Project handover checklist (free template)

The short answer

A project handover checklist makes sure the next owner can continue without a catch-up call. It covers 12 things: the goal, the owner, deadlines, decisions, open questions, people, the contract, files, access, unwritten promises, risks and the next step. Below you will find the checklist, a filled-in example, five common mistakes and a free template.

Use it when a project moves to a new manager, when someone goes on holiday, or when an account changes hands inside an agency. It works in a doc, in an email or through your AI assistant.

The 12-point project handover checklist

Why these twelve

The first seven points are the facts of the project. They answer the questions a new owner would otherwise ask in the first week: who, what, by when, for how much. The next three, files, access and unwritten promises, are the things that are hardest to rebuild later. The last two keep the project moving: someone has to know what could break and what happens tomorrow.

The confirmation in point 12 matters more than it looks. A handover is not done when you send it. It is done when the other person says “got it, it’s mine”.

What to leave out

A good handover is short. The new owner should be able to read it in five minutes. Leave out:

• The whole email thread. Summarise it. Link to it if someone really needs the history.
• Every draft. Attach the version that counts, not the ones that led to it.
• Passwords and keys. Use your company’s password manager or ask for access to be granted.
• Opinions about people. Stick to roles, decisions and dates. A handover gets forwarded.
• Tasks that are already finished. Mention them in one line under the current state, if at all.

Example: the Nordlit launch, filled in

Here is the checklist filled in for the Nordlit launch, the made-up project we use in the product examples on this site. James takes over the account the day before the kick-off.

PROJECT HANDOVER: Nordlit launch
To: James Parker
Sent: Thu 15 Oct

1. Goal and current state
   Launch campaign for the client Nordlit. The brief is approved by the
   client. The kick-off meeting has not happened yet.

2. New owner
   James Parker, from today. I can answer questions until the end of
   next week.

3. Deadlines and milestones
   Kick-off with Nordlit: Fri 16 Oct.

4. Decisions already made
   Scope and deliverables as written in launch-brief.pdf, agreed with
   the client.

5. Open questions and blockers
   Who from Nordlit attends the kick-off. They will confirm before the
   meeting.

6. Key people
   Client contacts are listed on page 1 of launch-brief.pdf.
   Contract questions: Rachel.

7. Contract, budget and scope
   Contract No. 2026-118. Anything outside the brief needs a change
   request signed by the client.

8. Files
   launch-brief.pdf: the final brief, approved by the client.
   Call notes from our last call with Nordlit.

9. Access
   Project folder and the client channel. Access requested for James.

10. Unwritten promises
    We said we would send a short kick-off agenda the day before.

11. Risks
    The kick-off is tomorrow. If the agenda is late, the client may
    move the date.

12. Next step and confirmation
    James confirms he has taken over today and sends the agenda.

Notice what is not there: no history of how the brief was negotiated, no old drafts, no passwords. Everything James needs fits on one screen.

Five common mistakes

1. Forwarding the thread instead of writing a summary

Forty emails are not a handover. The new owner has to reconstruct the decisions and will probably get one wrong. Three sentences on the current state save an hour of reading.

2. Not saying which file is final

“launch-brief-v3-final-2.pdf” next to “launch-brief-final.pdf” is a question waiting to happen. Attach one version and say in one line what it is.

3. Dates written as words

“End of next week” means different things to different people, and it means nothing once the email is a week old. Write the date: Fri 16 Oct.

4. No confirmation

The sender thinks the project is handed over. The recipient thinks they were only copied in. Nobody owns it until the client asks. Always end with a clear “I take it from here”.

5. Disappearing on the same day

Even a perfect handover leaves a question or two. Say until when you can still be asked, and keep that promise.

Download the template

The checklist is also available as a free template you can copy as Markdown or download for Word and PDF, with the Nordlit example included. Open the project handover template and keep it with your project documents.

Doing it in one sentence with Colle

If your team already works with Claude or ChatGPT, most of the checklist is already in your chat: the brief, the call notes, the dates. With Colle, you hand it over in one sentence:

Your assistant finds James in your company, writes the summary, records the key facts and attaches the files. Here that means the kick-off on Fri 16 Oct, contract No. 2026-118 and launch-brief.pdf. James gets a notification with who sent it, what it is and by when. He accepts it in one click, which covers point 12. Then he asks his own assistant “what did I get?” and continues with the full context.

The summary, the facts and the files stay together in a case. If the kick-off date changes, the fact is updated and its history is kept. If the handoff is not picked up in time, both of you see it as overdue. If something is missing, James can return it with a reason, such as “the signed contract is not attached”.

You can name up to five people in one sentence, and files of up to 25 MB travel with the handoff. The recipient can be on Claude or ChatGPT.

See how this works for project teams and for agencies, read what slow handovers cost in the real cost of a handoff, or check pricing.