Family Mediation Council

What Family Mediation Council does

The Family Mediation Council (FMC) is a not-for-profit professional standards and regulatory body for family mediators in England and Wales, incorporated in 2015 and headquartered at the International Dispute Resolution Centre on Fleet Street, London. The organisation is constituted as a federation of six national family mediation organisations — including the College of Mediators, Family Mediators Association, National Family Mediation, and Resolution — and operates through two principal governance arms: the FMC itself and the Family Mediation Standards Board (FMSB), an independent self-regulatory body under the FMC umbrella. As of 2016, the FMC Register listed 1,209 registered family mediators, of whom 626 held FMCA (Family Mediation Council Accredited) status; mediators are required to meet training, supervision, insurance, and Code of Practice obligations.

The FMC's service portfolio centres on regulatory and standards functions rather than direct service delivery. Core products include the publicly searchable FMC Register, the Family Mediation Voucher Scheme (administering up to £500 per eligible family from Ministry of Justice funding), MIAM (Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting) standards, FMCA accreditation, approved foundation and child-inclusive mediation training courses, and the annual Family Mediation Week awareness initiative. There is no proprietary technology platform; the register is a web-based directory and online mediation is delivered by individual accredited mediators. The FMC does not charge the public for mediation and does not set mediator fees — those are determined by individual practitioners.

The business model is grant- and membership-funded: revenue derives from member organisation contributions, mediator registration and accreditation fees, and government grants for specific programmes such as voucher scheme administration and the 2025 Family Mediation Impact Fund award for domestic abuse screening development. With 11 staff, the FMC operates at the scale of a sector coordinator rather than a commercial enterprise. Outcome data reported by the organisation — a 70% agreement rate in mediation and a 69% court-diversion rate — underpin its value proposition to government and the public.

Name

Family Mediation Council

Legal name

Family Mediation Council

Website

https://familymediationcouncil.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Family Mediation Council is a UK non-profit standards body for family mediators in England and Wales, accrediting practitioners, maintaining the public mediator register, and administering the government-funded Family Mediation Voucher Scheme.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Family Mediation Regulation and Professional Standards

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Other Individual and Family Services (62419)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Family & Parenting Support Services (BPAGAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Couples & Family Therapy Teletherapy Platforms (HLALAEAG), Parent & Family Relations (EDALAOAK), Family Coaching, Parent-Mediated & Home Visiting EI Services (EDACAFAJ)

Keywords

• Family mediation regulation
• Professional standards body
• Mediator accreditation
• Alternative dispute resolution
• Voucher scheme administration

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Family Mediation Council is a not-for-profit professional standards and regulatory body that sets, maintains and enforces the standards framework for family mediators in England and Wales. Its core offerings include the public FMC Register (an online directory enabling people to find registered family mediators), administration of the government-funded Family Mediation Voucher Scheme (up to £500 per eligible family), the FMCA accreditation designation, the Code of Practice and MIAM Standards, approved foundation and child-inclusive mediation training courses, and a complaints process.

Product overview

The Family Mediation Council (FMC) is a professional regulatory body for family mediation in England and Wales, not a traditional product company. Its core offerings include the FMC Register (a public mediator search directory), the Family Mediation Voucher Scheme (government-funded financial assistance up to £500), MIAM (Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting) services, and Online Mediation. The organization provides professional standards through FMCA accreditation, approved training courses (Foundation and Child-Inclusive Mediation), Code of Practice guidance, and hosts the annual Family Mediation Week awareness initiative. The portfolio is unified around regulatory oversight, professional development, and public awareness rather than a commercial product platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Family Mediation Standards Board (FMSB): Independent standards and regulatory body under the FMC umbrella responsible for professional self-regulation of family mediators, accreditation, and maintaining the public register of mediators.
• FMC Register
• Family Mediation Week
• Family Mediation Voucher Scheme

Products and services

• FMC Register

Quantifiable outcome

• Agreements reached in over 70% of cases
• +2 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Family SolutionsminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2026Sponsor of Family Mediation Week 2026, providing valuable support during the awareness week to help spread the word about the benefits of family mediation.
• Hall BrownminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2026Sponsor of Family Mediation Week 2026, supporting the annual awareness initiative to promote family mediation services.
• OurFamilyWizardminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2026Sponsor of Family Mediation Week 2026, supporting efforts to raise awareness of family mediation as an alternative to court proceedings.
• College of MediatorscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of the six national family mediation organisations that make up the Family Mediation Council in England and Wales, contributing to the governance and standards framework for family mediation.
• Family Mediators AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of the six national family mediation organisations that make up the Family Mediation Council, helping set standards and promote best practice in family mediation.
• National Family MediationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of the six national family mediation organisations that make up the Family Mediation Council, contributing to professional standards and regulation.
• ResolutioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of the six national family mediation organisations that make up the Family Mediation Council, a professional body for family justice professionals committed to non-confrontational divorce and separation.
• Ministry of JusticecoreOthersGovernment department that funds the Family Mediation Voucher Scheme (up to £500 per eligible family) and provides legal aid for family mediation. The FMC works with the MoJ on policy development and promoting mediation.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Relate: UK charity delivering relationship counselling, family mediation, sex therapy, and children's counselling. Operates in the same family-mediation space as FMC-registered mediators and represents the most significant alternative provider of family mediation services in the UK.
• Resolution: UK professional body for family justice lawyers committed to non-confrontational divorce. A member organisation of FMC, but independently operates its own Code of Practice, training, and member directory — making it a direct parallel as a family-law professional standards body.
• Civil Mediation Council: UK membership body for civil (non-family) mediators, operating an analogous register and accreditation framework. Directly comparable as a sector-specific mediation standards and registration body, just in the civil rather than family vertical.
• Family Mediation Trust: UK charity providing funding and resource development for family mediation. Already a financial partner of FMC (Family Mediation Impact Fund grant for domestic abuse screening), and directly comparable as a parallel family-mediation support organisation.

Broad incumbents

• Solicitors Regulation Authority: The statutory regulator of solicitors in England and Wales. A directly comparable regulatory body model — albeit with statutory enforcement teeth that FMC lacks — that oversees a profession adjacent to family mediation.
• National Council for Voluntary Organisations: The umbrella membership body for charities and voluntary organisations in England and Wales. Comparable as a sector-wide standards, advocacy, and member-support organisation, though at much greater scale than FMC.
• Law Society of England and Wales: The statutory-style professional body and regulator for solicitors in England and Wales. Comparable as a much larger, established legal-profession regulator that oversees a parallel set of membership, training, and standards functions for legal professionals.
• Chartered Institute of Legal Executives: Professional body and awarding organisation for legal executives. Comparable as an alternative-route professional accreditation body in the legal sector, with a parallel membership-register and standards-setting function.

Emerging players

• Citizens Advice: Major UK advice network with substantive family-law guidance and signposting to mediation. Comparable as a consumer-facing family-dispute navigation service that funnels users toward FMC-registered mediators in the family vertical.
• Mediation Foundation: UK-focused charity promoting mediation and providing related training and policy advocacy. Operates in the same mediation-promotion space as FMC's Family Mediation Week initiative, though at smaller scale and with less formal regulatory authority.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/FamMedCouncil
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/familymediation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Family Mediation Council