiding officer and secretary, and the status of the last minutes.
• Record every main motion in its final wording with the mover's name, and leave the seconder out.
• Include notices of motion and points of order with the chair's reason.
• Give counts only for counted, ballot and roll-call votes.
• Approve the minutes by asking for corrections, never by a vote.

Paste the template into your notes before the next meeting, and set your meeting agenda in the same order so the minutes follow the agenda line for line. Then download ParrotNotes free, and the wording of every motion will be in the transcript when you sit down to write.