Project Charter Template (PMI Standard Word & PDF)

7 min read · Reviewed August 2026 by Dan Sunil Kumar

When to use it

• A new project has been approved in principle but nobody has written down its boundary.
• You have inherited work with no clear sponsor, objectives or success measures.
• Scope arguments keep resurfacing because the original agreement was verbal.
• A stage gate or PMO requires formal authorisation before spend begins.

Every section, and what good looks like

1. Section 1

   Purpose and business need

   Two or three sentences on the problem or opportunity, and the consequence of doing nothing.

   Ties back to a specific business driver rather than a restatement of the solution.

2. Section 2

   Objectives and success measures

   Three to five measurable outcomes with a number and a date attached to each.

   "Cut average onboarding time from 12 days to 5 by 31 March" — not "improve onboarding".

3. Section 3

   Scope boundary

   An in-scope list and, just as importantly, an explicit out-of-scope list.

   The out-of-scope list names the things stakeholders have already asked for and been told no.

4. Section 4

   Deliverables

   The tangible things the project hands over, described as nouns.

   Each deliverable has an obvious acceptance route — someone can say yes or no to it.

5. Section 5

   Milestones and target dates

   Five to eight high-level dates: gates, releases, go-live, closure.

   Dates are labelled as targets or commitments, so nobody mistakes an estimate for a promise.

6. Section 6

   Budget and funding source

   The approved envelope, split between capital and operating spend if your finance team needs that.

   States the tolerance — how far it can move before re-approval is required.

7. Section 7

   Roles and responsibilities

   Sponsor, project manager, key decision-makers, and the governance forum that receives reports.

   One named sponsor with the authority to release money and settle scope disputes.

8. Section 8

   Assumptions and constraints

   What you are taking as true, and the fixed limits you cannot negotiate.

   Each assumption is phrased so it can later be proved right or wrong.

9. Section 9

   High-level risks

   The three to six threats that could stop the project, in cause-risk-effect form.

   Reads as "because X, Y may happen, leading to Z" rather than a one-word worry.

10. Section 10

    Approval and sign-off

    Names, roles, signature and date lines for the sponsor and the accountable stakeholders.

    Signed before work starts, and re-signed when the boundary formally changes.

A filled-in example

A realistic charter for an internal delivery project, so you can see the level of detail that gets signed without argument.

Mistakes that get charters rejected

• Writing the charter after planning has already started — it then documents decisions instead of authorising them.
• Leaving the out-of-scope list empty, which guarantees a scope argument later.
• Objectives without numbers or dates, so nobody can tell whether the project succeeded.
• Naming a committee as sponsor. Committees debate; sponsors decide.
• Copying the business case in wholesale until the charter is fifteen pages and nobody reads it.
• No signature block, which means there is no moment where authorisation actually happens.

Questions people ask

What should a project charter include?

Purpose and business need, measurable objectives, an in-scope and out-of-scope boundary, deliverables, high-level milestones, budget and funding source, roles, assumptions and constraints, high-level risks, and a sign-off block. Two to three pages is normal.

What is the difference between a project charter and a business case?

The business case argues whether the investment is worth making and is owned by the sponsor. The charter comes after that decision and authorises the project, defining its boundary and naming the project manager.

Who signs the project charter?

The sponsor signs it, because they release the funding and settle scope disputes. Other accountable stakeholders — finance, a service owner, sometimes the client — often countersign. The project manager prepares it but does not authorise it.

Is a project charter the same as a project initiation document (PID)?

They serve the same authorisation purpose, but a PID is usually longer and carries more planning detail. If your organisation uses PIDs, treat the charter content as the front section of it.

Do agile projects need a charter?

Yes, though it stays lighter. You still need a named sponsor, a funded envelope, success measures and a boundary. What you leave out is fixed scope — replace the deliverables list with outcomes and a release cadence.

Read next

• Gantt Chart vs Critical Path: What Each One Actually Tells You
• The Project Lifecycle, End to End
• Work Breakdown Structures and Scope Control
• Stakeholder Analysis and the Communication Plan
• Risk Management as a Working Practice

Other PMI-standard templates

Every one has the same walkthrough, worked example and PMI mapping, and every file ships inside the PM Delivery Toolkit.

• Project plan pack templateWord, Excel & PDF · Integration & Schedule Management
• Project status report templateWord & PDF · Communications Management
• RACI matrix templateExcel, Word & PDF · Resource Management
• RAID log templateExcel, Word & PDF · Risk Management

Keep going on the site

The hubs and tools that pair with this project charter.

• PM Delivery ToolkitEvery PMBOK-mapped template in one paid pack, with the walkthroughs.
• PM glossaryPlain-English definitions for the terms these registers use.