An FMCA accredited family mediator is a family mediator who holds Family Mediation Council Accreditation, the professional qualification that the Family Mediation Council (FMC) describes as “designed to be the standard qualification for family mediators in England and Wales”.[1] Accreditation is awarded by the Family Mediation Standards Board after a mediator has completed approved foundation training, practised under the supervision of a Professional Practice Consultant, and passed an assessment of a portfolio of real cases against the FMC’s competence standards.[1] An FMCA accredited family mediator must be renewed every three years.[1]
The status carries legal significance. Only an “authorised family mediator” may conduct a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting, and since 1 January 2016 the FMC has identified as authorised only mediators holding FMCA, including provisional FMCA.[2][3][4] An FMCA mediator may therefore sign the MIAM sections of court forms C100, Form A and FM1, and may deliver legally aided and voucher-funded mediation, whereas a mediator “working towards accreditation” may not do either alone.[4][5] In 2025 the FMC Register listed 1,025 mediators, of whom 67 per cent were accredited.[6]
Definition and purpose
The FMC’s Standards Framework states that the designation “FMC Accredited Family Mediator (FMCA)” is awarded to a mediator who has completed approved training, met the post-training requirements and demonstrated competence by assessment, and that “mediators with FMCA status are authorised family mediators for the purposes of the Family Procedure Rules and are qualified to conduct mediation information and assessment meetings (MIAMs)”.[1] Accreditation is personal to the mediator. Organisations, services and firms are not accredited; a service is described accurately as one whose mediators hold FMCA.
The purpose of the single accreditation was to replace the separate schemes that preceded it. Until 2015 each membership body assessed its own mediators, the Law Society ran a family mediation accreditation for solicitor-mediators, and publicly funded work required the legal aid authority’s Assessment of Professional Competence (APC). The first edition of the framework, published in September 2014, stated that FMCA “embraces the current APC and Law Society schemes” and that it would “come into operation from 1st January 2015 onwards”.[7]
The FMC Register distinguishes two categories of practising mediator: those who are accredited and those “working towards accreditation”.[8] Both have completed foundation training and belong to an FMC member organisation, but only the former have passed the competence assessment. A person who has not completed FMC-approved training cannot register in either category.[1]
Legal basis
Section 10(1) of the Children and Families Act 2014 requires a person to attend a MIAM before making a relevant family application.[9] Rule 3.9(1) of the Family Procedure Rules 2010 provides that “only an authorised family mediator may conduct a MIAM”, and rule 3.1 defines an authorised family mediator as “a person identified by the Family Mediation Council as qualified to conduct a MIAM”.[2][3] The FMC’s published interpretation is that “from 1st January 2016, following the FMC Standards Framework, ‘qualified to conduct a MIAM’ will be interpreted as holding current Family Mediation Council accreditation (FMCA)”.[10] FMCA is therefore the qualification that the law recognises, by reference to the FMC, for the one compulsory step in most private family proceedings.
