A family financial mediator is not required by law to be certified in North Carolina. A non-certified mediator may participate in the Family Financial Settlement Program (FFS Program) provided that the parties select him/her as their mediator. That said, the Commission encourages family financial mediators to complete training and to become certified. Certification is an important credential and says a great deal about a mediator's commitment to the process and practice of mediation. The vast majority of mediators serving the Family Financial Settlement Program are certified by the Commission. If the parties do not select a mediator and the court must appoint one, judges can only appoint a certified mediator. Certification criteria are set forth in FFS Rule 8.
Following are family financial certification application materials. (There are separate training courses and application materials for FFS (Form AOC-DRC-03) and superior court (MSC Program) certification (Form AOC-DRC-01). Please be sure that you are filling out the right application for the type of mediation in which you are interested.
From the menu on your left, you may print an entire FFS Application Packet which contains the application itself and additional forms and other information that you need to apply. If you would like to type your responses on the application form, simply click on "Fillable On-Line Application Form" from the menu on the left.
Please be sure to read all the attachments to the application form. If you have any questions, please contact the Commission's office at (919) 890-1415. You may also want to visit the Certification FAQ on this portion of our web site.
Please be sure to complete the application carefully. Applications are typically processed within one week of receipt, if not sooner. Most times, when processing is delayed, it is because an applicant completed the form improperly or left off required attachments.
If you are a non-attorney applicant and have any questions about your eligibility for family financial certification pursuant to FFS Rule 8.A.1. or 2., please contact the Commission's office. If you have questions about becoming an Advanced Practitioner Member of the Association for Conflict Resolution, you may contactthe Association for Conflict Resolution at (202) 464-9700. If you are an attorney applicant who is not licensed in North Carolina, you may wish to contact the Commission's office for more information about the independent study provided for in FFS Rule 8.B.
If you took family mediation training either in or outside North Carolina from a non-approved trainer, you may be able to receive partial credit for your training. Contact the Commission's office to learn what you must do to receive partial credit. Lists of North Carolina certified family financial mediation trainers are included among the attachments to the application.
Lastly, while the Commission greatly appreciates your interest in mediation and in serving the litigants of this State, please understand that it can be very difficult to establish a mediation practice in North Carolina. The FFS Program is a "user pay" program. Since the parties are paying, the Rules provide for them to have an opportunity to select their mediator. Judges appoint mediators only in instances where the parties do not exercise their right to choose. As such, being certified and placed on the court's appointment list is no guarantee that you will be appointed. What this means is that in order to build a successful mediation practice, a novice mediator must reach out to attorneys and let them know of his or her availability, experience, and desire to mediate in the hope of being selected by them.