The FM5 form explained
Key facts
- The FM5 is a short statement setting out your position on non-court dispute resolution (NCDR), such as mediation.
- It was introduced on 29 April 2024 as part of the changes to the Family Procedure Rules.
- Both the applicant and the respondent normally complete one in children and financial remedy cases.
- The form guidance says it must reach the court at least 7 working days before your first hearing, with a copy sent to the other party.
- There is no court fee for filing an FM5.
- Judges read it when deciding whether to pause the case for mediation and, in financial cases, when deciding costs.
If you have a family court hearing coming up, there is a good chance you have been told to file something called an FM5 and are wondering what it is. The short answer: it is the form where you tell the judge, honestly, whether you have tried to resolve matters outside court, and if not, why not. It exists because the courts of England and Wales now expect separating couples to attempt non-court dispute resolution wherever it is safe and realistic to do so.
The FM5 is short, free to file, and takes most people well under an hour to complete. But it is worth taking seriously, because a thin or evasive answer can influence how the judge manages your case, and in a financial case it can affect who pays the costs. This guide explains who files it, when, what to write, and how judges actually use it.
What is the FM5 form?
FM5 is the official title of the form called “Statement of position on non-court dispute resolution (NCDR)”. It was published on 29 April 2024, the same day a package of amendments to the Family Procedure Rules came into force. Those amendments gave courts a clearer duty to consider, at every stage of a case, whether the dispute could be resolved outside court through mediation, arbitration, neutral evaluation (such as a private FDR) or collaborative law.
To exercise that duty sensibly, a judge needs to know what each party has actually done. That is the FM5’s job. It asks whether you have attended any form of NCDR, what kind, when and with whom, and why you say the court still needs to decide the case. If you have not attended any NCDR, it asks you to explain why.
The legal footing sits in Part 3 of the Family Procedure Rules: when the court requires it, each party must file and serve a form setting out their views on using NCDR to resolve the issues in the proceedings. The FM5 is that form.
The law
Under Part 3 of the Family Procedure Rules, as amended from 29 April 2024, the court can require each party to file and serve a statement of their views on using non-court dispute resolution. The court must also keep asking itself, throughout the case, whether NCDR is appropriate, and can adjourn proceedings to let it happen.
Who files the FM5, and when?
Both parties file one, not just the person who started the case. In children proceedings that means the applicant and the respondent to the C100 application; in financial remedy proceedings, both parties to the Form A application. The court’s directions, usually issued when the case is allocated, will tell you it is required.
The guidance on the form itself says it must be completed and returned to the court at least 7 working days before your first hearing or appointment, and that you must send a copy to the other party. The court can also ask for an updated FM5 before later hearings, on the same timetable, so your position on mediation stays current as the case moves along.
There is no fee. You can download the form from GOV.UK, complete it electronically or by hand, and file it with the court dealing with your case. It ends with a statement of truth, which means you are confirming the contents are true and can face consequences for a deliberately false statement.
What the form asks you
The FM5 is deliberately simple. It splits into two branches depending on whether you have attended any form of NCDR.
| Section | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Your role | Whether you are the applicant or the respondent in the case. |
| Have you attended NCDR? | A yes or no question covering mediation, arbitration, neutral evaluation, collaborative law or anything similar. |
| If yes | Which type you attended, the provider and dates, and why you say a court order is still needed. |
| If no | Whether a MIAM exemption applies (applicants only) and why you are asking the court to decide without having tried NCDR. |
| Statement of truth | Your signed confirmation that everything on the form is true. |
Notice what the form does not ask. It does not ask what happened inside mediation, what offers were made, or why the sessions did not produce an agreement. Mediation is confidential, and the FM5 respects that: it deals with whether you engaged, not what you said. Our guide on running court and mediation at the same time explains what the court can and cannot see.
How to complete the FM5 well
Be specific and be honest. If you attended a MIAM and then three mediation sessions between February and April, say so, with the mediator’s name and the dates. If mediation narrowed the issues but left one sticking point, say that too: judges respond well to parties who can show what has been resolved and what genuinely remains.
If you have not attended any NCDR, give a real reason. Good reasons exist: a valid MIAM exemption, domestic abuse, urgency, or the other person refusing every invitation. “I didn’t think it would work” is not a strong answer on its own, and a judge may simply adjourn the case and send you to try. If your reason is that your ex refuses to engage, describe the invitations you or the mediator sent and what came back.
