Skip to content
Miam Certificate QuestPrepare with Miam

Court forms · FM5

Form FM5: your statement on resolving things out of court

Form FM5 is the statement of position on non-court dispute resolution: it tells the court whether you have tried mediation or another way of settling things outside court, and why you now need a court order[1][2]. Where it applies, each party files one at least 7 days before the first hearing[3].

Beta Beta service. Always check with official government websites.

Last reviewed Sources checked

Prepare with MiamSee the sources
Minimum time before the first hearing to file it[3]
Current edition of the FM5[1]
In use since[4]

01/ At a glance

Form FM5 at a glance

Tell the court your position on non-court dispute resolution, such as mediation, arbitration, neutral evaluation or collaborative law, before a hearing in a children or financial case.

Current edition
FM5 (04.24.v2)[1]
Download FM5 (PDF, GOV.UK)

Always take the form from its GOV.UK page: an old edition can be returned.

02/ What it is

What Form FM5 is

HMCTS describes Form FM5 as the way to send the court your statement of position on non-court dispute resolution, including mediation, arbitration, neutral evaluation and collaborative law[1]. It came in on 29 April 2024 as part of reforms that strengthened the court's powers to encourage non-court dispute resolution[4][1].

The court must consider at every stage whether non-court dispute resolution is appropriate, and the rules do not let it force anyone to attend[3]. Practice Direction 3A says the court wants to know the parties' views, and the FM5 is the standard form for giving them[3].

The form says that for its purposes, non-court dispute resolution (NCDR) means using a third party to help resolve your dispute outside court, and that it does not include attending a MIAM[2].

03/ Who files one

When you need to file an FM5

Practice Direction 3A sets out where the FM5 rule applies[3]:

In financial remedy proceedings covered by the MIAM requirement, each party files an FM5 before the first hearing held on notice to everyone[3]. See financial disclosure for the rest of that process.

04/ Question by question

What the FM5 asks

The applicant and the respondent each complete their own copy[2]. The form is 6 pages long, and which questions you answer depends on whether you have tried NCDR[1][2].

Form FM5 (04.24.v2), question by question
QuestionWhat it asks
Question 1Whether you are the applicant or the respondent
Question 2Whether you have attended NCDR about the dispute
Question 3.1Which NCDR: mediation, arbitration, neutral evaluation, collaborative law or other
Question 3.2The provider's name and the dates you attended
Question 3.3Why you are seeking a court order despite attending NCDR
Question 4.1Applicants only: whether a MIAM exemption applied and still applies
Question 4.2Why you are seeking a court order without having attended NCDR
Statement of truthSigned by you or your legal representative

Read off the 04.24.v2 form[2].

If you have tried NCDR

You tick which kind you attended (mediation, arbitration, neutral evaluation such as a private FDR, collaborative law, or another), give the provider and the dates, and explain why NCDR was not the right way to resolve the issues still outstanding[2]. The form says not to give details of confidential discussions that took place during NCDR[2].

If you have not

If you are the applicant, question 4.1 asks whether you were entitled to a MIAM exemption and whether it still applies; if so, the form is complete[2]. Otherwise, you explain at question 4.2 why you are seeking a court order without having tried NCDR[2].

05/ The deadline

When and where to send it

Practice Direction 3A says each party files the form with the court and serves it on the other parties at least 7 days before the first hearing held on notice, or within another period the court directs, verified by a statement of truth[3]. The form itself, and HMCTS guide CB1, say at least 7 working days, with a copy sent to the other party[2][9].

For a child arrangements case, you send it to the court dealing with your case, or upload it online if you have a citizen account[10]. For a financial case, solicitors upload it through the HMCTS portal and people representing themselves post it to HMCTS Financial Remedy[10]. Court addresses are on the GOV.UK court finder[10][11].

  1. Attending a MIAM before most children and financial applications is a legal requirement, unless an exemption applies[12][13]. On the FM5, a MIAM does not count as NCDR[2].

06/ What the court does

What the court does with your FM5

The court can make clear that gaps between hearings should be used for non-court dispute resolution, or adjourn the case for it[3]. If a party then does not attend, that does not affect the court's decision on the substance of the case, but the court may take it into account when deciding whether to order costs[3][17].

In financial remedy cases, the court may take a failure without good reason to attend a MIAM or NCDR into account when deciding costs[18]. In a children case, the court's paramount consideration is still the child's welfare[19].

