Free Excel template · Excel for project management
Free project risk register template
For project managers who need a risk log that ranks itself and feeds the status report. List each risk with an owner, a likelihood and an impact from 1 to 5, and the template scores and rates it, counts open high risks and overdue reviews, sets a risk RAG, and fills a 5 x 5 matrix showing where your open risks sit.
Preview and try it
This is the template's sheet, calculated by the same engine as the Cellwise app. Change any number to see the formulas react before you download.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Risk register | ||||||||
| 2 | Project | Website relaunch | |||||||
| 3 | As of | Nov 2, 2026 | |||||||
| 4 | |||||||||
| 5 | ID | Risk | Owner | Likelihood (1-5) | Impact (1-5) | Score | Rating | Next review | Status |
| 6 | R-01 | Client content arrives late | Jon | 4 | 4 | 16 | High | Nov 6, 2026 | Open |
| 7 | R-02 | Key developer unavailable during build | Luis | 2 | 5 | 10 | Medium | Nov 9, 2026 | Open |
| 8 | R-03 | Redirects missed, search traffic drops after launch | Jon | 3 | 4 | 12 | Medium | Oct 30, 2026 | Open |
| 9 | R-04 | Stakeholders request new pages after design sign-off | Maya | 4 | 3 | 12 | Medium | Nov 13, 2026 | Open |
| 10 | R-05 | Hosting migration needs extra security review | Luis | 2 | 3 | 6 | Low | Nov 20, 2026 | Open |
| 11 | R-06 | Accessibility issues found late in QA | Maya | 3 | 3 | 9 | Medium | Nov 27, 2026 | Open |
| 12 | R-07 | Stock photo licences not cleared | Priya | 2 | 2 | 4 | Low | Oct 23, 2026 | Closed |
| 13 | R-08 | Brand guidelines change mid-project | Priya | 1 | 4 | 4 | Low | Nov 30, 2026 | Open |
| 14 | R-09 | Analytics tracking breaks on new templates | Luis | 3 | 2 | 6 | Low | Nov 25, 2026 | Open |
| 15 | |||||||||
| 16 | |||||||||
| 17 | |||||||||
| 18 | |||||||||
| 19 | Open risks | 8 | |||||||
| 20 | Open high risks | 1 |
How the formulas work
Score each risk
Likelihood times impact gives a score from 1 to 25. Write down what each number means for your project (for example, impact 5 is "launch slips more than two weeks or costs more than 10% of budget") so two people scoring the same risk land on the same number.
Rate it with IFS
IFS returns the first rating whose test is true, so the order matters: test for High before Medium. The thresholds here (15 and 8) are a common starting point; change them to match your organization's risk policy.
Reviews that are overdue
Counts open risks whose next review date is before the as-of date in B3. A register nobody revisits is worse than none, because it gives false comfort. Here one review is overdue: the redirects risk was due for review on October 30.
One RAG for the status report
Any open High risk makes the register Red, any open Medium makes it Amber, otherwise Green. The sample is Red because "Client content arrives late" scores 16.
The 5 x 5 risk matrix
Each cell counts open risks with that likelihood (the row) and impact (the column). The mixed references ($A27 and E$26) let one formula fill the whole grid. Shade the top-right corner red in Home > Conditional Formatting to turn it into the familiar heat map.
Make it yours
- Write each risk as a cause and an effect ("Client content arrives late, so the build starts late"), not as a vague worry ("Content").
- Every open risk needs one owner and a next review date. Shared ownership usually means no ownership.
- Close risks instead of deleting them; the history shows sponsors what you saw coming.
- Add rows inside rows 6 to 17 so the counts and the matrix include them, and copy the Score and Rating formulas down.
FAQ
What should a risk register include?
At minimum: an ID, a clear description, an owner, likelihood and impact scores, a resulting rating, the planned response, a next review date and a status. Many teams also log the trigger that would show the risk is happening.
What is the difference between a risk and an issue?
A risk might happen; an issue is already happening. When a risk occurs, close it in the register and log it as an issue with an action and an owner.
How do I color the risk matrix in Excel?
Select the matrix cells and use Home > Conditional Formatting > New Rule. A common approach is to color each cell by its position (likelihood x impact) rather than by its count, so the high-score corner is always red even when it is empty.
Functions used
IFPicks a result from a testIFSFirst true test winsCOUNTIFCounts cells that matchCOUNTIFSCounts with several conditions
Related guides
- How to write a nested IF in Excel
- Excel IF statement with multiple conditions
- COUNTIFS with multiple criteria in Excel
- Absolute vs relative cell references in Excel
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