Avoid using the FM5 to attack the other party. It is a position statement on dispute resolution, not a witness statement about the marriage. A measured, factual FM5 that shows willingness to settle reads far better than a combative one, and if a different NCDR option might suit your case better than mediation, saying so on the form shows the court you are thinking constructively.
How judges use the FM5
The judge reads both FM5 forms before or at the first hearing, alongside the application and any safeguarding information. Three things can follow. First, if neither of you has tried NCDR and there is no good reason, the court can adjourn the proceedings to allow it, and since April 2024 it does not need both parties to agree to that pause. Second, the answers shape case management: a case where mediation resolved four issues out of five will be timetabled differently from one where nothing has been attempted.
Third, in financial remedy cases, the FM5 feeds into costs. Rule 28.3(7) of the Family Procedure Rules now lists failure, without good reason, to attend a MIAM or NCDR as conduct the court considers when deciding whether one party should pay the other’s costs. A weak FM5 can therefore cost real money later. We cover this fully in costs consequences for refusing NCDR.
None of this means the judge will force you to settle. Mediation stays voluntary. What the FM5 changes is the conversation at court: instead of “do you want to mediate?”, the question becomes “you have not mediated, and your form does not explain why, so what should the court do about that?”
The FM5 and the MIAM: what is the difference?
People often mix these up. The MIAM comes first: it is the meeting an applicant must attend before issuing most family applications, required by section 10 of the Children and Families Act 2014. It happens before the case starts, and only the applicant is legally required to attend, although respondents are expected to.
The FM5 comes later, once a case is under way, and both parties complete it. Think of the MIAM as the doorway into court and the FM5 as the regular check-in once you are inside. Attending a MIAM does not exhaust your NCDR obligations: the court will still expect you to keep mediation in mind throughout, and the FM5 is how it checks. If your mediation has already ended without full agreement, our guide on what happens if mediation fails covers how to present that on the form and what comes next.
Priya issued a financial application against her husband Daniel after he stopped replying to her solicitor’s letters. When the court directed FM5 forms before the first appointment, Daniel realised he would have to explain in writing why he had declined two invitations to mediate. Rather than defend an empty page, he contacted the mediator Priya had originally proposed. The district judge at the first appointment read both forms, saw mediation was under way, and adjourned the timetable for eight weeks. Three sessions later they had agreed to sell the house in Reading, split the proceeds 60/40 in Priya’s favour, and share Daniel’s pension. Their solicitors turned the agreement into a consent order for a £62 court fee.
The FM5 did not force anyone to settle. It simply made refusing to try something each party had to justify to a judge in writing.
Frequently asked questions
Is the FM5 form compulsory?
When the court directs it, yes. The Family Procedure Rules let the court require each party to file a statement of their views on non-court dispute resolution, and the FM5 is that statement. Ignoring a direction to file one is a breach of the court’s order and reflects badly on you at the hearing.
Does filing an FM5 cost anything?
No. There is no court fee for the FM5. You download it from GOV.UK, complete it, file it with the court at least 7 working days before your hearing and send a copy to the other party. The only application fees in the case are the ones paid when proceedings were issued.
Do I have to reveal what was said in mediation on the FM5?
No. Mediation discussions are confidential and conducted on a without prejudice basis, meaning they cannot be shown to the judge as evidence. The FM5 only asks whether you attended, what type of NCDR it was, when, with which provider, and why you say the court still needs to decide the case.
What happens if I refuse to mediate and say so on the FM5?
The judge will look at your reasons. If they are good ones, such as domestic abuse or a valid exemption, that is the end of it. If they are weak, the court can adjourn the case and direct you towards NCDR, and in a financial remedy case an unreasonable refusal can count against you when costs are decided.
Is the FM5 the same as the MIAM certificate?
No. The MIAM sign-off is completed by an authorised mediator before an application is issued and confirms the applicant attended the meeting or was exempt. The FM5 is completed by each party themselves once the case is running, and sets out their current position on resolving matters outside court.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Statement of position on non-court dispute resolution, Form FM5, the official form and its filing guidance (accessed July 2026).
- Family Procedure Rules, Part 3, the court’s power to require a statement of views on NCDR and to adjourn for it (accessed July 2026).
- Practice Direction 3A, guidance on the MIAM requirement that sits alongside the FM5 (accessed July 2026).
- Family Procedure Rules, Part 28, rule 28.3(7) on costs consequences of failing to attend a MIAM or NCDR (accessed July 2026).
- Children and Families Act 2014, section 10, the MIAM requirement the FM5 builds on (accessed July 2026).