Minutes of a Shareholders’ Meeting are records of important corporate decisions, resolutions, and actions made during a shareholders’ meeting. Corporate meeting resolutions are formal records of decisions the board of directors and shareholders agree upon.

Minutes of Shareholders’ Meetings’ are also known as:

• Annual general meeting of shareholders’ minutes
• Special meeting minutes of shareholders’
• Corporate shareholders’ meeting minutes

Companies write shareholders’ meeting minutes to comply with state law. Meeting minutes ensure transparency, accountability, and compliance with legal and regulatory obligations.

Governments require corporations to use meeting minutes to create a formal, verifiable record of discussions, decisions, and actions during meetings. Shareholder meetings that require minutes discuss various topics, including:

• Changes or elections for board members
• Corporate policy and objectives
• Accounting practices
• Executive wages

Shareholders sometimes make important decisions outside of a formal shareholders’ meeting. If shareholders make corporate decisions outside a meeting, they can use a Shareholders’ Consent to Action Without Meeting form.

Minutes include fundamental information about the attendees and their decisions, actions, and resolutions.

To write effective meeting minutes, include:

• Information about the corporation, such as the state of incorporation and the company's name
• The names of the chairperson, shareholders, and secretary
• The date and address of the meeting
• Decisions for each item on the agenda

It is important to note that meeting minutes are not verbatim records. Instead, they include the key facts and choices the shareholders made during the meeting.

LawDepot’s Minutes of Shareholders’ Meeting template provides security and assurance that your corporation follows proper standards and regulations.

The secretary of the meeting, or an appointed administrative person, usually takes corporate meeting minutes. The minute-taker is fundamental, as they write truthful, accurate, and unbiased notes about the meeting’s resolutions.

Typically, the secretary or administrative minute-taker sits close to the chairperson so that they can quickly clarify key points and verify the details of any resolutions or decisions made. Since meeting minutes are often a legal corporate requirement, the appointed minute-taker needs to be a careful and accurate writer. Meeting minutes should be concise and to the point.

The meeting chairperson or secretary/minute-taker signs the Minutes of Shareholders’ Meetings.

Signing the document confirms that the meeting minutes’ contents are valid. Signatures also hold the record keepers accountable as they confirm that the shareholder’s meeting minutes are accurate.

Regulations and laws regarding meeting minutes vary by state. Some states require the legal recording of meeting minutes. Meeting minutes are fundamental for tracking significant business decisions and agreements.

The legal requirements for Minutes of Shareholders’ Meetings for each state are: