How to check a mediator is properly accredited for your dispute

Many people choose a mediator in a hurry—often because a dispute has already turned bitter—and skip the verification step. They assume anyone calling themselves a mediator is qualified. That assumption costs time and money. An unaccredited mediator cannot guarantee the process will hold up, may lack the skills to steer a charged conversation toward resolution, and might leave you with an agreement that falls apart in court later. Checking credentials takes less than an hour and protects your outcome.

Search the official mediation registers

South Africa has no single national mediator register, but several bodies hold lists of accredited practitioners. The most widely recognised is the Mediator Institute of Southern Africa (MISA). Their website allows you to search by name or location and verify that someone holds active accreditation. The Law Society of South Africa also maintains a register of accredited mediators in various provinces; contact your local Law Society branch to check. For family and divorce disputes specifically, ask whether the mediator holds Family Mediation Accreditation (FMA) certification or similar family-law-specific credentials. Write down their registration number and the accreditation date.

If a mediator cannot give you a registration number or says they are "in the process" of accrediting, they are not yet accredited. Do not proceed. Accreditation is not a hurdle mediators jump through later; it must be in place before they take your case.

Request proof of current standing

Once you have a name, ask the mediator to email you a copy of their current accreditation certificate or a signed letter from the accrediting body confirming their status. This is standard and any legitimate mediator will do it without fuss. Check that the certificate is dated recently (not five years old) and that it names the mediator's full legal name. Some mediators hold multiple accreditations—for example, MISA certification plus a postgraduate diploma in family mediation. More qualifications are not always necessary, but they signal that someone has invested in staying current.

Also ask whether they hold professional indemnity insurance. This covers you if something goes wrong during the process. A mediator should be able to produce a current insurance certificate; this is not optional for someone handling sensitive disputes.

Call their professional referees

Ask the mediator for the contact details of three practitioners or clients who can speak to their work. These should ideally include at least one other lawyer, mediator, or court official who has referred cases to them, and at least one client (if confidentiality permits) who has used them for a similar dispute to yours. Call, do not email. Ask each referee the same two questions: Has this mediator kept the process confidential? Did they remain neutral when tension rose? If any referee hesitates or qualifies their answer heavily, that is a warning sign.

Do not rely on testimonials on the mediator's website. Referees you ring yourself carry far more weight because you can hear tone and follow up on vague praise.

Understand their training in your dispute type

Mediation covers everything from neighbour disputes to business partnerships to family breakdown. Training in one area does not transfer neatly to another. If your dispute is a marital property settlement, ask the mediator how many similar cases they have handled in the past three years. If they have done only two, they are learning on your case. Aim for someone with at least ten.

Also ask what they do if mediation breaks down mid-process. Do they refer you back to lawyers? Will they write a summary of agreed points so you are not starting from scratch? A mediator's answer here tells you whether they have handled difficult cases where parties could not find common ground.

Once you have verified accreditation, checked insurance and spoken to referees, you have done the hard work. Strove makes this easier by listing only verified mediators with current credentials; use that vetting as a starting point, then run these checks yourself to feel confident in your choice.