Mediation in the UK typically costs £600 to £1,000 per person for a family case handled from start to finish, while civil and commercial mediation ranges from under £100 per party for a small claim on the Fixed Fee Scheme up to several thousand pounds a day for high-value commercial disputes. The wide spread reflects how much mediation covers: child arrangements, divorce finances, workplace grievances, contract disputes, and everything in between. What you pay depends on the type of dispute, the mediator’s experience, where you are, and whether Legal Aid or the government voucher scheme applies.
Family Mediation Fees
Every family case starts with a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM), an individual appointment each person attends before any joint work begins. A MIAM costs roughly £95 to £120 per person, and some providers charge up to £150 where the MIAM certificate fee is billed separately.1National Family Mediation. How Much Does a MIAM Cost GOV.UK puts the usual cost at around £120.2GOV.UK. Making Child Arrangements if You Divorce or Separate In most family cases you must attend a MIAM before you can apply to court for a child arrangements order or certain financial orders.
Joint sessions run £120 to £240 per person per session, usually lasting around two hours. Rates vary between providers and regions. Most family cases need two to five sessions to reach agreement, putting the sessions themselves at £500 to £1,000 per person in straightforward cases. Complex finances or several disputed issues push the total higher.
Civil and Commercial Mediation Fees
Civil disputes follow a different structure, and cost rises with the value of the claim. For claims under £50,000, the Civil Mediation Council’s Fixed Fee Scheme sets the rates per party:
- Claims of £5,000 or less: £75 + VAT for a one-hour telephone or video session, or £125 + VAT for a two-hour session
- Claims of £5,001 to £15,000: £320 + VAT for a three-hour session
- Claims of £15,001 to £50,000: £445 + VAT for a four-hour session
- Additional time: £100 + VAT per party per hour beyond the allocated session
These are among the most affordable civil mediation options in England and Wales.3Civil Mediation Council. Fixed Fee Scheme
Above £50,000, mediators charge hourly or daily rates. Hourly fees start around £150 per party and rise with the mediator’s seniority and the case’s complexity. Full-day commercial mediations reach £5,000 to £10,000 per day, split between the parties, reflecting that a high-value commercial mediator is often a senior barrister or retired judge.
Workplace Mediation Fees
Workplace mediation is usually paid for by the employer, who brings in an external mediator to resolve conflicts between staff. Hourly rates generally fall between £180 and £240, with many providers offering fixed packages of around £750 for a half-day or £1,500 for a full day.
Legal Aid for Family Mediation
Legal Aid covers all family mediation costs, including the MIAM, for people who qualify financially. Eligibility is automatic if you receive Income Support, Income-Based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income-Related Employment and Support Allowance, Guarantee Credit, or Universal Credit. Otherwise, you can qualify with gross monthly income of £2,657 or less and disposable monthly income of £733 or less.4GOV.UK. Lord Chancellor’s Guidance on Determining Financial Eligibility for Controlled Work and Family Mediation Family mediation under Legal Aid is non-contributory, so you pay nothing if you qualify.
One point often missed: if one party qualifies for Legal Aid, the other party’s MIAM and first joint session are also covered, even if that second party would not qualify on their own.5Family Mediation Council. Family Mediation Voucher Scheme Worth checking before you pay anything.
The Family Mediation Voucher Scheme
The government’s Family Mediation Voucher Scheme provides a one-off contribution of up to £500 towards mediation session costs. It applies to disputes involving children, and also covers financial disputes being mediated alongside a child arrangements issue. It is not means-tested.6GOV.UK. Family Mediation Voucher Scheme The voucher cannot be used to pay for the MIAM, only for the sessions themselves.5Family Mediation Council. Family Mediation Voucher Scheme
Only one voucher is available per family or case, and it can be claimed even if one party receives Legal Aid. The scheme is time-limited and vouchers are issued until funding runs out, so ask your mediator whether they are currently available.
Costs After Mediation Ends
The mediator’s bill is not the last expense. In family cases involving finances or property, the agreement you reach (usually a Memorandum of Understanding) is not legally binding on its own. To make it enforceable, a solicitor drafts a consent order and files it with the court, typically for a fixed fee of £500 to £1,000 plus VAT depending on complexity and location. Guideline solicitor hourly rates for 2026 run from £142 for a trainee in a regional firm to £579 for a senior solicitor in central London.7Courts and Tribunals Judiciary. Guideline Hourly Rates 2026
Many family lawyers also recommend each party take independent legal advice before signing a financial agreement, so budget for one or two hours of solicitor time per person for that review. If mediation does not produce agreement and you need to apply to court for a child arrangements order (form C100), the application fee is £263.
Mediation Compared to Court
A family mediation wrapping up in three or four sessions typically costs each person £700 to £1,200 including the MIAM and document drafting. A contested court case over the same issues can run £10,000 to £30,000 per person once solicitor fees, barrister fees, court fees, and expert reports are added in. Even outside London, a solicitor with a few years of experience charges £200 to £250 per hour at guideline rates, and many firms charge above the guidelines.7Courts and Tribunals Judiciary. Guideline Hourly Rates 2026 Mediation also tends to resolve within weeks rather than the months or years contested proceedings take.
What Your Mediation Fee Covers
The session fee usually covers the mediator’s preparation, the meeting itself, follow-up correspondence between sessions, and scheduling. At the end of the process, the mediator drafts a summary document, typically a Memorandum of Understanding in financial cases or a Parenting Plan for child arrangements, and that drafting is normally included.
What the fee does not cover is legal advice. Mediators are neutral and cannot advise either party, so independent legal advice, solicitor review of documents, and consent order work are billed separately by your own solicitor. Property valuations, pension reports, and business valuations sit outside the mediation bill as well.