FM1 form: show you went to a MIAM, for a C1 or C2 application
Form FM1 confirms that you attended a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM), or explains why you did not have to, when you apply to the court on form C1 or C2 for certain Children Act 1989 orders. It is not an application form itself.
Fill in the FM1 form with Wren
How Wren helps with the FM1
Official forms are written for lawyers. With Wren you do not have to decode this one on your own, and you still follow the court’s procedure.
- Plain questions, one at a timeEach part of the FM1 becomes short questions in everyday words. Answer at your own pace and come back to it.
- Help beside each questionWhat the question is asking and what the official guidance says about it, in plain English.
- The official form, filled inYour answers go into the official FM1. You check it, sign it and send it yourself. Nothing goes to the court for you.
- What comes next, kept with your caseWhat usually happens after you send it, with the dates worked out from the published rules.
Time and money
- On your own
- A day or more
- With Wren
- About an hour for most forms
- Solicitor for this form
- £740 to £1,2403 to 5 hours
A solicitor’s time for the FM1 can run to £1,240. With Wren it is part of £19.99 a month, and it takes about an hour for most forms rather than a day or more.
Times and hours are Wren’s estimates for a typical case, not quotes. Solicitor costs are those hours at £247 an hour, the courts’ guideline rate for a solicitor with over four years’ experience, outside London (GOV.UK, Solicitors' guideline hourly rates (in effect from 1 January 2026)). The guideline runs from £200 to £295 an hour outside London depending on experience, firms set their own rates, and VAT is added on top.
Key facts
- Official title
- Confirm if you have attended a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting: Form FM1
- Edition
- 04.24. A Welsh version is also published.Source: official page (external source, opens in a new tab)
- Goes with
- A completed form C1 or C2. It must be sent to the court with that application.Source: official page (external source, opens in a new tab)
- Orders it covers
- Parental responsibility, a child's guardian, changing a surname or removing a child from the UK, and special guardianship ordersSource: official page (external source, opens in a new tab)
- Who signs
- Every applicant completes section 1 and signs section 3. If you attended a MIAM, the family mediator signs section 4.Source: official page (external source, opens in a new tab)
- Exemptions
- Some applications do not need a MIAM, for example where domestic abuse is involved. Where evidence is needed for an exemption, it goes with the application.Source: official page (external source, opens in a new tab)
- Not an application
- The form says it is not an application form for a court orderSource: official page (external source, opens in a new tab)
Who uses the FM1
A person applying on form C1 or C2 for a parental responsibility order, an order about a child's guardian, permission to change a child's surname or remove them from the UK, or a special guardianship order. The mediator completes their own section if you attended a MIAM.
When it is used
Before you apply, and sent to the court with the completed C1 or C2. A C100 or Form A application has its own MIAM section, so FM1 is not used with those.
Before you start
- Your completed or draft C1 or C2 application.
- The full names of the applicant and the respondent.
- If you attended a MIAM: the mediator's details. The mediator signs their own section.
- If you are claiming an exemption: the evidence the form asks for, or a note of why you cannot provide it.
How to fill in the FM1
Open each part for what it asks and how to answer it. In Wren, each part is a few plain questions, and your answers fill in the form.
Section 1: your situation
You give the names of the applicant and respondent, then answer three questions in order: whether there are emergency, care or supervision proceedings about the child, whether you attended a MIAM, and whether you are claiming an exemption.
Section 2: exemptions
If you did not attend a MIAM, you tick the exemption that applies and the evidence you have for it. There is space to explain if you cannot provide the evidence.
Section 3: signing
Every applicant signs and dates section 3.
Section 4: the mediator
If you attended a MIAM, the authorised family mediator completes and signs section 4.
Prepare your FM1 with Wren Family
Wren Family turns official forms into short, plain-English questions you can answer at your own pace. You check everything before you send it: nothing goes to the court for you.
Get startedFree for 14 days, no card. Then £19.99 a month, with your money back within 14 days if it’s not right.
What happens after you send it
The court reviews the FM1 with your C1 or C2. Where you claimed an exemption, it checks the evidence to make sure the exemption has been validly claimed.
Common mistakes
- Sending FM1 with a C100 or Form A. Those forms have their own MIAM section.
- Sending FM1 without the C1 or C2 it belongs to.
- Claiming an exemption without the evidence the form asks for, and without explaining why it is missing.
- Leaving section 4 unsigned when you did attend a MIAM. The mediator signs it.
Common questions
What is a MIAM?
A Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting. An authorised family mediator considers with you whether mediation or another way of resolving the dispute out of court would be more appropriate.
Do I need FM1 for a parental responsibility agreement?
No. An agreement on form C(PRA1), C(PRA2) or C(PRA3) is not a court application. FM1 is for an application to the court on form C1 or C2.
Do I always have to attend a MIAM?
Not always. The form lists exemptions, for example where domestic abuse is involved or the application is for a consent order.
Where these facts come from
These are the official rules and pages this page is based on. They are listed so you can check a detail for yourself; you do not need them to use Wren. They are outside Wren and open in a new tab.