Legal Aid Mediation (2026 Limits)
Key Takeaways
- Legal aid mediation is means-tested only. There is no merits test and you do not need evidence of abuse.
- As of July 2026, the limits are gross income of £2,657 a month or less, disposable income of £733 a month or less, and capital of £8,000 or less.
- Universal Credit, Income Support, income-based JSA, income-related ESA and Guarantee Pension Credit pass you through the income test, but your capital is still assessed.
- If you qualify, your MIAM, your mediation sessions and your final documents are free, and there is nothing to pay back afterwards.
- If only one of you qualifies, the other person still gets a free MIAM and a free first joint session.
- Mediate UK is a Legal Aid Agency contracted provider, so we can arrange legal aid family mediation directly.
In short
Legal aid mediation is government funding, paid by the Legal Aid Agency, that covers the cost of family mediation for people on a lower income. It is means-tested only, so if your income, savings and capital sit within the published limits, your MIAM and your mediation sessions are free. There is no requirement to show domestic abuse, and nothing is taken back out of any settlement you reach.
If cost is the reason you have not started yet, legal aid mediation may change the answer completely. Plenty of people assume legal aid disappeared in 2013, or that it only exists for people leaving an abusive relationship. For family mediation, neither of those is true.
Mediation kept its funding when most other private family work lost it, and the test is purely financial. This post covers the 2026 income and capital limits, what the funding actually pays for, what happens when only one of you qualifies, the paperwork you will be asked for, and how to apply. There is more detail again, including worked examples, in our legal aid guide.
What Is Legal Aid Mediation and Who Pays for It?
Legal aid for family mediation is funding from the Legal Aid Agency, part of the Ministry of Justice. It is paid straight to a mediation service that holds a Legal Aid Agency contract, so no invoice ever comes to you. It is not a loan and not a discount: if you qualify, the work is free.
The statutory charge does not apply to family mediation either, so nothing is clawed back from the house, the pension or the savings you end up with. Mediate UK holds a Legal Aid Agency contract, so we can assess your eligibility and provide legal aid for mediation ourselves rather than referring you on.
Am I Eligible for Legal Aid Mediation in 2026?
Eligibility for legal aid mediation comes down to three financial tests:
- Gross monthly income: what you earn before deductions.
- Disposable monthly income: what is left after tax, housing and the fixed allowances.
- Disposable capital: savings, investments and certain equity.
You need to be inside all three. The figures below are taken from the Legal Aid Agency eligibility keycard that applied from April 2026, as of July 2026, and are set out in the GOV.UK guidance on civil legal aid means testing.
| Test | Limit (July 2026) | What it means in practice |
|---|---|---|
| Gross monthly income | £2,657 or less | Roughly £31,900 a year. Above this you are refused, unless you have more than four dependent children, when the cap rises. |
| Disposable monthly income | £733 or less | Calculated after tax, National Insurance, housing costs, childcare for work or study, maintenance you pay, and fixed allowances for a partner and each child. |
| Disposable capital | £8,000 or less | Savings, investments, and equity that is not disregarded. This one catches people out more than income does. |
Do Benefits Passport You Through the Income Test?
Yes. If you receive any of the following, you are passported through both income tests and only your capital is assessed:
- Universal Credit
- Income Support
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit
Child Benefit, Personal Independence Payment and contribution-based benefits do not passport you, though some are disregarded when your income is worked out. If you are on Universal Credit and have under £8,000 in savings, you are very likely to qualify for legal aid family mediation.
What Are the Income Limits for Legal Aid for Mediation?
The gross income cap is a hard stop. Earn more than £2,657 a month before deductions and the application is refused, however high your outgoings are. Below that cap, the disposable income calculation begins, and this is where a lot of people who assumed they earned too much turn out to qualify.
Fixed monthly allowances are deducted for the people who depend on you: £237.25 for a partner and £381.86 for each child. Rent or mortgage, tax, National Insurance, childcare costs that let you work or study, and maintenance you pay out all come off too.
