Free Project Risk Templates

By Kate Eby | April 27, 2022 (updated February 27, 2026)

We’ve gathered the most useful project risk templates for Excel, Microsoft Word, Adobe PDF, Google Docs, and Google Sheets.

Included in this article, you’ll find the following:

Project Risk Assessment Template

Project Risk Assessment Template

Download a Project Risk Assessment Template for
Microsoft Excel  |  Microsoft Word  |  Adobe PDF  | Google Docs | Google Sheets

When to Use This Template: This template is ideal for assessing and tracking project risks. Use it during project planning and risk reviews, and when making major decisions.

Notable Template Features: This template includes risk severity, likelihood, and overall risk ratings, along with status columns for analyzing risks before and after mitigation. The last column indicates whether or not it is acceptable to proceed based on risk scores.

Learn more about best practices from experts with this comprehensive guide to project risk management.

Sample Project Risk Assessment Template

Sample Project Risk Assessment Template

Download a Sample Project Risk Assessment Template for
Microsoft Word  |  Adobe PDF

When to Use This Template: This template is ideal for project planning, reviews, and safety checks. Use it to categorize project risks by type.

Notable Template Features: This template includes sections for risk impact and likelihood where users can mark risk levels and enter descriptions. Use the color-coded risk severity matrix to show risk severity levels based on impact and probability.

Project Risk Log Template

Project Risk Log Template

Download a Project Risk Log Template for
Microsoft Excel  | Google Sheets 

When to Use This Template: This template helps you document and track project risks, detail their impact, and assign owners. It can also be used to update your team during project planning and risk reviews.

Notable Template Features: Use the template columns to enter reference ID numbers, descriptions, owners, triggers, and categories for each project risk. The risk probability and impact fields let you calculate PI (probability x impact) scores.

Project Risk Management Plan Template

Project Risk Management Plan Template

Download a Project Risk Management Plan Template for
Microsoft Excel  |  Microsoft Word  |  Adobe PDF  | Google Docs | Google Sheets

When to Use This Template: This template can be used to summarize project risk analysis, mitigation, and review processes. Use it during project phase reviews and risk controls updates.

Notable Template Features: This comprehensive template includes an executive summary for documenting risk analysis, evaluation, prevention, and mitigation strategy. Use the risk register section to identify risks, indicate their current status, and outline mitigation steps.

For help finding the risk management plan best suited for your project, see one of these free risk management plan templates.

Project Risk Audit Template

Project Risk Audit Template

Download a Project Risk Audit Template for
Microsoft Excel  |  Microsoft Word  |  Adobe PDF

When to Use This Template: Use this template to review and rate project risks during formal audits and phase reviews, and to determine the severity and likelihood of each project risk.

Notable Template Features: This template includes a risk rating key for scoring risks from acceptable to intolerable. The matrix simplifies matching risk ratings with proceed, mitigation, support, and hold actions.

Project Risk Dashboard Template

Project Risk Dashboard Template

Download a Project Risk Dashboard Template for
Microsoft Excel  | Google Sheets

When to Use This Template: Use this dashboard to quickly see how task-level risks change over time. It highlights all the most essential project risk data so that stakeholders can quickly understand exposure levels.

Notable Template Features: Enter task descriptions, assignments, and risk levels to create a timeline and generate a status pie chart. This template also includes bar charts for budget information and pending items.

Project Risk Assessment Matrix Template

Project Risk Assessment Matrix Template

Download a Project Risk Assessment Matrix Template for
Microsoft Excel  |  Microsoft Word  |  Adobe PDF

When to Use This Template: This matrix can help you score project risks and keep mitigation plans on track. Project teams can use it to clearly show and share risk ratings.

Notable Template Features: This template allows users to enter severity and likelihood statuses to score project risks. The rating key lists scores with corresponding actions so that teams can quickly determine appropriate responses.

Project Risk Register Template

Project Risk Register Template

Download a Project Risk Register Template for
Microsoft Excel  |  Microsoft Word  |  Adobe PDF  | Google Sheets

When to Use This Template: This template can be used for project reviews and risk reporting. It helps users list and track project risks in real time, from identification through closure.

Notable Template Features: This template includes columns for entering an ID, description, impact, owner, and status for each risk. The category and sub-category fields allow you to describe risks in more detail.

To learn more about risk registers and find the template that meets your specific project needs, download one of these free risk register templates.

Project Risk Matrix Template

Project Risk Matrix Template

Download a Project Risk Matrix Template for
Microsoft Excel  |  Microsoft Word  |  Adobe PDF

When to Use This Template: Use this template to conduct risk reviews, including rating and updating project risks before and after mitigation steps are taken. It can help conduct risk reviews and it can also be used to help decide when to move forward.

Notable Template Features: This template includes space for entering reference ID numbers, risk descriptions, department, location, and mitigation notes. Use the color-coded severity, likelihood, and level columns to inform decision-making.

Construction Project Risk Assessment Template

Construction Project Risk Assessment Template

Download a Construction Project Risk Assessment Template for
Microsoft Excel  |  Adobe PDF

When to Use This Template: Use this template to assess, rate, and track construction project risks across all phases. It helps teams oversee controls and plan mitigation steps.

Notable Template Features: This template includes fields for entering an ID, name, manager, and description for each project. Use the risk rating matrix and key to score risk levels from lowest to highest.

Project Risk Assessment Questionnaire Template

Project Risk Assessment Questionnaire Template

Download a Project Risk Assessment Questionnaire Template for
Microsoft Word  |  Adobe PDF

When to Use This Template: This questionnaire template works well for vendor risk onboarding and compliance reviews. Use it to document whether third parties meet risk and security standards.

Notable Template Features: This template includes questionnaire fields with notes for policies and processes, malware controls, information security measures, and more. Use the top section to enter the vendor name, address, and primary contact details.

Project Risk Response Matrix Plan Template

Project Risk Response Matrix Plan Template

Download a Project Risk Response Matrix Plan Template for
Microsoft Excel  |  Microsoft Word  |  Adobe PDF  

When to Use This Template: Use this template to describe individual risk responses and inform response planning. It is ideal for response strategy reviews and workshops.

Notable Template Features: This template includes space to enter the reference ID, description, impact, response, contingency, and trigger for each project risk. Use the owner column to assign risk management responsibilities.

What Is a Project Risk Template?

A project risk template is a tool that helps project managers identify and evaluate risks associated with project tasks. Project managers use these templates to assess risks,  inform mitigation planning, and ensure that projects are on time and within budget. 

Project risk templates use severity and likelihood data to determine risk levels that range from low and acceptable to extreme and intolerable. Depending on the level of risk that is acceptable for a given project, high severity or likelihood might require project managers to stop a task or to introduce mitigation efforts. Project managers use these templates to inform project risk management planning.

 

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Additional Resources

Project management

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