Quick answer · The MIAM series
Urgent MIAMs: how fast can you get one?
The short answer
Usually within days. Many mediation services offer MIAM appointments within 48 hours, and online MIAMs are often the fastest to arrange. If your situation is genuinely urgent, a risk to safety, a child at risk of harm or removal, or assets about to disappear, you may not need a MIAM at all, because urgency is an exemption.
How quickly you can realistically book
MIAMs are short individual meetings, so services can usually fit them in quickly. Booking within two to five working days is normal, many providers offer 48 hour appointments, and online MIAMs by video call widen your choice to mediators anywhere in England and Wales, which is usually the fastest route of all. An online MIAM is fully valid for court, as our guide to online MIAMs explains.
When you do not need a MIAM at all
Urgency is one of the exemption categories in the Family Procedure Rules. It covers situations where delay would create a risk to life, liberty or physical safety, a risk of harm to a child, a risk of a child being unlawfully taken from or kept outside the UK, or other serious irreversible harm, such as assets being disposed of before a financial claim can be made.
If that describes your situation, you claim the exemption on the court form itself, the C100 or Form A, rather than making any separate application. The court can ask you to explain the urgency, so keep your reasons factual and specific.
If safety is the issue
If you or your children are at risk, do not wait for a MIAM appointment. Domestic abuse with evidence is its own exemption, and help is available now. Our guide to domestic abuse and mediation lists support services and explains your options, and none of them require you to sit in a meeting first.
Quick questions
Can I get a same-day MIAM?
Sometimes, particularly online. Availability varies by service, so telephone rather than emailing and ask directly for the earliest appointment.
Do I need a MIAM before an emergency court order?
Usually not. Urgent applications generally fall within the urgency exemption, which you claim on the application form itself. The court decides whether the exemption is validly claimed.
Keep reading
Sources: Family Procedure Rules Part 3 and Practice Direction 3A. Checked 17 July 2026.
Written by the Mediation Guide editorial team and reviewed by an FMC accredited family mediator. Part of our complete MIAM guide.