The consequence for court forms is explicit. The FMC states that “Forms A, A1 and the C100 can only be signed by a mediator holding FMCA status as of 1 January 2016”, and that authorised mediators are “those who hold FMCA and have a URN ending with the suffix A or P”.[4] The FMSB’s MIAM guidance adds that it “would be wholly unacceptable” for a mediator still working towards accreditation to conduct MIAMs, and that doing so or signing forms without authorisation “is a breach of the Family Procedure Rules and the FMC Code of Practice”.[11][10] Practice Direction 3A directs applicants to the FMC’s register to find an authorised mediator.[12]
Outside the MIAM, FMCA has no direct statutory basis: mediation itself is unregulated by statute in England and Wales, and a person may lawfully call themselves a mediator without any qualification. Accreditation matters in practice because the Legal Aid Agency, the Family Mediation Voucher Scheme, the courts (through the MIAM) and most referrers require it.[5][6]
The route to accreditation
The route has four stages: FMC-approved foundation training; registration with the FMC as working towards accreditation, with membership of a member organisation and a Professional Practice Consultant; a period of supervised practice in which the mediator takes cases through to completion; and submission of a portfolio for assessment.[13][1] The FMC states that a mediator “must normally pass the assessment for FMCA within three years of completing your training”, a period that can be extended in defined circumstances to five years.[14][1]
Foundation training
Foundation training must be on a course approved by the FMC, a requirement in force for courses since 1 January 2015, and must provide a minimum of 60 hours of contact time, typically over eight days.[1] Assessment on the course must include observation of each participant acting as mediator in a simulated case and written exercises that “as a minimum require drafting of a memorandum of understanding”.[1] There is no prescribed prior profession: trainees come from law, social work, counselling, finance and other backgrounds, and mediators who are also solicitors remain subject to their own regulator.[15]
Registration and supervised practice
“Before acting as a sole or lead mediator or representing themselves to the public as a family mediator”, a newly trained mediator must register with the FMC as working towards accreditation, join a member organisation and engage a Professional Practice Consultant (PPC).[1][16] The FMC describes the PPC as “an experienced mediator who has full accreditation and has fulfilled a number of requirements set by the FMSB”, and states that “you cannot gain accreditation without one”.[13]
The Standards Framework then lists the post-training requirements. The mediator must complete an initial review of readiness with the PPC; before starting to mediate, observe or co-mediate a session conducted by an FMCA mediator; have a pre-case discussion and post-case review with the PPC on the first case; “have at least ten hours one-to-one, principally face-to-face support from their PPC”, recorded in a countersigned log; “have at least one mediation session observed by their PPC” within two years of training; “take a minimum of three cases through to completion”; attend a child-inclusive mediation awareness course of at least one day; and have all outcome documents, “including memoranda of understanding and open financial statements, approved by their PPCs before being sent to their clients”.[1]
During this period the mediator may take private cases as sole mediator under arrangements agreed with the PPC, and may “jointly conduct mediation information and assessment meetings (MIAMs) with any accredited mediator”, but may not sign court forms and may not conduct legally aided, voucher-funded or court-ordered MIAMs or mediation alone.[5]
The portfolio assessment
The portfolio is the evidence on which accreditation is decided. Appendix 1 to the Standards Framework prescribes its contents: an application form with signed declarations; a statement from the PPC confirming the log of supervision sessions and endorsing the mediator’s competence; an account of the session observed by the PPC with the PPC’s feedback; either three or four commentaries on completed cases in which the mediator took the substantive lead, covering all-issues, financial and children’s matters; a reflective account of 1,500 to 2,000 words; written answers to three case-study questions; and a record of professional development with a plan for the future.[1] Of three cases, “two of the three cases must include memoranda of understanding and open financial statements”; where four are submitted, both property and finance cases must include them and at least one children-only case must include a memorandum or outcome statement.[1]
Complete portfolios are allocated to an assessor appointed by the FMSB, chosen to avoid conflicts of interest, and are moderated by the scheme’s Chief Assessor or an experienced assessor nominated by them.[1] The standard is that the mediator’s practice “must be at least ‘competent’ and should show elements of progressing to ‘proficient'” against the FMC professional competence standards, which are set out in Appendix 2 to the framework under headings covering knowledge, process management, and the production of “an appropriate and agreed outcome statement”.[1]
| Assessment decision | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Approved | “The mediator meets the required standards and is eligible for accreditation”[1] |
| Conditional | “Additional work is required on the portfolio that can reasonably be completed within six months”[1] |
| Not yet proven | “Substantial work is required that is not likely to be feasible to complete within six months”; the mediator may resubmit within the time limit[1] |
When a mediator passes, “the FMC Family Mediation Standards Board will be notified of the names of all mediators who have passed the assessment process”, and FMCA is awarded “provided that the mediator is in current membership of an FMC member body”.[1] The FMC publishes portfolio fees and an annual analysis of the reasons portfolios did not succeed.[14]
