What is a MIAM?

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A MIAM is a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting. It is a private first meeting with an authorised family mediator, attended on your own.

The meeting gives you a chance to explain the situation, understand mediation and other non-court options, and discuss the practical next steps. The mediator also considers safety, domestic abuse concerns and the suitability of mediation.

At Salam Mediation, a MIAM is £125 and usually lasts around 45 to 60 minutes. Most MIAMs are held online.

Why people book a MIAM

People come for different reasons.

You may be considering mediation and want to understand how it would work. A solicitor may have suggested a MIAM. You may be preparing a C100 application about children or a Form A application about finances. You may simply be at the point where direct conversations with the other person are no longer getting anywhere.

For many specified private family court applications, the Family Procedure Rules require the prospective applicant to attend a MIAM before making the application unless a valid exemption applies. Not sure whether it applies to you? Try the short checker.

What happens during the meeting

Your MIAM is not a joint session. The other person is not present.

During the meeting:

• you explain the issues that still need to be resolved;
• the mediator explains mediation and other forms of non-court dispute resolution;
• the mediator discusses the possible benefits and limitations of those options;
• safety and domestic abuse concerns are considered;
• the mediator considers the suitability of mediation in your circumstances;
• you discuss the practical process, costs and possible next steps;
• if a court application is relevant, the mediator can explain the role of the MIAM and the relevant court form.

Where there has been abuse, this is where it is raised, and it shapes what can happen next. There is more on domestic abuse and mediation.

Your MIAM is private

A MIAM gives you space to talk to the mediator separately. Information from your individual meeting is not simply repeated to the other person.

Family mediation has rules about confidentiality and also limits to confidentiality, particularly around safeguarding and legal obligations. The mediator will explain those limits clearly at the meeting rather than relying on a broad website promise.

Do I have to mediate after a MIAM?

No. Attending a MIAM does not commit you to joint mediation.

Mediation is voluntary. The mediator may also decide that mediation should not proceed. If mediation appears suitable, you can decide if you want the other person to be invited to their own first meeting.

What if the other person refuses mediation?

The other person cannot be forced to mediate. If you have attended your MIAM and the other person does not wish to engage, the mediator can explain the court-form step that may follow and can sign relevant court documentation when the professional and procedural requirements are met.

A MIAM still has a purpose even when joint mediation does not follow. It gives you reliable information about the process and the other non-court options available before you decide what to do next.

MIAMs and court applications

The current Family Procedure Rules apply the MIAM requirement to specified private-law children proceedings and specified financial remedy proceedings unless an exemption applies.

If you think an exemption applies, the relevant application form allows you to make that claim. The court can examine the claim and the evidence. Salam Mediation can explain the MIAM process and the role of the forms, but we do not give individual legal advice on making an exemption claim.

Related reading: the MIAM certificate for a court application, and what happens if you are working to a deadline – see urgent MIAM appointments.

MIAM cost

MIAM: £125 per person. Usually 45 to 60 minutes.

Court form/certificate: £35. Charged where you need the relevant signed mediator confirmation after the MIAM and the professional requirements are met.

The Government Family Mediation Voucher does not pay for the MIAM. Legal Aid is a separate funding route and eligibility can be checked through GOV.UK. Our full fees are published.

Online MIAMs

A MIAM can be held by video call. The Family Procedure Rules and GOV.UK guidance recognise online and video MIAM attendance.

Online appointments allow clients across England and Wales to attend privately without travelling. You should join from somewhere you can speak freely and where other people cannot overhear the meeting.

Ready to book?

Send the booking form and we will offer you times. If you have a court date or application deadline, tell us the date when you book so the urgency is clear.

Sources and further reading

• Family Procedure Rules 2010, Part 3 – Non-Court Dispute Resolution
• Practice Direction 3A – MIAMs
• Family Mediation Council – What is a MIAM?

If you need the process adjusted

If you find reading or paperwork difficult, if English is not your first language, or if there is anything that would make the meeting easier, say so when you book. It is easier to arrange beforehand than to work around on the day, and it changes nothing about how the mediation is conducted.

Need an adjustment or additional support? →