Free SOAP Note Generator
Paste your rough or dictated clinical notes and get a clean, structured SOAP note in seconds. No login. It runs in your browser, so your notes are never stored, and you can copy the whole note or any single section.
Your notes are formatted in your browser and are not stored on our servers or kept after your session. Nothing is sent anywhere unless you tap Structure with AI. This tool is not a medical device and does not provide medical advice. You are responsible for reviewing every note.
Your structured SOAP note appears here the moment you paste your notes. Each detail is sorted into the right section.
Not a medical device. This tool assists with formatting only and does not diagnose, treat, or provide medical advice. No patient health information is stored on our servers or kept after your session. Clinicians are responsible for reviewing and finalizing every note.
From shorthand to a structured note in seconds
Three steps, no learning curve, no account.
Paste your notes
Drop in your rough, dictated, or shorthand clinical notes. Fragments and abbreviations are fine. That is exactly what this sorts out.
Pick a specialty
Choose your setting, such as mental health, physical therapy, nursing, or primary care. The formatter reads the right cues for that context.
Copy your SOAP note
Get a clean note split into Subjective, Objective, Assessment, and Plan. Copy one section or the whole note, then review and finalize.
What is a SOAP note?
SOAP is a clinical documentation format built on four sections. It has been a standard since Dr. Lawrence Weed introduced the problem oriented medical record, because it gives every clinician the same predictable structure.
Subjective
What the patient tells you in their own words. The chief complaint, history of present illness, symptoms, pain level, relevant history, and their goals. This is the story from the patient side.
Objective
What you observe and measure. Vitals, physical exam findings, range of motion, strength, mental status, lab and imaging results. Facts, not interpretation.
Assessment
Your clinical impression. The working diagnosis or differential, how the patient is progressing, and your reasoning that ties the subjective and objective together.
Plan
What happens next. Treatment, medications, referrals, patient education, home programs, and the follow up. Anyone reading it should know the next action.
SOAP notes look different across specialties
The four sections stay the same, but the weight shifts. Here is what to emphasize in each setting. Pick your specialty in the tool above and the formatter reads the right cues.
Subjective captures mood, sleep, appetite, and stressors in the client voice. Objective covers affect, speech, thought process, and risk. Assessment maps to the diagnosis, and the Plan holds coping skills, homework, and the next session.
Objective is where PT notes get dense: range of motion, strength grades, gait, and palpation. The Plan usually carries the home exercise program, manual therapy, and functional goals.
Objective leans on vitals, intake and output, wounds, and lines. The Plan documents nursing interventions, patient education, and when to notify the provider.
A broad SOAP structure with a full history in Subjective, a focused exam in Objective, a primary plus differential in Assessment, and medications, tests, and follow up in the Plan.
Subjective records tension, stiffness, and soreness the client reports. Objective notes palpation findings and trigger points. The Plan covers self care, stretches, and the next session.
Subjective comes from the owner: eating, drinking, behavior, and energy. Objective holds weight, temperature, mucous membranes, and the physical exam.
Common SOAP note mistakes to avoid
The difference between a note that helps and one that creates confusion usually comes down to these.
Putting your interpretation in the Objective section. Objective is measurable facts only. Save conclusions for the Assessment.
Leaving the Assessment vague. A restated symptom is not an assessment. Name the working diagnosis or the differential and your reasoning.
Writing a Plan nobody can act on. Every plan should end with a clear next step: a medication, a referral, a home program, or a follow up date.
Copying the patient narrative verbatim into Subjective. Summarize the chief complaint and history instead of transcribing everything they said.
Mixing subjective and objective. "Patient looks anxious" is an observation for Objective. "Patient reports feeling anxious" belongs in Subjective.
Skipping the follow up. If the note does not say when the patient returns or what triggers a return, the Plan is incomplete.
SOAP vs DAP vs BIRP vs GIRP
SOAP is the most widely used, but it is not the only clinical note format. Here is how the common ones differ and when each one fits.
| Format | Sections | Best for | What sets it apart |
|---|---|---|---|
| SOAP | Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan | The general default across medicine, physical therapy, nursing, and primary care. | Keeps what the patient reports separate from what you measure, then your impression, then next steps. |
| DAP | Data, Assessment, Plan | Therapy and counseling that prefer a leaner note. | Merges Subjective and Objective into a single Data section, then Assessment and Plan. Faster to write when the exam is light. |
| BIRP | Behavior, Intervention, Response, Plan | Behavioral health and case management. | Centers on what the clinician did and how the client responded, which suits progress notes over medical exams. |
| GIRP | Goal, Intervention, Response, Plan | Goal-directed treatment and rehab. | Like BIRP but opens with the treatment goal, so every note ties back to the plan of care. |
This tool builds SOAP notes, the format that travels best across specialties. If your organization uses DAP, BIRP, or GIRP, the same structured input maps over cleanly: Subjective plus Objective becomes Data, and the Assessment and Plan carry across.
Is it safe to use AI for SOAP notes?
For clinicians, this is the real question. Here is exactly how this tool handles your data.
The core formatter runs entirely in your browser. When you paste notes and see the SOAP structure appear, no text has left your device and nothing is stored on our servers. There is no account, so there is no record of your session.
The optional Structure with AI button is the only feature that sends text to a server, and only in the moment you tap it. If you never tap it, nothing is ever transmitted.
For a fully offline workflow where you dictate notes and nothing ever leaves your machine, our app Contextli offers a local mode that runs the model on your own device. Bring your own AI key or stay entirely offline. Either way, we do not train on your data.
Dictate your notes and get SOAP structure, everywhere
This page formats one note at a time. Contextli lets you speak your notes in any app and get them back already structured, in the format you saved. Save this SOAP layout as a reusable Context and reach for it by voice at the point of care. Local and offline modes keep patient data on your device.