Provisional FMCA and the staged portfolio
Provisional FMCA is a form of accreditation awarded where a portfolio demonstrates most but not all of the competences. The FMSB’s staged portfolio scheme, developed between January and August 2023 and piloted from 2024, allows a mediator to submit the portfolio in two stages: a first stage after a minimum of six hours of one-to-one PPC support over six to nine months, containing a MIAM commentary, one case commentary, a reflective account and a development plan; and a second stage after a further eight hours of PPC support, containing two or three more case commentaries.[17] On assessment of the second stage the outcome may be full FMCA or “Provisional FMCA”, in which case “the assessors will specify the additional work that must be submitted and the identification of the competences that need to be demonstrated in order for full FMCA to be awarded”.[17] The FMC states that the staged route “enables mediators to achieve accreditation more quickly, in two years rather than the usual three”.[17]
A mediator with provisional FMCA has a unique reference number ending in “P” and is treated as an authorised family mediator: the FMC’s guidance is that “all mediators who hold FMCA, including those with provisional FMCA” may conduct MIAMs and sign court forms.[4][10] Provisional status ends when the specified further work is assessed and full FMCA awarded.[17]
What an FMCA mediator may do
| Activity | FMCA (including provisional) | Working towards accreditation |
|---|---|---|
| Conduct a MIAM for a court application | Yes[2][4] | Only jointly with an accredited mediator[5] |
| Sign the MIAM section of C100, Form A, Form A1 or FM1 | Yes[4] | No; court forms are signed by the PPC or an accredited colleague[1][5] |
| Mediate for private clients as sole mediator | Yes | Yes, under arrangements agreed with the PPC[5] |
| Conduct legally aided MIAMs and mediation | Yes, where the mediator or service holds a Legal Aid Agency contract[18] | No[5] |
| Conduct mediation funded by the Family Mediation Voucher Scheme | Yes[5] | No[5] |
| Issue a memorandum of understanding or open financial statement | Yes | Yes, once approved by the PPC[1] |
| Consult children directly (child-inclusive mediation) | Only with the additional CIM qualification[19] | No[1] |
| Act as a Professional Practice Consultant | Only after PPC training and registration[20] | No[20] |
Every FMCA mediator must also comply with the FMC Code of Practice, which requires membership of a member organisation, “adequate professional indemnity insurance”, a complaints procedure, and adherence to the FMC’s requirements for practice, supervision and continuing development.[19] Breach can lead to a complaint to the FMSB and, ultimately, to “suspension or removal of Family Mediation Council Accreditation”.[1][21]
Maintaining accreditation: PPC, CPD and renewal
“Accreditation is held for a period of three years following successful assessment or renewal”, after which the mediator must apply to renew it.[1] Renewal requires evidence of three things: continuing professional development, for which the framework sets no fixed total but states that “it is unlikely that less than ten hours per year engaged in specific development activity will be sufficient”; supervision, “normally not less than four hours scheduled PPC support per year, at least two of which must be individual sessions”, together with a PPC review of practice within the three years; and practice, “normally not less than fifteen hours per year of direct mediation, excluding information and assessment meetings”.[1]
Professional Practice Consultants
The PPC system is the FMC’s form of clinical supervision. A PPC must be an FMCA mediator registered with the FMC, must complete initial PPC training of “at least 15 guided learning hours provided by an approved course provider”, must act as a PPC for at least four hours a year, must have a PPC of their own, and must re-register every three years.[20] PPCs follow a separate PPC Code of Practice (version 2, August 2025) and FMSB guidance (version 2, February 2026), and must complete five hours of CPD relevant to the PPC role each year.[22][1] For a mediator working towards accreditation the PPC approves outcome documents and signs court forms; for an accredited mediator the PPC provides the periodic review and the annual support hours on which renewal depends.[1]
Continuing professional development
The framework expects CPD to cover changes in family law; developments in pensions, benefits and tax; developments in mediation practice; safeguarding; children’s issues; and diversity and inclusion.[1] The FMC lists approved CPD events, and its member organisations run conferences and training that count towards the requirement.[16]
Child-inclusive mediation qualification
Consulting a child directly within mediation requires a further qualification. The Code of Practice provides that “mediators may undertake child-inclusive Mediation only when they: a. have registered to do so with the FMC; and b. have met the requirements as may be laid down by the FMC”.[19] Those requirements are in Part 6 of the Standards Framework: the mediator must already hold FMCA, must complete approved child-inclusive mediation training, and is then shown on the register as “qualified to see children in mediation”.[1][8] The framework states that “all children of 10 and over should have the opportunity” to have their views heard, reflecting Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the FMC’s public guidance for young people repeats that “if you’re 10 or over you have a right to have your views heard”.[1][23]
Separately from that qualification, since September 2019 every mediator working towards accreditation has been required to attend a one-day child-inclusive mediation awareness course, and accredited mediators were required to complete it by January 2020.[6][1] The FMC’s 2025 survey found that children were consulted in 16 per cent of cases involving a child aged ten or over.[6] The process is described on child-inclusive mediation.
