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Texas meeting minutes: what they record and who can see them

Short answer

A Texas city board keeps minutes or makes a recording of each open meeting. Minutes state the subject of each deliberation and show each vote, order, decision or other action taken. Both are public records, open to inspection and copying on request to the body's chief administrative officer or a designee. Any certified agenda or recording of a closed meeting is a separate record, kept at least two years and open to public inspection only under a court order.(Tex. Gov't Code § 551.021(a), (b); Tex. Gov't Code § 551.022; Tex. Gov't Code §§ 551.103(a), 551.104(a), (c))

This guide explains the law in plain words; it is not legal advice. For a question about your board, ask your city attorney.
By Clarivis · Checked against Tex. Gov't Code §§ 551.021, 551.022, 551.103 and 551.104, and Tex. Loc. Gov't Code § 211.008 on Sat, Oct 24, 2026.

Where this fits in your meeting cycle: Clarivis is software that helps a city board follow these steps: it counts each meeting's notice deadline in business days (one hour for an emergency meeting), records the posting, with its link on the municipal website for the city council, flags a closed meeting item until a Statutory basis is selected, and drafts the minutes for your board to correct and approve; it does not post the notice for you, and it does not check what the notice says, the remote-attendance rules or members' training.

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Questions on this page

What must the minutes include?

A board keeps minutes or makes a recording of each open meeting. Minutes state the subject of each deliberation and show each vote, order, decision or other action taken.

Statute text

“(a) A governmental body shall prepare and keep minutes or make a recording of each open meeting of the body. (b) The minutes must: (1) state the subject of each deliberation; and (2) indicate each vote, order, decision, or other action taken.”

Tex. Gov't Code § 551.021(a), (b)

When are minutes due?

The Open Meetings Act sets no deadline for minutes or a recording (§ 551.021(a), (b), § 551.022). Minutes or a recording are still required for every open meeting. A board of adjustment files its minutes at once in the board's office (§ 211.008(b), (c), (d), (f)). The city's charter, an ordinance or the board's own rules may set a time; this guide does not cover those.

Do minutes show how each member voted?

The Open Meetings Act requires minutes to show each vote, not how each member voted (§ 551.021(a), (b)). A board of adjustment's minutes also show each member's vote on each question, or that the member was absent or did not vote (§ 211.008(b), (c), (d), (f)). The city's charter, an ordinance or the board's own rules may ask for more; this guide does not cover those.

Who can see the minutes?

Minutes and recordings of an open meeting are public records, open to inspection and copying on request to the body's chief administrative officer or a designee.

Statute text

“The minutes and recordings of an open meeting are public records and shall be available for public inspection and copying on request to the governmental body's chief administrative officer or the officer's designee.”

Tex. Gov't Code § 551.022

Do boards of adjustment keep different minutes?

A board of adjustment hears each case with at least 75 percent of its members, and alternates, where the charter or an ordinance provides them, serve when the mayor or city manager asks. Its minutes show each member's vote on each question, or that the member was absent or did not vote, and are filed at once in the board's office. (§ 211.008(b), (c), (d), (f))

What about closed meetings?

The certified agenda or recording of a closed meeting is a separate record under state law, and it is kept for at least two years and is available for public inspection and copying only under a court order. No certified agenda or recording is required for a private consultation with the board's attorney under § 551.071.

Statute text

“A governmental body shall either keep a certified agenda or make a recording of the proceedings of each closed meeting, except for a private consultation permitted under Section 551.071. ... A governmental body shall preserve the certified agenda or recording of a closed meeting for at least two years after the date of the meeting. ... The certified agenda or recording of a closed meeting is available for public inspection and copying only under a court order issued under Subsection (b)(3).”

Tex. Gov't Code §§ 551.103(a), 551.104(a), (c)

Closed meetings guide

Checklist after each meeting

  • Minutes or a recording of the meeting; minutes state the subject of each deliberation and each vote, order, decision or other action taken.
  • Minutes and recordings of an open meeting are public records, open to inspection and copying on request to the body's chief administrative officer or a designee.
  • A board of adjustment hears each case with at least 75 percent of its members, and alternates, where the charter or an ordinance provides them, serve when the mayor or city manager asks. Its minutes show each member's vote on each question, or that the member was absent or did not vote, and are filed at once in the board's office.

What the law does not settle

These are questions to take to your city attorney; this guide does not answer them.

  • Whether the city's charter, an ordinance, a board rule or a records schedule sets a time for minutes or says how long they are kept; chapter 551 does neither for the minutes of an open meeting.
  • How soon minutes or a recording must be provided on request; § 551.022 sets no time, and the Public Information Act (Gov't Code ch. 552) was not reviewed for this guide.
  • Whether the Act ever requires minutes to show how each member voted; it requires each vote to be shown, and says nothing about member by member.
  • Whether an alternate who sits for an absent regular member of a board of adjustment counts toward the 75 percent who must hear each case; Clarivis counts the alternate.

How Clarivis helps

Clarivis drafts; people decide. Your board reviews, corrects and approves the minutes.

  • Records and transcribes the meeting, then drafts minutes from the transcript for your Committee Admin or Editor to read, correct and approve.
  • Shows no minutes due date for a Texas meeting.
  • Leaves closed meetings out of the recording: nothing is recorded from Enter closed meeting until the board returns to open session, so any certified agenda or recording the law requires is kept by your board, not by Clarivis.
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