Project Status Report Template (PMI Standard Word & PDF)

6 min read · Reviewed August 2026 by Dan Sunil Kumar

When to use it

• A sponsor or steering group expects a regular written update on delivery.
• Status is currently communicated verbally, so nobody can trace when a slip was first flagged.
• Several workstreams need rolling up into one view for governance.
• A client contract requires periodic reporting on progress, spend and risk.

Every section, and what good looks like

1. Section 1

   Report header

   Project name, reporting period, project manager, sponsor and the date the report was issued.

   The period is explicit, so a reader can tell a two-week gap from a one-week one.

2. Section 2

   Overall status (RAG)

   One overall red/amber/green rating, plus separate ratings for schedule, budget, scope and risk.

   Every non-green rating carries a one-line reason and a named recovery action.

3. Section 3

   Summary for the sponsor

   Three sentences: where we are, what changed this period, what you need to decide.

   It can be read on a phone without opening the tables underneath.

4. Section 4

   Progress this period

   Deliverables and milestones actually completed, not activity that was merely busy.

   Items are finished things, each traceable to a milestone or acceptance.

5. Section 5

   Planned next period

   What will be delivered before the next report, with an owner and a date against each item.

   Short enough to be credible, and checked against last report's promises.

6. Section 6

   Milestones

   Baseline date, current forecast date and status for each key milestone.

   Baseline stays fixed so slippage is visible instead of quietly re-baselined.

7. Section 7

   Budget

   Approved budget, spend to date, forecast at completion, and the cause of any variance.

   Forecast at completion is stated even when it is uncomfortable.

8. Section 8

   Key risks and issues

   The few threats and live problems that matter, with impact, owner, action and due date.

   Top five only — the full RAID log stays a separate document.

9. Section 9

   Decisions needed from the sponsor

   Explicit asks, each with a deadline and the consequence of delay.

   Named decisions, not hints. This is the section that makes the report useful.

10. Section 10

    Changes since last report

    Approved changes and their effect on scope, cost or dates.

    Cross-references the change request so scope drift has an audit trail.

A filled-in example

A realistic weekly status report for an in-flight delivery project, so you can see how much detail a steering group actually reads.

Mistakes that make a status report ignored

• Reporting activity instead of outcomes — a list of meetings attended tells a sponsor nothing.
• Green until it is suddenly red. Amber exists so slippage can be raised while it is still fixable.
• Re-baselining milestone dates silently, which hides cumulative slip.
• Dumping the whole risk register in, so the three risks that matter get lost.
• No decisions section, which turns the report into an archive rather than a tool.
• Skipping a cycle when there is nothing good to say — this is exactly when sponsors need it.

Questions people ask

What should a project status report include?

A header with the reporting period, an overall RAG rating with separate schedule, budget, scope and risk ratings, a three-sentence summary, progress this period, plans for next period, milestone baseline versus forecast, budget and forecast at completion, top risks and issues, decisions needed from the sponsor, and approved changes since the last report.

How often should you send a project status report?

Weekly for active delivery, fortnightly for slower or long-running work, and monthly only for programmes reporting to a board. Pick a cadence and hold it — irregular reporting is read as a warning sign.

What do red, amber and green actually mean?

Green means the project will hit its committed dates, budget and scope with the plan in place. Amber means it will not without intervention, and the intervention is named. Red means a commitment has already been broken or cannot be recovered inside current tolerances.

How long should a status report be?

One page, two at most. If governance needs more depth, attach the milestone plan or RAID log as annexes and keep the report itself skimmable in five minutes.

What is the difference between a status report and a dashboard?

A dashboard shows current metrics, usually generated from your delivery tool. A status report adds interpretation: why the numbers moved, what you are doing about it, and what you need the sponsor to decide.

Read next

• Gantt Chart vs Critical Path: What Each One Actually Tells You
• Stakeholder Analysis and the Communication Plan
• Risk Management as a Working Practice
• Change Control Without the Bureaucracy
• Running Meetings People Do Not Dread

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 charter templateWord & PDF · Integration Management
• Project plan pack templateWord, Excel & PDF · Integration & Schedule 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 status report.

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