Checking the register
Accreditation can be verified on the FMC Register, which “contains details of mediators’ accreditation status, other relevant qualifications, public contact information and which FMC member organisation(s) the mediator belongs to”.[8] The search can be filtered to “Accredited” or “Working towards accreditation”, and by service, including “Qualified to sign court forms”, “Provides mediation funded by Legal Aid”, “Qualified to see children in mediation”, “Offers online mediation” and “Qualified as a Professional Practice Consultant”.[8] A mediator’s unique reference number appears on the MIAM section of a court form; a number ending in “A” or “P” confirms accreditation, and the court or the other party can check it against the register.[4][10] A mediator who describes themselves as “FMC registered” is not necessarily accredited, since the register also lists those working towards accreditation.[8]
Statistics
| Measure | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Mediators on the FMC Register | 1,025 | FMC, 2025[6] |
| Proportion holding FMCA | 67 per cent (around 690 mediators) | FMC, 2025[6] |
| Mediators offering legally aided mediation | 238 in 2025, down from 450 in 2018 | FMC, 2025[6] |
| Cases in which a child aged ten or over was consulted | 16 per cent | FMC survey, 2025[6] |
| Cases proceeding to mediation where both attend a MIAM | About 70 per cent | FMC, 2025[6] |
| Minimum foundation training | 60 contact hours | FMC Standards Framework, v1.6[1] |
| Minimum PPC support before accreditation | 10 hours one-to-one | FMC Standards Framework, v1.6[1] |
| Minimum annual PPC support after accreditation | 4 hours, 2 of them individual | FMC Standards Framework, v1.6[1] |
| Minimum annual mediation practice after accreditation | 15 hours, excluding MIAMs | FMC Standards Framework, v1.6[1] |
| Indicative annual CPD | Not less than 10 hours | FMC Standards Framework, v1.6[1] |
The register total of 1,025 in 2025 is close to the figure the FMC reported in 2018, but the proportion offering legally aided work has fallen by almost half over the same period.[6] The “around 690” accredited mediators is a calculation from the published percentage rather than a figure the FMC states. Sector-wide data are collected on family mediation statistics.
History
| Date | Development |
|---|---|
| Before 2015 | Each member organisation of the FMC assesses its own mediators; the Law Society runs a family mediation accreditation for solicitors; the legal aid authority operates the Assessment of Professional Competence for publicly funded mediators[7] |
| 22 April 2014 | The statutory MIAM requirement comes into force; the Family Procedure Rules define an authorised family mediator by reference to membership of an FMC member organisation[9][3] |
| September 2014 | The FMC publishes the first Manual of Professional Standards and Self-Regulatory Framework, creating FMCA as the single accreditation[7] |
| 1 January 2015 | The Standards Framework comes into operation; from this date foundation courses must be FMC-approved[7][1] |
| April 2015 | The FMC is incorporated and the Family Mediation Standards Board is established to run accreditation and complaints[6][24] |
| 1 January 2016 | Rule 3.1 is amended so that an authorised family mediator is a person identified by the FMC; the FMC identifies only FMCA mediators, so that MIAMs and court forms become the preserve of accredited mediators[3][4] |
| September 2019 | Child-inclusive mediation awareness training becomes compulsory for mediators working towards accreditation, and for accredited mediators by January 2020[6] |
| 2023 to 2024 | The FMSB develops and pilots the staged portfolio, with provisional FMCA as a possible outcome of the second stage[17] |
| 29 April 2024 | Amendments to FPR Part 3 extend the mediator’s duties at a MIAM and tie several exemptions to inability to attend online, increasing reliance on accredited mediators[2] |
| August 2025 | Version 1.6 of the Standards Framework and version 1.5 of the Code of Practice are published[1][19] |
Criticism and debate
The main criticism of the accreditation system is the size of the gap between training and accreditation. Two thirds of registered mediators are accredited, which means that about a third are practising, in private cases, without having passed the competence assessment; the FMC’s scope of practice rules and the three-year time limit are the response to that.[6][5][14] Newly trained mediators, for their part, have pointed to the difficulty of obtaining the completed cases a portfolio requires when they cannot conduct MIAMs or legally aided work alone; the staged portfolio and the FMC’s list of PPCs with capacity to take on consultees are intended to ease this.[17][16]
