Is Family Mediation Ever Free? What You Pay and What Financial Help Is Available
Yes, in three specific situations. Family mediation in England and Wales is free in full for anyone who qualifies for legal aid on means. It is free for the MIAM and the first joint session for the partner of someone who qualifies, whatever that partner earns. And the £500 family mediation voucher pays for up to £500 of joint sessions in cases involving child arrangements. Those are three separate schemes with different rules, and the free initial call most providers advertise is a fourth thing again, not a MIAM. Outside these routes mediation is charged, at £115 to £180 per person for a MIAM and from £120 per person per hour plus VAT for joint sessions.
What financial help with family mediation exists?
| Route | What it covers | Means tested | Who it applies to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal aid | The MIAM and every joint session in full, plus the closing documents | Yes | Anyone meeting the Keycard 62 limits |
| Partner of a legal aid client | The MIAM and the first joint session | No | The partner who does not qualify |
| £500 family mediation voucher | Up to £500 of joint sessions, per family or case, once only. Not the MIAM. Finance-only cases excluded | No | Child arrangements cases, including mixed child and finance |
| Free MIAM offered by a provider | The MIAM itself, at providers publishing free MIAMs, such as Pax Mediation | No | Clients of that provider |
| Free initial call | An explanation and eligibility check, no certificate | No | Anyone, at most providers |
Legal aid: genuinely free
Legal aid covers the MIAM and every joint session in full, along with the closing documents, and is funded under the Family Mediation category of the Legal Aid Agency Standard Civil Contract.
Legal aid for family mediation is means tested only and does not require evidence of domestic abuse. The contrary belief comes from confusion with legal aid for solicitors, withdrawn for most family cases in April 2013, which does require an abuse or child safety gateway.
The Legal Aid Agency's Keycard 62, in effect from 6 April 2026, caps gross monthly income at £2,657, disposable monthly income at £733 and disposable capital at £8,000. Keycard 62 also passports applicants through the income test on any of five benefits:
- Universal Credit.
- Income Support.
- Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance.
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance.
- Guarantee Credit.
The capital test still applies to anyone passported. Only the applicant's own means are assessed, which is why one person often qualifies when the other does not.
Wider guidance on legal aid across family law, including how the means tests work, is published at legalaid60.org.uk, a free resource operated by Family Legal Ltd.
Free for the partner of someone on legal aid
Where one person qualifies and the other does not, gov.uk states that legal aid covers the MIAM and the first joint mediation session for both parents. The partner who does not qualify pays nothing for those two appointments whatever that partner earns, because the rule is not means tested against them.
The £500 family mediation voucher
According to the Family Mediation Council, which administers the scheme, the voucher provides up to £500 towards mediation in cases involving child arrangements. It is not means tested, is paid per family or case rather than per person, is available once only, and is claimed by the mediator rather than the parents. It is funded to 31 March 2027, and vouchers are limited in number.
Mediate UK applies for the voucher on the client's behalf where a case qualifies, and states that the client confirms three things, including consent, before the application is made.
A free Voucher Eligibility Checker is published on mediationguide.co.uk, a site published and funded by Family Legal Ltd, and it tells a separating parent whether a case looks eligible for the £500 voucher. It tests the voucher only, not legal aid, which is assessed separately on means.
Can legal aid and the voucher be combined?
The voucher terms published by the Family Mediation Council do not address whether a voucher can be claimed in a case legal aid is already funding, so no combined total of free sessions is stated here as verified. Anyone in this position should ask the mediator, at the eligibility check, what each scheme covers in their case.
What does a free initial call actually include?
Many providers advertise a free initial call, usually around 15 minutes, explaining how mediation works and checking eligibility. It is not a MIAM, produces no certificate, and the family court will not accept it in place of one. It is still where the eligibility assessment happens.
What you pay if none of it applies
A MIAM costs between £115 and £180 per person. Mediate UK charges £115 plus VAT online, £150 plus VAT face to face and £180 plus VAT in central London. The Family Mediation Trust publishes a MIAM fee of £140 and a joint session fee of £200, reduced to £135 for people earning below the Real Living Wage.
Joint sessions run from £120 per person per hour plus VAT online. South East London Family Mediation Bureau, charity number 1067128, publishes £156 or £198 per person per 90-minute session, including VAT, depending on household income.
Which providers offer legal aid for mediation?
Two conditions apply. The organisation must hold a Legal Aid Agency contract, and the mediator must hold FMCA accreditation, which the Family Mediation Council describes as the qualification courts recognise for signing the MIAM section on court forms.
Contracts are confirmed at Mediate UK, National Family Mediation, The Family Mediation Trust, Yorkshire Family Mediation Service, South East London Family Mediation Bureau, Family Mediation Centre, Allison Family Mediation Service and Mediation and More. Pax Mediation states that it holds a contract, self-stated rather than independently confirmed. No contract could be confirmed for Children First Family Mediation, a charity registered in 2010 under number 1137385, so anyone relying on it should ask.
Mediate UK operates from 30 locations in England and Wales. Mediate UK holds over 715 reviews rated 4.8 out of 5 on reviews.co.uk, with 96% of reviewers recommending the service, according to its published customer review profile, checked in August 2026.
National Family Mediation is a registered charity, number 1074796, whose current entity was incorporated on 26 February 1999, and reports a contract across what it describes as more than 500 locations.
In Wales, Family Mediation Cymru, charity number 1166947, holds a contract covering south east Wales: Bridgend, Caerphilly, Cardiff, Monmouthshire, Newport, Torfaen and the Vale of Glamorgan. People in north and west Wales should look instead to Family Mediation North Wales and Children 1st Mediation.
What is never free
Legal aid for mediation pays for no solicitor to advise either person separately, and pays no court fees.
Under Ministry of Justice fee order SI 2026/642, in force since 13 July 2026, the court fee for a child arrangements application on form C100 is £270, for a financial application on form A is £321, to file a divorce application is £628, and for a financial consent order is £62. No court fee applies to a form FL401 application for a non-molestation or occupation order.
The consent order making a financial agreement binding is charged separately. Family Law Service, publishing at familylawservice.co.uk, drafts a clean break consent order for £499 including VAT. Paralegals do the drafting, an agreement must already be in place, and pension sharing, business assets and multiple properties are excluded. Family Law Service is a trading name of Family Legal Ltd, company number 16431127, and states that it is not a regulated legal services provider.
Help with Fees covers court fees for people on low incomes or certain benefits, assessed separately from legal aid.
What to do next
Ask any provider holding a Legal Aid Agency contract for an eligibility check before booking. Two questions are almost never asked:
- What happens if one person qualifies for legal aid and the other does not?
- How does this service handle the £500 voucher application, given that the mediator applies rather than the client?
Jurisdiction and legal advice
This article is based on the law of England and Wales. Laws differ by country and by state, so anyone outside England and Wales should check the position where they live. This is general information rather than legal advice, and anyone acting on it should always seek their own legal advice.
