Family Mediation Accreditation
It covers all issues arising from family relationship breakdown where mediation is appropriate.
Membership qualifies you to hold mediation information and assessment meetings (MIAMs) and conduct publicly funded and private client mediation.
The Law Society is a member organisation of the Family Mediation Council (FMC).
We require our accredited members to meet and work to the standards set by the FMC.
Members of our Family Mediation Accreditation are also members of the FMC and hold Family Mediation Accredited (FMCA) status.
Eligibility
To apply for the Family Mediation Accreditation, you must be a:
- solicitor
- legal executive
- trainee solicitor
- case worker
The accreditation subscribes to the FMC’s Professional Standards and Self-Regulatory Framework (PDF 987 KB).
You must:
- be a member of another FMC organisation
- be in good standing with your FMC member organisation
- be under the supervision of a professional practice consultant (PPC)
- have had at least 10 hours of one-to-one, principally face-to-face support from your PPC
- have a post-training review with your PPC
- observe or co-mediate a mediation session conducted by a Family Mediation Council accredited (FMCA) mediator
- have at least one mediation session observed by your PPC
- take a minimum of three cases (including an AIM case) or four cases (without an AIM case) to completion in the last two years
- have undertaken at least 10 hours of family mediation-related continuing professional development
- have undertaken four hours of time with a PPC in each year and complete a further 10 hours’ time with your PPC before submitting your portfolio
All Family Mediation Accreditation members are bound by the FMC’s Code of Practice (PDF 98 KB).
How to apply
There are two routes to apply for the Family Mediation Accreditation:
- passporting route
- portfolio route
To apply for the passporting route, you’ll need to be a family mediator who has been competence assessed or accredited under one of the following schemes:
- Legal Services Commission (LSC) scheme
- LSC scheme as previously run by the former UK College of Family Mediators
- LSC scheme as previously run by the Family Mediation Council
- Family Mediation Council’s Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) scheme
- FMA or Resolution accreditation routes and awarded FMCA status as of 1 January 2015
- Family Mediation Council Accreditation from 1 January 2015
To apply for the portfolio route, you’ll need to:
- complete a training course
- submit a detailed application
The accreditation process takes around six to eight weeks.
It can take longer if we receive high volumes of applications or if you do not give us all the information we need.
Re-accreditation
Membership of the Family Mediation Accreditation lasts for three years.
You can apply to be re-accredited up to three months before your accreditation expires.
Find out about re-accreditation
Cost
You’ll need to pay for an application and a membership fee to be accredited.
You must not pay when you submit your application. We’ll send you an invoice when we receive your application.
Application fees are not-refundable.
| Application | Application fee | Membership fee | Total (including VAT) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial accreditation | £250 | £0 | £300 |
| Re-accreditation | £250 | £0 | £300 |
| Other fees | Cost | Total (including VAT) |
|---|---|---|
| Late application | £103 | £123.60 |
| Certificate re-issue | £10 | £12 |
| Appeal against decision to refuse accreditation | £258 | £309.60 |
Promoting your accreditation
We have a range of free materials such as logos, certificates and window stickers for you to use.
Current members
Download a list of Family Mediation Accreditation members (PDF 363.3 KB)
This list is updated monthly.
Contact us
Call: 020 7320 5797
Email: accreditation@lawsociety.org.uk
Opening hours: 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday
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