What's a project charter and why is it important?

A project charter describes the entire project, including the purpose, scope, deliverables, resources, schedule, and risks. It is meant to document and gain consensus around these project details. Often, activities on a project cannot begin until the charter is approved by the project sponsor.

Who creates the project charter?

Typically, the project manager creates the charter and the project sponsor approves it. Every member of the team should review the project charter once it has been approved.

Is this template free?

Yep. This one's on the house… just like all of our templates! Once you’ve entered your contact information, you can instantly download this template (along with all the other templates in this collection!). That’s it.

Project Charter - Word, PDF, Google Docs

Make sure your team is on the same page about the objectives, tasks, timeline, risks, and budget of your project with this comprehensive project charter template.

Template Highlights

Download the project charter template as a Microsoft Word document, Google doc, or PDF.

Keep the project charter brief - no more than one to two pages - to facilitate ease of use.

Provide an overview of the project with details like the Project Manager's name and contact information, the expected project start date, and the estimated budget.

Describe the purpose, scope, deliverables, team members, timeline, and potential risks associated with the project.

In the risk matrix, be sure to propose strategies for avoiding or mitigating the risks you have identified.

Include a section for approval by the project sponsor and project manager.

Frequently Asked Questions

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