The NC Supreme Court requires superior court mediators to be certified by the Dispute Resolution Commission. Certification is an important credential and says a great deal about a mediator's commitment to the process and practice of mediation. Certification criteria are set forth in MSC Rule 8.
There are separate application forms for superior court (Form AOC-DRC-01) and family financial (Form AOC-DRC-03) certification. Please be sure that you are completing the correct form for the type of certification in which you are interested.
From the menu on your left, you may print an entire MSC Application Packet which contains the application itself and additional forms and other information that you need to apply. If you would like totype your responses on the application form, simply click on "Fillable On-Line Application Form" from the menu on the left.
There are also separate and distinct MSC and FFS mediator training courses. Certified MSC (superior court) trainers are listed under the "Approved Trainers" button at left. If you have already taken mediation training, but the training program you attended was not certified in North Carolina or you took your training some years back, please view the Guidelines Interpreting MSC Rule 8.D. posted under the "Supporting Documents" button on the left. A superior court mediation training course must be of at least 40-hours duration. However, if you are already hold FFS mediator certification, you need complete only a 16-hour supplemental course on superior court mediation (MSC Rule 8.A.). If you have taken mediation training in another State, you may be able to receive partial credit for that training toward certification in North Carolina (MSC Rule 9.C.) In order to receive such credit, you must supply the Commission's office with a letter identifying your trainer and the sponsor of the course you took, the types of cases you were being trained to mediate and the number of hours involved in your course. You will also need to supply a detailed agenda and, if possible, a resume(s) for your principal trainer(s).
All applicants for superior court certification must complete observations of mediated settlement conferences. The mediator you observe must complete a Certificate of Observation for you. Copies of certificates may be found in an application packet or you may click on "Supporting Documents" at left, then click on "Certificate of Observation". Take the certificate with you to your observation. Please make sure that you review MSC Rule 8 carefully to determine how many mediations you must observe and what mediations are eligible to be observed.
Applicants are assessed a certification fee. The fee is pro-rated the first year and an annual renewal fee is due thereafter. To view a table of pro-rated fees, please click on "Fees" to the left. There is a narrative explaining the fees and, from the narrative, you may click to viewthe pro-rated fee schedule. A fee schedule is also included with each application packet.
Please mail your application and supporting materials as a complete packet. If the Rules require you to submit letters of reference, please ask those writing on your behalf to forward their letters to you so that you may enclose them with your application packet. Please send your original application, but enclose copies of your attachments. Please retain a copy of your application for your own records. (On rare occassions we have not received applications mailed to us or we have misplaced them.)
For more information, please visit the Certification FAQ on this portion of the Commission's web site or contact the Commission's office at (919) 890-1415. Please be sure to complete your 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. Among the most frequent errors -- applicants fail to have their signature notarized, fail to include their check, or forget to include Certificates of Observation.
If you are a non-attorney applicant and have any questions about your eligibility for superior court certification pursuant to MSC Rule 8.B.(2)(c)(i) or (ii), you may seek a pre-approval from the Commission's office prior to enrolling in training. Please also see the Guidelines for Interpreting MSC Rule 8.B.2.(c). If you are an attorney not licensed in North Carolina, you may wish to contact the Commission's office for more information about the independent study provided for in MSC Rule 8.B.(1)(a)(ii).
Lastly, while the Commission greatly appreciates your interest in mediation and in serving the litigants of this State, please understand that there is a great deal of competition for work as a mediator in North Carolina. It can be very difficult to establish a practice. The MSC Program is a "party 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. 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 hopes of being selected by them.