Where domestic abuse is raised, the parties must not be expected to take part in dispute resolution that is not suitable or safe[20]. See when mediation is not suitable.

07/ The options

The kinds of non-court dispute resolution

Practice Direction 3A lists mediation, arbitration, evaluation by a neutral third party (such as a private financial dispute resolution process) and collaborative law[3]. At a MIAM the mediator must give information about mediation and other non-court dispute resolution, and say which forms may suit the dispute[21]. See what is mediation and mediation vs court.

08/ Not to be confused

FM5, FM1 and the MIAM confirmation

Form FM1 confirms whether you attended a MIAM, or why not, and goes with a Form C1 or C2 application[22]. The C100 and Form A carry their own MIAM sections[23]. The FM5 is different: it is filed later, before a hearing, and it is about non-court dispute resolution, which the form says does not include the MIAM[3][2]. See Form FM1.

Before you send the FM5

0 of 7 ready

Your ticks stay in this browser only.

09/ Questions

Frequently asked questions

What is Form FM5?

Form FM5 is the statement of position on non-court dispute resolution: your views on mediation, arbitration, neutral evaluation or collaborative law, and why you are seeking a court order[1][2].

When must the FM5 be filed?

Practice Direction 3A says at least 7 days before the first hearing held on notice[3]. The form and HMCTS guide CB1 say at least 7 working days[2][9].

Does a MIAM count as non-court dispute resolution on the FM5?

No. The form says NCDR means using a third party to help resolve the dispute outside court, and does not include attending a MIAM[2].

Do I need an FM5 if there has been domestic abuse?

The rule does not apply where the applicant claimed the domestic abuse MIAM exemption or a Form C1A has been filed[3].

Can the court make me go to mediation?

No. The rules do not give the court power to require it, but the court can adjourn for NCDR and may take a party's conduct into account on costs[3][17].

Where do I send Form FM5?

In a child arrangements case, to the court dealing with your case, or upload it with a citizen account; in a financial case, solicitors use the HMCTS portal and people representing themselves post it to HMCTS Financial Remedy[10].

10/ Sources

Sources we checked

  1. Form FM5: statement of position on non-court dispute resolution — HMCTS, GOV.UK · Form FM5 (04.24.v2), PDF — HMCTS
  2. Form FM5 (04.24.v2), questions 1 to 4 — HMCTS
  3. Practice Direction 3A, paras 9 and 10A to 10E — justice.gov.uk
  4. SI 2023/1324 · justice.gov.uk FPR updates
  5. FMC MIAM Standards (Aug 2022) PDF
  6. GOV.UK — mediation · FPR r3.9
  7. FPR Part 3, r3.8(1)(d)
  8. Practice Direction 36ZD: pilot scheme, online system for private law proceedings — justice.gov.uk
  9. Making an application: children and the family courts (CB1), bundles — HMCTS, GOV.UK
  10. Form FM5 (04.24.v2), returning your completed form — HMCTS
  11. Find a court or tribunal — GOV.UK · Find a Court or Tribunal (service start page) — HMCTS
  12. legislation.gov.uk — CFA 2014 s10
  13. Family Procedure Rules, Part 3 — Ministry of Justice · Practice Direction 3A — Ministry of Justice
  14. Practice Direction 12B, para 14.1 — Child Arrangements Programme, justice.gov.uk
  15. Practice Direction 12B, para 14.13 (MIAM and dispute resolution) — Child Arrangements Programme, justice.gov.uk
  16. FPR Part 3, r3.4
  17. Family Procedure Rules, Part 3 — Ministry of Justice · Practice Direction 3A — Ministry of Justice
  18. justice.gov.uk FPR updates · SI 2023/1324
  19. Children Act 1989, section 1 — legislation.gov.uk
  20. Practice Direction 12J, paras 5, 9 and 10 — justice.gov.uk
  21. Family Procedure Rules, Part 3 — Ministry of Justice
  22. Form FM1 publication page — HMCTS, GOV.UK · Form FM1 (04.24), PDF — HMCTS
  23. GOV.UK — Form FM1 · FM1 (04.24) PDF
  24. Making an application: children and the family courts (CB1) — HMCTS, GOV.UK

Miam · AI preparation assistant

Walk into your MIAM ready

Talk or type it through with Miam: what matters most to you, what you can agree on, and what to ask the mediator. Miam prepares you. An authorised mediator runs the MIAM and signs the form.

Prepare with MiamFind a mediator

12/ Safety first