# SQLBL 1201:2026 — Meeting Record Structure — Minimum Content Requirements for Written Records

URL: https://sqlbl.com/standards/sqlbl-1201
Status: Published | Edition: 1 | Published: 2026-02-06
Committee: SQLBL/TC 2 Organizational Communication | Category: Organizational Communication | Pages: 24
Keywords: meeting, record, minutes, decisions

## Abstract

Specifies the minimum content of a written meeting record, including attendance, decisions taken, and open items, so that a record can be interpreted by a reader who was not present.

## 1 Scope

This document specifies requirements for meeting record structure in professional and quasi-professional written communication.
It applies to written records of scheduled synchronous gatherings within an organization.
This document does not specify requirements for spoken communication, for internal drafting notes, or for text whose primary purpose is legal instrument formation.

## 2 Normative references

The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content constitutes requirements of this document.
- SQLBL 1000, Structured language — Vocabulary and verbal forms
For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document applies.

## 3 Terms and definitions

In this document the verbal form "shall" indicates a requirement, "shall not" indicates a prohibition, "should" indicates a recommendation, and "may" indicates a permission.
Terms and definitions given in SQLBL 1000 and the following apply.
**3.1 meeting record** — written account of a gathering produced within five working days of the gathering
**3.2 open item** — item requiring action that was not resolved during the gathering

## 4 General principles

Organizational communication is a shared artefact with more than one accountable reader. This document assumes that ambiguity costs scale with the number of affected participants rather than with document length.
Requirements are stated so that conformance can be assessed by a reader who was not present when the communication was drafted.
Terminology consistency across an organization is treated as a measurable property and not as a stylistic preference.

## 5 Requirements

5.1 A meeting record shall state the date, the purpose, and the list of attendees.
5.2 Each decision taken shall be recorded with the name of the party accountable for its implementation.
5.3 Open items shall be recorded separately from decisions.
5.4 A record shall not attribute statements to attendees unless attribution was requested.
5.5 Where no decision was taken, the record shall say so explicitly.

## 6 Conformance

A document conforms to SQLBL 1201:2026 where every requirement expressed with the verbal form "shall" in Clause 5 is satisfied and no requirement expressed as "shall not" is violated.
Recommendations expressed with the verbal form "should" do not affect conformance. Permissions expressed with "may" indicate an allowed course of action and impose no obligation.
Conformance claims shall take the form: "This document conforms to SQLBL 1201:2026, Edition 1." Partial conformance shall be declared by clause number, for example "conforms to SQLBL 1201:2026 Clauses 5.1 and 5.2 only."
Conformance may be assessed manually or by an automated checker. Where an automated checker is used, the assessment record shall identify the checker and the catalog release of SQLBL-1201 against which it was run.

## 7 Implementation guidance

Records that mix decisions with discussion are difficult to use later. Separating the two costs little at the time of writing and saves considerable effort at review.
Attribution should be avoided by default; it changes how participants speak in subsequent gatherings.
Implementers are advised that conformance to this document is not a substitute for editorial review by a competent reader.

## 8 Examples

**EXAMPLE 1 — Conforming.** Decisions: proceed with vendor B (owner: procurement lead). Open items: confirm data residency terms.
**EXAMPLE 1 — Non-conforming.** We discussed vendors at length and generally agreed that vendor B seemed like the better option.

## Annex A Annex A (informative) — Assessment checklist

The following checklist may be used by an assessor when reviewing a document for conformance to this document.
- Date, purpose, and attendance recorded.
- Each decision carries an accountable party.
- Open items separated from decisions.
- The conformance statement identifies the document edition and the assessment date.
- Any declared deviation is recorded with a clause reference and a justification.

## Bibliography Bibliography

- SQLBL 1000, Structured language — Vocabulary and verbal forms
- SQLBL 9001, Corpus construction — Principles and traceability
- SQLBL 9004, Conformance assessment — Guidance for assessors
- SQLBL/TR 931, Technical report on observed usage in organizational communication

## Normative references

- SQLBL 1000, Structured language — Vocabulary and verbal forms

## Citation

SQLBL (2026). SQLBL 1201:2026, Meeting Record Structure — Minimum Content Requirements for Written Records. Edition 1. SQLBL/TC 2 Organizational Communication. Experimental standards corpus.