Take a parent earning £2,100 a month gross with two children at home. After tax, National Insurance, rent, childcare and the two child allowances, disposable income can land well under the £733 line, even though the salary alone suggested otherwise. Your ex-partner’s income is never counted, though a current partner you live with normally is.
How Much Can You Have in Savings and Capital?
Disposable capital must be £8,000 or less. That covers money in current and savings accounts, ISAs, premium bonds, shares, and any second property. Pensions in the accumulation stage are not counted as capital, and household belongings and your car are left out.
Equity in the home you live in is treated separately, with a mortgage allowance and a further disregard applied before anything counts, so owning a house does not automatically rule you out.
The quickest way to find out where you stand is our free legal aid eligibility checker, which asks the same questions a mediator would and takes a few minutes.
We will check your eligibility before you pay anything or commit to anything.
Is Legal Aid for Mediation the Same as Legal Aid for a Solicitor?
No, and this is the single biggest source of confusion. They are two separate schemes with two different tests, so it helps to take them one at a time.
Legal aid for family mediation is means-tested and nothing else. It stayed in scope when the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 came into force, so anyone who meets the financial limits can have it, whatever the dispute is about and whatever has happened between you.
Legal aid for a solicitor is different. It was withdrawn for most private family cases on 1 April 2013. It is still available to people who come through a gateway, principally victims of domestic abuse and cases involving child safety, and those applicants must provide evidence and also pass the means and merits tests.
| Comparison | Legal aid for family mediation | Legal aid for a solicitor |
|---|---|---|
| Test applied | Means test only | Gateway, plus means test, plus merits test |
| Evidence needed | Financial documents only | Financial documents, plus gateway evidence |
| Available since April 2013 | Yes, never withdrawn | Only through a gateway |
| Contributions | None payable | May be payable |
What Does Legal Aid Mediation Actually Cover?
If you qualify, the funding covers:
- Your MIAM, the first private meeting between you and a mediator, which normally costs £115 plus VAT
- All of your joint mediation sessions, however many you need
- Your written outcome documents, including the memorandum of understanding and the open financial statement
- Signing your court form if mediation does not settle everything and you need a mediator to sign a C100 or Form A
Court fees are separate, so if your case does end up needing an application, look at help with court fees, which can reduce or remove them for people on a low income. Independent advice from your own solicitor also sits outside the mediation funding.
There is a separate legal aid service called Help with Family Mediation, which can cover a solicitor advising you alongside mediation and turning your agreement into a court order, if you are financially eligible. Ask your mediator whether it applies to your case, because it is assessed separately from the mediation funding itself.
“We speak to people every week who have already decided they earn too much, usually on the strength of their gross salary alone. Once children, rent and childcare come off, a good number of them are inside the limits. It costs nothing to be assessed, and we would far rather check than have someone talk themselves out of funding they were entitled to.”
Jess Knauf, Director of Client Strategy, Mediate UK
What Happens If Only One of You Qualifies?
This comes up constantly, and the answer is better than most people expect: if one of you is eligible, mediation gets cheaper for both of you. The person who qualifies pays nothing at all. The person who does not still gets their own MIAM free of charge, and the first joint session is covered for both of you. Only the sessions after that are charged, and only to the person who is not funded.
If your case involves child arrangements, the person paying can often apply the family mediation voucher scheme to those later sessions. Between the two, many couples get most or all of their mediation covered.
What Documents Do You Need to Prove You Qualify?
The assessment is evidence-based, so have these ready before your appointment:
- Payslips: usually your last three, or your accounts and tax return if you are self-employed
- Bank statements: usually the last three months for every account you hold, including savings and joint accounts
- Benefit evidence: your award letter or a recent Universal Credit statement
- Housing costs: a tenancy agreement, rent statement or mortgage statement
- Savings and investments: statements for ISAs, shares, bonds or any second property
Documents need to be current, so a statement from last year will usually be sent back. If your income has recently changed, send evidence of the change too, because the assessment looks at your position now.