A second debate concerns the relationship between accreditation and other professional regulation. Blakey’s 2023 study recorded the McEldowney report’s finding of “some degree of distrust between legally and non-legally qualified mediators”, and a single accreditation applied to solicitors, social workers and others was intended to give the profession a common standard.[15] The FMC’s own guidance on legal information stresses that mediators of any background may give general legal information but “cannot provide legal advice by telling you what that general laws means for you personally”, a boundary that is central to the competence standards and to the without prejudice status of the mediation summary.[25][19]
See also
- Family Mediation Council – the awarding body
- Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting – the meeting only accredited mediators may conduct
- Child-inclusive mediation – the additional qualification
- Memorandum of understanding – the outcome document a portfolio must include
- Open financial statement
- Legal aid for family mediation – why accreditation matters for funded work
- Family mediation
- Family law professionals – mediators alongside solicitors, barristers and others
References
- FMC Manual of Professional Standards and Self-Regulatory Framework, v1.6. Family Mediation Council. August 2025. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Family Procedure Rules 2010, rule 3.9: Conduct of MIAMs. legislation.gov.uk. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Family Procedure Rules 2010, rule 3.1: Interpretation. legislation.gov.uk. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- FAQs about professional standards, accreditation and registration (1 January 2016 changes). Family Mediation Council. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Scope of practice of mediators working towards accreditation. Family Mediation Council. January 2025. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- The State of Family Mediation 2025. Family Mediation Council. September 2025. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- FMC Manual of Professional Standards and Self-Regulatory Framework (first edition). Family Mediation Council. September 2014. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- FMC Register Search. Family Mediation Council. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Children and Families Act 2014, section 10: Family mediation information and assessment meetings. legislation.gov.uk. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- MIAMs: guidance for PPCs and mediators. Family Mediation Council. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- FMSB MIAM Guidance, v3. Family Mediation Standards Board. February 2026. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Practice Direction 3A: Family Mediation Information and Assessment Meetings (MIAMs). Ministry of Justice. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Becoming a family mediator. Family Mediation Council. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- FMC accreditation scheme: the accreditation process. Family Mediation Council. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Blakey, R.. ‘Mediators mediating themselves’: tensions within the family mediator profession. Legal Studies, vol. 43, no. 1, pp. 139 to 158. doi:10.1017/lst.2022.29. 2023. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Mediators working towards accreditation. Family Mediation Council. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Family Mediation Council Accreditation Panel: Staged Portfolio Pilot. Family Mediation Standards Board. January 2024, updated April 2024. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- What does mediation cost?. Family Mediation Council. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- FMC Code of Practice for Family Mediators, v1.5. Family Mediation Council. August 2025. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Professional Practice Consultants (PPCs). Family Mediation Council. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Complaints about mediators. Family Mediation Council. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Standards, Codes of Practice and Guidance. Family Mediation Council. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Mediation is not only for adults. Family Mediation Council. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- Who we are: board of directors and Family Mediation Standards Board. Family Mediation Council. Accessed 5 September 2026.
- When you need legal advice. Family Mediation Council. Accessed 5 September 2026.
External links
This article is part of Family Mediation Wiki, published by Family Legal Ltd. It is general information about the law of England and Wales, not legal advice. Last reviewed 6 September 2026. About this site and editorial policy · Report an error.