Approving minutes

Who has the authority to approve

The secretary drafts the minutes. The board approves them. Those are two different jobs, and a board president who simply reads last month's minutes aloud and declares them approved is skipping the step that actually matters, the vote.

"Ultimate and final approval lies with the body itself. The president or chair does not have the parliamentary authority to direct the secretary how to correct meeting minutes."

Source: Who may correct meeting minutes?, Jurassic Parliament

This matters because a motion is only official once the body that has to live with it has actually agreed the record is accurate.

Draft until approved

What the secretary hands out after a meeting is a first pass, not a record. Draft minutes only become official once the board reviews and approves them, usually at the next meeting.

"[Draft minutes] remain a draft until they have been reviewed and approved by the organization, board or other governing body."

Source: Draft vs. Approved Minutes: What's the Difference?, MinutesSolutions

Good practice is to mark the file "DRAFT" at the top and in the filename until approval, then remove that label and add the approval date.

Corrections: at the meeting versus after

If a director spots an error while the board is approving the minutes, that correction goes straight into the text before the vote. It is not the case once the minutes are already approved. Fixing an approved record takes its own motion, called Amend Something Previously Adopted, voted on separately.

"If a correction to previously approved minutes is adopted, the secretary does not actually alter the content of the original minutes, but may make a marginal notation indicating the corrected text or referring to the minutes of the meeting at which the correction was adopted."

Source: Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, Frequently Asked Questions, The Robert's Rules Association

The original text stays intact. The correction is layered on top of it, with a record of when and how it was made.

Why the approval date matters

Approval is not just a formality, it can start a clock. In California, board and committee minutes with decision-making authority must be made available for inspection within 15 calendar days of approval, and must then be kept permanently. Other states set their own timelines and retention periods, so check your own state's statute and your governing documents.