Form A and the MIAM
Key facts
- Form A starts financial remedy proceedings: the court process for dividing money, property and pensions on divorce or dissolution.
- A contested Form A application costs £321 as of 13 July 2026; asking the court to approve an agreed consent order costs £62.
- Before issuing a contested application you must normally attend a MIAM, unless an exemption applies. Consent order applications do not need one.
- A contested case follows a set timetable: First Appointment, financial disclosure on Form E, an FDR hearing, then a final hearing if needed.
- Most financial cases settle before a final hearing, and an agreement reached in mediation can skip almost the whole timetable.
Divorce itself no longer involves arguing about money. The divorce application ends the marriage; sorting out the finances is a separate process, and Form A is the form that starts it when a couple cannot agree. Filing it puts you into financial remedy proceedings, a court timetable with fixed stages that typically takes a year or more to reach a final hearing.
Like the C100 for children cases, Form A comes with a legal precondition: the applicant must normally attend a MIAM first. This page explains how the requirement works for financial applications, the two very different fees involved, and how mediation lets most couples bypass the expensive part entirely. It is part of our section on NCDR and the law.
What Form A actually starts
Form A is the “notice of application for a financial order”. It asks the court to exercise its powers under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (or the equivalent civil partnership legislation) to divide the family’s finances. Those powers are wide: the court can order the sale or transfer of property, lump sum payments, ongoing spousal maintenance, and the sharing of pensions. In deciding what is fair, the judge works through the factors in section 25 of the 1973 Act, including each person’s needs, resources, earning capacity, the length of the marriage and the needs of any children.
Two situations use the form differently. Filed “on notice”, it starts a contested case with the full court timetable described below. Filed by consent alongside an agreed draft order, it simply asks the court to approve what the couple has already decided. Same form, radically different journey, and a fee difference to match.
Does the MIAM requirement apply to Form A?
Yes, for contested applications. A financial remedy application is a relevant family application under section 10 of the Children and Families Act 2014, so before issuing Form A on notice you must normally attend a MIAM: a meeting with an authorised family mediator, typically costing £100 to £150, where the options for resolving matters outside court are explained and assessed. The mediator then signs the confirmation the court needs, or records that mediation is unsuitable or that the other party declined.
The usual exemptions apply, including evidence of domestic abuse, urgency, and having attended a MIAM or another NCDR process for the same dispute within the previous four months. The categories mirror those for children applications and are set out in the Family Procedure Rules and Practice Direction 3A.
Consent order applications are different: asking the court to approve an order you have both agreed does not require a MIAM. The logic is simple enough, since the meeting exists to divert people from contested proceedings, and a couple filing by consent has already diverted themselves.
The law
Section 10 of the Children and Families Act 2014 requires attendance at a MIAM before a relevant family application, which includes a contested application for a financial remedy. Part 3 of the Family Procedure Rules and Practice Direction 3A define the exemptions and let the court direct a MIAM where one should have happened.
Two routes, two fees
The fee gap between the contested and agreed routes is one of the clearest financial arguments for mediation anywhere in the court system.
| Route | Court fee (July 2026) | What follows |
|---|---|---|
| Form A on notice (contested) | £321 | MIAM needed first; full court timetable, often a year or more, with legal costs on top. |
| Financial order by consent | £62 | No MIAM needed; the court approves the agreed order on paper, usually within weeks. |
The court fees are only the entry price. In a contested case each person usually also pays their own solicitor and barrister through three hearings, while the consent route involves one drafting exercise and a paper approval. A mediated agreement turned into a consent order is every bit as binding as an order made after a final hearing.
The contested timetable: what £321 buys you
Once a contested Form A is issued, the court fixes a First Appointment between 12 and 16 weeks ahead. Before it, both parties must exchange full financial disclosure on Form E, a detailed sworn statement of assets, income, pensions and needs, filed no less than 35 days before the hearing. The First Appointment itself is a case management hearing: the judge decides what further evidence, such as property valuations or pension reports, is needed.
The next stage is the FDR, the financial dispute resolution appointment. It is a without prejudice hearing, meaning nothing said there can be used later, where a judge hears both positions and gives an informed steer on the likely outcome. Most cases settle at or shortly after the FDR. Those that do not proceed to a final hearing, usually months later, where a different judge hears evidence and imposes an outcome.
