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Minutes of a board meeting of a private company (UK)
England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales · in English
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For the directors of a private limited company in the UK recording a board meeting: who attended, the quorum, declarations of interest, and each decision taken, such as a bank mandate, a contract, an interim dividend or new premises. Every company must keep minutes of its directors' meetings for at least ten years (section 248 of the Companies Act 2006), and the chair signs them as a correct record. Nothing here is filed with Companies House.
- Made for use in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales
- Last updated October 28, 2026
- Document in English
Where a UK document reproduces the words of legislation or of a government publication — UK, Scottish or Northern Irish — it contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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When to use this document
- Your company in the UK held a board meeting and you need proper minutes for the company records.
- The directors met to approve the annual accounts and want the decisions minuted.
- A director declared an interest at the meeting and you want it recorded in the minutes.
- You want a clear layout for the minutes of a directors' meeting of a small limited company.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Company name
- Company number (8 characters, as on the Companies House register)
- Company's current registered office
- Town or city
- Postcode of the registered office
- Date of the meeting
- Time the meeting started
- Place of the meeting (or “by video call”)
- Directors present
- Others attending (secretary, accountant)
- Chair
- Interests declared by directors (or “None”)
- Business discussed and decisions taken, item by item (“IT WAS RESOLVED THAT …”)
- Date
Common questions
- How long must a UK company keep its board minutes?
- At least ten years from the date of the meeting (section 248 of the Companies Act 2006). Minutes signed by the chair are evidence of what was decided, and failing to keep them is an offence by each officer in default. Keep them with the company's other records, on paper or electronically, together with directors' written resolutions.
- Can the directors declare a dividend in board minutes?
- Under the model articles the directors can decide to pay an interim dividend; a final dividend is declared by the shareholders by ordinary resolution, and not above the amount the directors recommend. Either way, a dividend may be paid only out of profits available for distribution (Part 23 of the Companies Act 2006), shown by the company's accounts, so record the accounts relied on in the minutes.
- What if a director has an interest in a contract the board is approving?
- They must declare the nature and extent of the interest to the other directors before the company enters into the transaction (section 177 of the Companies Act 2006), and the declaration is recorded in the minutes. Whether they may then vote and count in the quorum depends on the company's articles; under the model articles a conflicted director generally may not, with some exceptions.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
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