Is Mediation Required Before Divorce in Florida?
Not before you file. No Florida statute makes you mediate before starting a divorce. Once the case is contested, though, mediation is close to unavoidable. Section 44.102(2)(c) requires judges in circuits with a family mediation program to refer parenting disputes to mediation, and Hillsborough County orders mediation of every issue in a dissolution case.
The short version
You can file a petition tomorrow without ever sitting across a table from a mediator.
What you probably cannot do is get to trial without one. Judges have two tools. Section 61.183 lets a court send parents to mediation whenever parental responsibility, residence, timesharing, or child support is contested. Section 44.102(2)(c) goes further. In any circuit that has set up a family mediation program, once the court finds a dispute, the judge “shall refer to mediation all or part of custody, visitation, or other parental responsibility issues.”
Shall. Not may.
So whether it is required depends on two things. Do you and your spouse disagree about anything, and which county did you file in?
What Hillsborough actually requires
The Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, which covers Hillsborough County and Tampa, spells it out in Administrative Order S-2024-057. Mediation is required for all issues in dissolution of marriage cases, in post-dissolution proceedings, and in cases between unmarried parents, unless a statute or court rule excludes it.
Post-judgment cases get an extra rule. You cannot schedule a hearing on a modification until you have mediated. The exceptions are narrow: Title IV-D child support cases, contempt and enforcement actions, and changes to a domestic violence injunction.
The circuit’s uniform referral order sets the clock: the conference happens within 90 days of the order unless the court extends it for good cause. Miss the session and you get billed for it. Refuse to go and the court can sanction you.
Pasco, Pinellas, and the rest of the state
The Sixth Judicial Circuit, covering Pasco and Pinellas, tells parties on its own website that when they are ordered by the court or automatically referred, they must participate.
Florida Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.740 governs all of it. Under the rule, all contested family matters may be referred to mediation, and once the first conference happens, mediation has to be completed within 75 days unless the court orders otherwise.
Filing outside Hillsborough? Read your circuit’s administrative orders before you assume anything.
When mediation is not required
Nothing is required before a petition is filed, because no case exists yet for a court to refer. A simplified dissolution with no minor children and nothing in dispute does not go to mediation. Neither does an uncontested divorce where both spouses have already signed a marital settlement agreement.
Contested parenting issues do, in any circuit running a family mediation program, once the court finds a dispute. A contested divorce filed in Hillsborough County goes to mediation on every issue. The exception runs the other way where there is a history of domestic violence that would compromise the process and a party asks the court not to refer.
Domestic violence is the real exception
Section 44.102(2)(c) says it directly. Upon motion or request of a party, a court shall not refer any case to mediation if it finds a history of domestic violence that would compromise the mediation process.
You have to raise it. In Hillsborough, the referral order puts the burden on the party alleging the history to notify Mediation and Diversion Services within ten days so the program can decide whether mediation is appropriate.
Screening is not a formality. A mediator who does not screen for coercive control will still produce an agreement. It will not be a fair one. If you are afraid of your spouse, say so in writing, early, to the court and to any mediator you are considering.
What it costs
Court-connected family mediation is priced by statute. Section 44.108 sets the fee at $60 per person per scheduled session when the parties’ combined income is under $50,000 a year, and $120 per person per session when combined income falls between $50,000 and $100,000.
Above that range, or to choose your own mediator, you go private. At Calm in Chaos, mediation is $200 per hour with a two-hour minimum. Hillsborough’s referral order has the parties split a private mediator’s fee equally.
Compare either figure to two attorneys billing for depositions and trial preparation. The math is not close.
Mediate before the court makes you
Being ordered into mediation and choosing it are two different experiences.
Court-ordered mediation tends to happen late. Both sides have paid retainers, traded accusatory motions, and hardened. The session feels like one more hoop.
Voluntary mediation happens while people are still talking. You pick the mediator. You set the pace. The parenting plan can take one session and the property another, weeks apart. And because mediation communications are confidential under Florida’s Mediation Confidentiality and Privilege Act, sections 44.401 through 44.406, you can float an idea at the table without it showing up in a courtroom later.
Section 61.19 bars a final judgment until at least 20 days after the petition is filed. Contested cases take far longer. Early mediation is the best lever you have on that timeline.
A note on the statute
The Legislature amended section 44.102 in 2026, in chapter 2026-16, Laws of Florida. Subsection (2)(c), the family mediation language, reads the same as it did in 2025.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to try mediation before filing for divorce in Florida?
No. Florida has no pre-filing mediation requirement. You can file a petition for dissolution of marriage without mediating first. The requirement shows up after filing, when the court finds a dispute and refers the case, either by individual order or under a circuit-wide administrative order like the one in Hillsborough County.
Can a judge force us into mediation?
Yes. Section 61.183 lets a judge refer contested parenting and support issues, and section 44.102(2)(c) requires referral of parenting issues in circuits with a family mediation program. Mediation does not force you to agree. The mediator has no power to decide anything. You have to show up and participate in good faith.
What if my spouse refuses to attend court-ordered mediation?
The court can sanction a party who skips court-ordered mediation. In Hillsborough, the uniform referral order lists attorney’s fees, payment of the full mediation cost, and withholding the final judgment until fees are paid as possible consequences. The mediator reports attendance to the court but does not report what was said.
Is mediation required if we already agree on everything?
Generally no. If there is no dispute, there is nothing to refer. Couples with no minor children who agree on everything may qualify for simplified dissolution. Couples with children who have a signed marital settlement agreement and parenting plan usually go straight to an uncontested final hearing.
Does domestic violence get me out of mediation?
It can, but you have to ask. Under section 44.102(2)(c), a court shall not refer a case to mediation on a party’s motion or request if it finds a history of domestic violence that would compromise the process. Raise it early and in writing. In Hillsborough, you have ten days after the referral order to notify the mediation program.
How long does family mediation take in Florida?
Rule 12.740 requires mediation to finish within 75 days of the first conference unless the court orders otherwise. Hillsborough requires the first conference within 90 days of the referral order. Many couples settle in one or two sessions. A business, a pension, or a contested relocation usually means more than one session.
Statute text: Fla. Stat. §44.102, Fla. Stat. §61.183, and Fla. Stat. §44.108.
More on the service: Divorce Mediation in Florida
Mediate on your terms, not on a court deadline
If you already know you will end up in mediation, start there. Sessions run virtually anywhere in Florida, and in person in Hernando, Hillsborough, Lake, Orange, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, and Sumter counties, covering Tampa, Brooksville, Spring Hill, Wesley Chapel, Dade City, Lakeland, Bushnell, and Orlando.
Call (813) 449-2500 or email jessica@calminchaos.net.
Written by Jessica Oliver, LCSW, Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Mediator and Qualified Parenting Coordinator under Fla. Stat. 61.125, founder of Calm in Chaos. She holds an MSW from the University of Southern California with a specialization in military trauma and spent close to a decade in inpatient psychiatric units, veterans hospitals, schools, and domestic violence shelters before moving into dispute resolution. She teaches in Cleveland State University’s MSW program and co-hosts The Healing Pod podcast with clinical psychologist Megan McCrae, PhD.
Jessica Oliver is not an attorney and does not provide legal advice or legal representation. This article is general information about Florida law, not advice about your case.