End to end, a fully fought case commonly takes a year to eighteen months, and the disclosure burden alone surprises many people. Our comparison of Form E and mediation disclosure shows how the same information is gathered far less painfully outside proceedings.
How mediation short-circuits the process
Financial mediation covers the same ground as the court timetable, compressed into a handful of sessions. You exchange financial information openly, with the mediator making sure nothing is missed, and negotiate directly rather than through counsel. The financial figures are recorded in an open financial statement, and the proposals you reach are set out in a memorandum of understanding.
From there, a solicitor drafts the consent order, both of you complete the D81 statement of information summarising your finances for the judge, and the package goes to court with the £62 fee. A judge checks the deal is broadly fair before approving it, so the consent route is not a rubber stamp, but it needs no hearings and no barristers.
Even where mediation starts after a Form A has been issued, it can still shortcut the remaining stages: courts can and do adjourn financial proceedings so the couple can mediate, and a case that settles before the FDR saves its most expensive hearings. See our guide to court and mediation running in parallel.
The FM5 and the costs squeeze
Since April 2024 the pressure to engage with mediation does not end at the MIAM. In a contested case both parties will usually be directed to file an FM5 form before the First Appointment, stating their position on non-court dispute resolution. And rule 28.3(7) of the Family Procedure Rules now allows the court to treat a failure, without good reason, to attend a MIAM or NCDR as conduct justifying a costs order in financial remedy proceedings, a real exception to the usual rule that each side pays its own costs.
In plain terms: refusing to consider mediation in a financial case can now cost you part of your ex’s legal bill. The detail, including what counts as a good reason, is in our guide to costs consequences for refusing NCDR.
Helen, a practice nurse from Nottingham, attended her MIAM ready to issue Form A. Her husband Rob had refused to discuss the house or his teacher’s pension for months. The mediator suggested one thing before court: a joint session with both pensions valued first. Rob agreed once he understood that a contested case would mean sworn Form E disclosure anyway. Over four sessions they agreed that Helen would keep the house in return for a pension sharing order giving Rob a larger share of her NHS pension, with a clean break on income. Their consent order was approved on paper eleven weeks after the final session. Total court fee: £62 instead of £321, and no barristers at all.
The MIAM did not delay Helen’s case. It replaced it.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a MIAM before applying for a consent order?
No. The MIAM requirement applies to contested financial remedy applications. If you and your ex have already agreed and are asking the court to approve a consent order, you file by consent with the D81 statement of information and the £62 fee, and no MIAM is needed for that application.
How much does Form A cost to file?
A contested application filed on notice costs £321 as of 13 July 2026. An application for a financial order by consent costs £62. The difference reflects what follows: a contested filing starts a full court timetable with several hearings, while a consent application is usually approved on paper without anyone attending court.
What happens first after a contested Form A is issued?
The court fixes a First Appointment between 12 and 16 weeks ahead. Before it, both parties exchange sworn financial disclosure on Form E, filed at least 35 days before the hearing. The First Appointment then sets directions for valuations and expert evidence, and the case moves on towards the FDR settlement hearing.
Can I still mediate after filing Form A?
Yes. Mediation can run between hearings, and since April 2024 the court can adjourn financial proceedings to allow it without both parties consenting to the pause. If you reach agreement, the proceedings end with a consent order, saving the FDR and final hearing, which are the most expensive stages.
Is an agreement reached in mediation as strong as a court decision?
Once it is made into a consent order, yes. A judge reviews the agreed terms against the fairness factors in section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 before approving them, and the sealed order is enforceable exactly like an order imposed after a final hearing, including any clean break it contains.
Sources
- Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, section 25, the factors the court applies to financial orders (accessed July 2026).
- Children and Families Act 2014, section 10, the MIAM requirement before a contested financial application (accessed July 2026).
- Family Procedure Rules, Part 3, MIAM exemptions and the court’s power to adjourn for NCDR (accessed July 2026).
- Family Procedure Rules, Part 28, rule 28.3(7) on costs and failure to attend a MIAM or NCDR (accessed July 2026).
- GOV.UK: Family court fees (EX50), the £321 and £62 fees (accessed July 2026).
- GOV.UK: Apply for a consent order, the agreed route and its requirements (accessed July 2026).
- GOV.UK: Form E financial statement, the disclosure document in contested proceedings (accessed July 2026).