Certification Requirements

In Virginia, mediators may be certified pursuant to the Guidelines for the Training and Certification of Court-Referred Mediators established by the Judicial Council of Virginia. You must have earned a minimum of a Bachelor's Degree to qualify for certification as a court-referred mediator in Virginia. You may apply for a waiver of this requirement by submitting a letter to Dispute Resolution Services, describing your relevant work and life experience. The letter must be accompanied by a resume and two letters of recommendation that address your oral and written communication skills.  Additional information may be requested.  If certification is your objective, you should seek a waiver prior to beginning mediation training.

Mediators may be certified in four categories: General District Court (GDC), Circuit Court-Civil (CCC), Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court (J&DR), and Circuit Court-Family (CCF).

General District Court (GDC) certification requires at least 20 hours of Basic Mediation training, a 4-hour course on Virginia's Judicial System, two mediation observations and three co-mediations with a certified Mentor.  Mediators who are certified in GDC are qualified to mediate civil cases arising in the General District Court such as contracts, personal injury, employment disputes, or landlord-tenant disputes.

Circuit Court-Civil (CCC) certification requires an additional 20 hours of advanced civil training and experience in mediating procedurally complex cases.  Mediators with CCC certification are qualified to mediate civil cases at the Circuit Court level. 

Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court (J&DR) certification requires 40 hours mediation training (20 hours of Basic and 20 hours of Family specific training), a 4-hour course on Virginia's Judicial System, an 8-hour course on Screening for and Dealing with Domestic Abuse in the Mediation Context, two family mediation observations and five family co-mediations. Mediators who are certified in J&DR are qualified to mediate cases arising in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court, such as custody, visitation or support matters.

Circuit Court-Family (CCF) certification requires an additional 12 hours of advanced training in family finance and economic issues including equitable distribution and spousal support in addition to experience in mediating such cases, thus qualifying these mediators to handle cases at the Circuit Court-Family level. Some mediators are certified as both general and family mediators.