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MIAM · checker

How long is a MIAM certificate valid for?

A MIAM certificate is valid for 4 months: you can apply to court without another MIAM if you attended one in the 4 months before your application, about the same dispute[1][2]. After that, MIAM certificate expiry means you may need a new MIAM or a valid exemption[3][4]. Use the checker below with your MIAM date.

Beta Beta service. Always check with official government websites.

Last reviewed Sources checked

Prepare with MiamSee the sources
A MIAM counts for[1]
Typical cost of a new MIAM, each[5]
If either of you gets legal aid[6]

01/ Checker

When does your MIAM run out?

Enter the date of your MIAM.

Estimate only. Beta service. Always check with official government websites. The court decides whether your MIAM counts; ask your mediator if you are close to the date. Read FPR rule 3.8 on justice.gov.uk.

02/ The four months

What the four months means

The window comes from the court rules: if you attended a MIAM, or another form of non-court dispute resolution, in the 4 months before your application, you do not have to attend another[1][2]. It has to be about the same, or substantially the same, dispute[2].

The Family Mediation Council treats the mediator's signature the same way: its guidance says custom and practice suggests a signature on the court form is valid for 4 months[3]. It tells parents they can ask the mediator to sign the court form as long as they attended the MIAM within the last 4 months[9]. The FMC itself refers to "the four-month period for which a MIAM certificate is valid"[10].

So the two dates that matter are the day you attended the MIAM and the day you make your application[1]. The "certificate" is the section of the court form that the mediator completes and signs, with their FMC registration number and the date[11]. See MIAM certificate for what it says.

03/ How it counts

How the checker counts the window

On this page, the checker counts four calendar months from your MIAM date and shows the day before the four-month anniversary as the last day to apply, so you stay inside the window; where a month has no matching day, it uses the last day of that month.

The rule itself speaks of a MIAM attended "in the 4 months prior to" the application[1][12]. The court, not the checker, looks at whether your MIAM or exemption counts: it inquires into a claimed exemption when it allocates the case, and it can direct you to attend a MIAM if the exemption was not validly claimed[13][14].

Close to the date? Ask the mediator who ran your MIAM before the window ends: the FMC says they can sign the court form as long as the MIAM was within the last 4 months[9].

  1. You meet an authorised family mediator on your own, in person or by video[15][16]. The window runs from the MIAM[1].

04/ If it runs out

What happens if your MIAM certificate expires

Once the 4 months have passed, you can no longer rely on that MIAM for a new application[1]. An application covered by the rules must contain either a mediator's confirmation that you attended a MIAM or a claimed exemption, so you need one or the other[4].

The FMC's guidance says that if no mediation has taken place in the four months, another MIAM should be held to check whether circumstances have substantially changed, and it may be appropriate to change its nature and length and adjust the fee[3]. A MIAM typically costs £120–£150 per person, and it is free if either of you qualifies for legal aid[5][6].

Since 29 April 2024, having claimed an exemption on an earlier application in the previous four months no longer counts as an exemption in itself[17]. If you apply without a MIAM or a valid exemption, the court can direct you, or both of you, to attend a MIAM and adjourn the case until you have[18].

05/ Existing cases

If you are already in court proceedings

An application made in existing proceedings that are still continuing is exempt if you attended a MIAM before those proceedings began[19][12]. On Form A this sits under previous attendance, and the MIAM provider signs the confirmation section[12].

If what you attended was non-court dispute resolution, such as mediation sessions, rather than a MIAM, the exemption needs written confirmation from the provider that you attended[20][12]. It must still be within the 4 months before the application[12].

06/ The other parent

If you were the respondent

If the other parent applied to court, making you the "respondent", the judge will expect you to have attended a MIAM too, unless the same specific circumstances apply[21]. The rules expect the other person to attend a MIAM, with the applicant or separately, but they do not require it[22][23].

If you later make your own application and rely on a MIAM you attended as the respondent in earlier proceedings, the C100 and Form A ask for the MIAM date and the mediator's name and contact details[24][12]. See MIAMs for respondents.