How Do You Apply for Legal Aid Mediation?
You do not apply to the Legal Aid Agency yourself. A contracted mediation service does the assessment and the paperwork for you.
If you want to see the appointment itself before you commit, our guide to what happens at a MIAM walks through it step by step. When you are ready, you can book a MIAM online and mention legal aid on the form.
Can You Get Free Mediation If You Do Not Qualify for Legal Aid?
Not free in every case, but there is more mediation funding around than most people realise:
- The £500 voucher: a government contribution of up to £500 per family towards joint sessions. It is not means-tested, but it is only for cases involving child arrangements, and it does not cover the MIAM. Your mediator applies for it on your behalf.
- The one-party rule: if your ex-partner qualifies, your MIAM and your first joint session are free even though you do not.
- Fixed fees and payment plans: our costs and payment options are published in full, with an estimator so you can see the likely total for your situation.
- Help with Fees: separate from legal aid, and only relevant if your case needs a court application.
Even paid privately, mediation is usually quicker and considerably less expensive than each of you instructing solicitors to argue it out. Our guide to how family mediation works sets out the process and the likely timescales.
A financial agreement reached in mediation is not binding until a court approves it. Our sister service, Family Law Service, drafts and files a clean break consent order for a fixed fee of £499, with the court fee payable separately.
See the Consent Order Service
Summary
Legal aid for mediation is alive, well and means-tested only. If your gross income is £2,657 a month or less, your disposable income is £733 a month or less and your capital is £8,000 or less, you are likely to qualify, and if you are on Universal Credit or another passporting benefit the income tests are met automatically.
Qualifying means your MIAM, your sessions and your documents are free, with no contribution and nothing repayable. If only one of you qualifies, the other still gets a free MIAM and a free first joint session, and the £500 voucher can often cover much of what is left in a child arrangements case. The one thing worth avoiding is ruling yourself out on a salary figure alone, because the assessment is quick, free, and surprises people in both directions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is legal aid still available for mediation in 2026?
Yes. Family mediation stayed within the scope of legal aid when most private family work was removed in April 2013, and it remains available in 2026 to anyone who meets the financial limits.
Does legal aid mediation cover the MIAM?
Yes. If you qualify, your MIAM is fully covered, along with your joint sessions and the documents recording your agreement. A MIAM is only free where the person qualifies for legal aid or where the other party qualifies.
Do I have to pay legal aid back after mediation?
No. The statutory charge does not apply to family mediation, so nothing is recovered from any money or property you receive in the settlement.
Can I get legal aid for mediation if I own my home?
Possibly. Equity in the home you live in is treated separately from savings, with a mortgage allowance and a further disregard applied first. Home ownership does not rule you out on its own, so it is worth being assessed.
What if my ex-partner qualifies and I do not?
Your own MIAM and the first joint session are free, and you would only pay for sessions after that. In a child arrangements case, the £500 mediation voucher can often be applied to those later sessions.
How long does the legal aid assessment take?
Usually a matter of days once your documents are in. Most of the delay comes from missing or out-of-date bank statements, so sending everything together speeds it up considerably.
You Might Also Find Helpful
| Do I Need a MIAM? Check in a couple of minutes whether an appointment is required in your case. |
The 15 MIAM Exemptions The situations where you can apply to court without attending first. |
| Legal Aid Family Law Explained Who Qualifies and how to Apply. |
Meet Our Mediators The accredited team who will carry out your assessment and your sessions. |
Mediate UK is a Legal Aid Agency contracted provider, with 715+ reviews rated 4.8/5 and more than 23,000 people helped since 2011.
GOV.UK, Legal aid: family mediation; GOV.UK, Check if you can get legal aid; Family Mediation Council, Family Mediation Voucher Scheme. Financial limits taken from the Legal Aid Agency eligibility keycard in force from April 2026, as of July 2026.
