Costs
How much does family mediation cost?
This guide explains what family mediation costs in England and Wales, what the money actually pays for, and the two government schemes that can cover some or all of it. The pages below cover each topic in more depth.
What you are actually paying for
Family mediation is not one single fee. The cost breaks into three parts, and understanding them makes every quote you receive easier to compare. The first is the MIAM, the Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting, an individual meeting where a mediator explains the process and checks it suits your situation. Each person attends their own MIAM and pays for it separately, typically £100 to £150 per person depending on the provider.
The second part is the joint sessions themselves. These usually last 60 to 90 minutes, and most providers charge each person somewhere between £100 and £200 per session, and the Family Mediation Council survey average is around £216 per person per session, so treat the lower figures as a typical range rather than a guarantee. Rates vary by region and by mediator, so a couple in central London will often pay more than a couple mediating online with a provider based elsewhere. How many sessions you need depends on what you are sorting out, which is why the total varies so much from family to family. Our guide to how many mediation sessions you will need works through typical numbers.
The third part only applies if you reach agreement and want it written up. Mediators prepare a Memorandum of Understanding, a plain-English record of your proposals, and in financial cases an Open Financial Statement summarising the disclosure you both gave. Most providers charge a separate document fee for these, often a few hundred pounds shared between you. If you then want a financial agreement made legally binding, a consent order carries its own court fee, covered below.
Typical costs at a glance
The table below shows the usual components. All session figures are typical published ranges rather than fixed prices, so always ask a provider for their rates before booking.
| Cost element | Typical amount | Who pays |
|---|---|---|
| MIAM | £100 to £150 per person | Each person pays their own |
| Joint session (60 to 90 minutes) | £100 to £200 per person, per session | Usually split equally |
| Memorandum of Understanding / Open Financial Statement | Varies by provider, often a few hundred pounds | Usually shared |
| Consent order court fee (if making a financial agreement binding) | £62 as of 13 July 2026 | One fee per application, often shared |
Putting those together: a children-only case that settles in two or three sessions often costs each person somewhere in the region of £300 to £750 including the MIAM. A financial case with full disclosure and four or five sessions, plus the documents at the end, typically lands between £800 and £1,500 per person. Cases covering both children and finances sit towards the top of that range. Our page on who pays for family mediation explains how couples usually divide these costs.
Help with the cost: the voucher scheme and legal aid
Two government schemes can reduce what you pay. The family mediation voucher scheme is a one-off contribution of up to £500 per family towards the cost of mediation sessions in cases involving child arrangements, or family finances where there is also a dispute about a child. It is not means-tested, so your income and savings are irrelevant. It does not cover the MIAM or document preparation, and a case about finances alone does not qualify. Your mediator applies for it on your behalf and the money is paid directly to them, as of 13 July 2026 (GOV.UK voucher scheme guidance).
Legal aid works differently. It is means-tested, and if you qualify it can cover your MIAM and your mediation sessions in full. Helpfully, if one of you qualifies, the other person’s MIAM and the first joint session can be covered too. You can check eligibility on GOV.UK, and our guides to legal aid for family mediation and the voucher scheme walk through both in detail, including how they combine when only one of you is eligible.
How mediation compares with solicitors and court
Mediation is usually the least expensive of the formal routes to a separation agreement. Resolving matters through solicitor-led negotiation typically runs into the mid thousands per person, and a contested court case can reach five figures each once hearing preparation, representation and expert reports are added up. Our cost of divorce data page collects the published figures, and the mediation vs court comparison looks at the differences beyond money, including timescales and who keeps control of the decisions.
Court also adds its own fees on top of legal costs. Applying to court about children costs £270, a contested financial order application costs £321, and a divorce application costs £628, all as of 13 July 2026. Couples who agree in mediation avoid almost all of these; the main court fee they still pay is the £62 consent order fee to make a financial agreement binding. The full list is on our family court fees page, and you can compare your own likely totals with the free mediation vs court calculator.
The £500 mediation voucher is not means-tested. Unlike legal aid, eligibility depends only on the type of dispute: it must involve arrangements for a child. Since the scheme launched in March 2021 it has been extended repeatedly and remains open into 2026/27, subject to available funding.
The costs at the end: turning proposals into something binding
Mediation produces proposals, not orders. When you reach agreement, the mediator records it in a Memorandum of Understanding, and in financial cases an Open Financial Statement alongside it. These documents are deliberately not legally binding, which protects the open discussion that mediation depends on, but it means most couples have one more short step to take. For child arrangements, many families simply follow the written plan and never involve a court at all.
For finances the position is different: a divorcing couple who want certainty, and protection against future claims, normally ask a solicitor to convert the memorandum into a draft consent order and file it with the court for approval. That involves the solicitor’s drafting fee plus the £62 court fee, as of 13 July 2026. It is money well spent, because an approved consent order ends financial claims in a way no privately signed document can. The options, and what each costs, are set out in our guide to making your agreement legally binding and the consent orders page.
What affects your final bill
Three things move the total more than anything else. The first is scope: a conversation about term-time contact is quicker than untangling a home, two pensions and a business. The second is preparation, particularly in financial cases, where sessions spent chasing missing bank statements are sessions you are paying for. Arriving with disclosure complete keeps the count down. The third is conflict level: where trust has broken down, mediators may suggest shuttle mediation, with each of you in separate rooms, which works well but can take slightly longer.
None of this is fixed at the start. A good mediator will give you a realistic estimate at the MIAM once they understand your situation, and you pay session by session rather than committing to a package. If you settle earlier than expected, you simply stop paying. That pay-as-you-go structure is one reason mediation compares so well with the cost of going to court.
Costs guides in this section
The family mediation voucher scheme
Up to £500 towards mediation in child arrangements cases: who qualifies and how to use it.
Legal aid for family mediation
The means test, what legal aid covers, and what happens when only one of you qualifies.
Mediation vs court: what each route costs
Realistic totals for mediation, solicitor negotiation and contested proceedings, side by side.
Every court fee relevant to separation after the 13 July 2026 uplift, plus Help with Fees.
How many mediation sessions will you need?
Typical session counts for children, finances and combined cases, and what speeds things up.
Who pays for family mediation?
The usual split, the alternatives couples agree, and how funding schemes change the picture.
Sources
- GOV.UK, Family Mediation Voucher Scheme, verifies the £500 contribution, eligible case types and that the voucher excludes the MIAM (accessed July 2026).
- GOV.UK, Family court fees (EX50), verifies the family court fee structure (accessed July 2026).
- GOV.UK, Court and tribunal fees updates from July 2026, verifies the fee increases taking effect on 13 July 2026 (accessed July 2026).
- GOV.UK, Check if you can get legal aid, verifies the legal aid eligibility route (accessed July 2026).
- Family Mediation Council, Mediation Vouchers, verifies that the mediator applies for the voucher and receives the funds directly (accessed July 2026).