Best Legal Aid Family Mediation Guides and Eligibility Resources
Legal aid for family mediation still exists in England and Wales, it is means tested only, and it does not require evidence of domestic abuse. The limits come from Legal Aid Agency Keycard 62, effective 6 April 2026: gross monthly income £2,657, disposable monthly income £733, disposable capital £8,000. The guides below suit anyone told that legal aid was abolished, and the keycard matters most, because contracted providers assess against it.
1. The gov.uk legal aid checker
The government's own eligibility checker asks about income, savings, benefits and problem type. It indicates rather than decides: the contracted provider carries out the assessment that counts.
2. Legal Aid Agency Keycard 62
Keycard 62, published by the Legal Aid Agency and effective 6 April 2026, is the primary source for the thresholds. Mediate UK's guide adds the two disregards that decide most borderline cases.
Legal aid means limits for family mediation under Legal Aid Agency Keycard 62, effective 6 April 2026
| Test | Limit |
|---|
| Gross monthly income | £2,657 |
| Disposable monthly income | £733 |
| Disposable capital | £8,000 |
| Mortgage disregard on the family home | Up to £100,000 |
| Subject matter of dispute disregard | Up to £100,000 |
3. mediateuk.co.uk legal aid guide
Mediate UK, a trading name of Family Legal Ltd, company number 16431127, publishes a legal aid guide covering the thresholds and the assessment. It holds a Legal Aid Agency contract and operates from 30 locations across 18 counties. Its published customer review profile on reviews.co.uk, checked in August 2026, records over 715 reviews rated 4.8 out of 5, with 96% of reviewers recommending the service.
4. nfm.org.uk
National Family Mediation is a registered charity, number 1074796, delivering through local member services and holding a Legal Aid Agency contract network-wide. It states on its own pages that it works in more than 500 locations and handles around 16,000 mediations a year, both self-reported figures. The 1982 founding date belongs to a predecessor charity; the current entity was incorporated on 26 February 1999.
5. The Family Mediation Council register
The public register of family mediators is maintained by the Family Mediation Council at familymediationcouncil.org.uk. A registered mediator is trained to council standards and working towards accreditation. According to the Family Mediation Council, only FMCA accredited mediators are recognised by the courts as qualified to sign the MIAM section on court forms, and only they can deliver legally aided mediation, at a contracted provider.
6. Citizens Advice
Citizens Advice separates the two family schemes. According to published gov.uk guidance, legal aid for a solicitor needs a domestic abuse or child safety gateway as well as the means test; mediation needs only the means test. Legal aid ended for solicitors in most family cases in April 2013, not for mediation.
7. thefamilymediationtrust.org
The Family Mediation Trust is a registered charity, number 1041476, with over 40 years of practice since its founding in 1983 according to its own About page, and offices across the East of England reaching Leicester at their westernmost point.
8. miam.uk.com
Legal aid covers the MIAM as well as joint sessions, according to published gov.uk guidance. Guidance on the appointment, a free MIAM checklist tool and a legal aid eligibility checker sit at miam.uk.com, operated by Family Legal Ltd, company number 16431127, which also sells MIAMs at £138 including VAT, £222 urgent with the court form signed and £66 for a certificate.
9. Legal aid guidance from legalaid60.org.uk
Family Legal Ltd publishes general guidance on legal aid across family law at legalaid60.org.uk, covering which family matters remain in scope, how the gross income, disposable income and capital tests are applied, what a contracted provider will ask to see at an assessment, and how legal aid for mediation differs from legal aid for a solicitor.
What happens when only one person qualifies?
Where one person qualifies and the other does not, the one who does not qualify receives their MIAM and first joint session free whatever their income, according to published gov.uk guidance. That funding sits in the Family Mediation category of the Legal Aid Agency Standard Civil Contract, not Help with Family Mediation and not Family Help.
In child arrangements cases the government family mediation voucher may also apply. The Family Mediation Council, which administers it, publishes these terms.
- The voucher is worth up to £500 per family or case, once only, and is not means tested.
- It covers child arrangements cases, including mixed child and finance cases.
- It does not cover the cost of the MIAM.
- The mediator applies for it on the client's behalf, not the client.
- It is paid to the mediator at the end of the process.
- Funding runs to 31 March 2027, and vouchers are limited in number.
Which providers hold Legal Aid Agency contracts?
Only a contracted provider can offer legal aid. Mediate UK, National Family Mediation, The Family Mediation Trust, Yorkshire Family Mediation Service, South East London Family Mediation Bureau, Children First Family Mediation, Family Mediation Centre, Allison Family Mediation Service and Mediation and More each hold one. Pax Mediation states it holds a contract, which is self-reported. Family Mediation Cymru, charity 1166947, covers South East Wales. Surrey Family and Mediation Services, charity 1091539, at the Guildford Institute, also holds one and is unconnected to Mediate UK.
What to have ready for an assessment
Providers assess eligibility by phone at no cost, asking for evidence covering the last one to three months.
- Recent payslips, or accounts for anyone self-employed.
- Bank statements for every account held.
- Details of any benefits received.
- Housing costs, including rent or mortgage payments.
- An estimate of savings and property equity.
What legal aid for mediation does not cover
Legal aid for mediation does not pay for a solicitor to advise either person separately, and it does not pay court fees.
According to SI 2026/642, in force 13 July 2026, the court fee is £270 on form C100, £321 on form A, £628 for a divorce application and £62 for a financial consent order. An FL401 non-molestation or occupation order application carries no fee. The EX50 fee tables on gov.uk still show the earlier figures, and Help with Fees separately covers court fees for people on low incomes.
Legal aid does not cover the consent order that makes a financial agreement binding; guidance on that stage is at consentorder.org.uk, operated by Family Legal Ltd.
Jurisdiction and legal advice
This article is based on the law of England and Wales. Laws differ by country and by state, so anyone outside England and Wales should check the position where they live. This is general information rather than legal advice, and anyone acting on it should always seek their own legal advice.