07/ Exemptions

When you may not need a new MIAM

GOV.UK says you will not usually need a MIAM if[25]:

  • you went to a MIAM, or tried other ways of agreeing, in the last 4 months[25];
  • you have evidence that you are a victim of domestic abuse, in one of the forms the rules list[25][26];
  • you are applying for a consent order[25];
  • your children are at risk of harm, for example social services are involved[25][27];
  • you cannot go because of your location, situation or the mediator's availability[25][28];
  • you are applying for a without notice hearing, or the application is urgent[25][29].

The court inquires into any exemption you claim and can direct you to a MIAM if it was not validly claimed[13][14]. See MIAM exemptions, and if you are not safe, domestic abuse support.

08/ Checklist

Before the four months run out

See the checklist below while your window is still open.

Before your MIAM window closes

0 of 6 ready

Your ticks stay in this browser only.

09/ Questions

Frequently asked questions

How long is a MIAM certificate valid for?

For 4 months: a MIAM attended in the 4 months before your application, on the same dispute, means you do not need another[1][2].

Does a MIAM certificate have an expiry date on it?

The limit comes from the court rules, counted from the MIAM to your application[1]. The mediator signs and dates the form, and the FMC treats the signature as valid for 4 months[11][3].

What happens if my MIAM certificate expires?

You may need another MIAM, or a valid exemption, before you apply[1][4]. The FMC says the new MIAM may be adapted, with the fee adjusted[3].

Does the other parent's MIAM count for me?

The exemption is about a MIAM that you, the applicant, attended[1]. MIAMs are held separately with each person[15].

Can I use a MIAM I attended as the respondent?

If you apply in later proceedings, the C100 and Form A ask for that MIAM's date and the mediator's details[24][12]. It still needs to be within the 4 months before your application[12].

Can I get a new MIAM certificate online?

Yes. MIAMs can be held by video, and an accredited mediator signs the confirmation afterwards[16][3].

Does this checker decide whether my MIAM counts?

No. It counts dates only; the court looks at whether a MIAM or exemption counts[13].

10/ Sources

Sources we checked

  1. FPR Part 3, r3.8(1)(d)
  2. FPR r3.8(1)(d)
  3. Good Practice Guidance for MIAMs (July 2024): expiry and signing of the court form — Family Mediation Council
  4. FPR Part 3, r3.7
  5. GOV.UK — mediation · FMC State of Family Mediation 2025 (PDF)
  6. GOV.UK — mediation
  7. FMC MIAM Standards (Aug 2022) PDF
  8. GOV.UK — mediation · FPR r3.9
  9. What is a MIAM? — Family Mediation Council
  10. Coronavirus issues: HMCTS and the courts — Family Mediation Council
  11. Form C100 (06.26), section 4 — HMCTS
  12. Form A (05.26), PDF — HMCTS
  13. Family Procedure Rules, Part 3 — Ministry of Justice · Practice Direction 3A — Ministry of Justice
  14. FPR Part 3, r3.10
  15. FMC MIAM Standards (Aug 2022) PDF
  16. GOV.UK — Form C100 page · FMC MIAM Standards (Aug 2022) PDF
  17. Family Procedure Rules 2010, rule 3.8 (as amended) — legislation.gov.uk · Family Procedure Rules 2010, rule 3.8 as at 22 April 2014 — legislation.gov.uk
  18. Practice Direction 3A, paras 1, 11–13 and 37 — justice.gov.uk · What to do before applying for a financial order when you get divorced — Advicenow
  19. FPR r3.8
  20. Practice Direction 3A — Ministry of Justice
  21. What is a MIAM? — Family Mediation Council
  22. Practice Direction 3A — Ministry of Justice
  23. The State of Family Mediation 2025 — Family Mediation Council
  24. Form C100 (06.26), sections 2 and 3 — HMCTS
  25. Apply for a court order: who can apply and MIAMs — GOV.UK
  26. FPR r3.8 · PD3A
  27. FPR r3.8
  28. Family Procedure Rules 2010, rule 3.8 (as amended) — legislation.gov.uk · Practice Direction 3A — Ministry of Justice
  29. Family Procedure Rules 2010, rule 3.8 — legislation.gov.uk
  30. Practice Direction 3A — Ministry of Justice
  31. Good Practice Guidance for MIAMs (July 2024): inviting the other person — Family Mediation Council
  32. GOV.UK — Get help with court fees

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