What Is a Project Charter?
A project charter is the foundational document in project management that formally authorizes the existence of a project. It provides the project manager with the authority to apply organizational resources to project activities. In PMBOK methodology, the project charter is created during the Initiating process group and is signed by the project sponsor. Without a charter, a project has no formal authorization and the project manager has no recognized authority.
What a Project Charter Includes
A project charter typically includes: project purpose and justification (business case), measurable project objectives and success criteria, high-level scope description including what is in scope and out of scope, key deliverables and milestones, summary budget and resource requirements, stakeholder list with roles and responsibilities, project manager name and authority level, known risks and assumptions, and approval signatures from the project sponsor and key stakeholders.
Project Charter vs Project Plan
The project charter and project plan serve different purposes. The charter is a high-level authorization document created before detailed planning begins — it answers "why" and "what" at a summary level. The project plan is a detailed execution document created after the charter is approved — it answers "how," "when," and "who" in granular detail. A charter is typically 2-5 pages. A project plan can be dozens or hundreds of pages. You cannot create a proper project plan without an approved charter.
When to Create a Project Charter
Create a project charter as the very first step after a project idea is approved for further investigation. The charter should be completed and signed before any project planning or execution begins. In Agile environments, the charter may be lighter — sometimes called a "project vision" or "product brief" — but the concept of formal authorization remains. Skip the charter only for very small internal initiatives that require minimal resources and have no cross-functional dependencies.
Related Templates & Tools
Frequently Asked Questions
Who writes the project charter?
The project charter is typically written by the project manager in collaboration with the project sponsor. The sponsor provides the business justification and funding authority, while the project manager drafts the scope, objectives, and resource requirements. In some organizations, a PMO or business analyst may draft the initial charter for the project manager to refine.
How long should a project charter be?
A project charter should be 2 to 5 pages for most projects. It is deliberately high-level — detailed planning belongs in the project plan, not the charter. For small projects, a single page may suffice. For large enterprise programs, 5 to 8 pages is acceptable. If your charter exceeds 10 pages, you are likely including project plan-level detail that should be separated.
Can a project succeed without a charter?
Projects can technically proceed without a charter, but they face significantly higher failure rates. Without a charter, there is no formal agreement on scope, no documented authority for the project manager, and no baseline for measuring success. Projects without charters are especially vulnerable to scope creep, stakeholder conflicts, and resource disputes because there is no reference document to resolve disagreements.