Quick answer · The MIAM series

What happens if you skip the MIAM?

The short answer

If you apply to the family court without attending a MIAM and without a valid exemption, the court can refuse to issue your application, return it, or direct you to attend a MIAM before the case moves forward, which typically adds weeks of delay. Since 2024, unreasonably refusing to engage with non court dispute resolution can also count against you on costs.

Infographic of the consequences of skipping a MIAM, from court delays to costs orders

Weeks of likely delay£270 C100 fee at risk of a stalled applicationCosts judges can now penalise refusal

The court checks before anything happens

Every C100 and Form A contains a MIAM section, and court staff and judges gatekeep applications by checking it. If the section is neither signed by a mediator nor supported by a claimed exemption, your application does not simply proceed. It can be returned unissued, listed with a direction that you attend a MIAM first, or adjourned at the first hearing for the same reason. Whichever happens, you lose time, and the court fee, 270 pounds for a C100 or 321 pounds for a contested Form A as of 13 July 2026, is committed to an application going nowhere.

The costs risk is real now

Since the 2024 changes to the Family Procedure Rules, courts must consider whether non court dispute resolution has been properly explored, and they can take an unreasonable refusal into account when deciding costs. Skipping the MIAM is the most visible form of not engaging. Our guide to costs consequences for refusing NCDR covers the rules and the case law.

The legitimate way to skip it

If a genuine exemption applies, domestic abuse with evidence, urgency, a previous MIAM within four months, or practical barriers such as prison, you claim it on the application form itself and no MIAM is needed. The route that causes problems is not claiming an exemption, it is claiming one that does not hold up, because the court can direct you to attend anyway.

Quick questions

Will my application be rejected automatically?

Not automatically, but it is checked. The court can return it, direct a MIAM before the case proceeds, or deal with it at the first hearing. All three cost you time.

What if I claim an exemption that turns out not to apply?

The court can direct you to attend a MIAM before the application continues, and a weak claim does not help your credibility with the judge deciding your case.

Sources: Family Procedure Rules Part 3 and Practice Direction 3A; GOV.UK court fees (EX50), as of 13 July 2026. 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.