What Are the Rules for Mediation in Illinois?

Mediation in Illinois is governed primarily by the Uniform Mediation Act, codified at 710 ILCS 35 and effective January 1, 2004.¹ The rules for mediation in Illinois come down to a few things: what you say during a session is privileged and can’t be dragged into court later (with specific exceptions), the mediator has to disclose conflicts of interest before taking the case, and any settlement signed by all parties becomes enforceable as a contract. Separate provisions in the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act and Illinois Supreme Court rules make mediation mandatory in certain family disputes.

When the Uniform Mediation Act Applies

The UMA applies whether the parties chose mediation on their own or a judge sent them there. It covers a “mediation communication” defined broadly: any statement — spoken, written, or nonverbal — made during a session or made to consider, arrange, continue, or resume one.² Setup emails, phone calls scheduling the session, side conversations with the mediator: all of it counts.

Even when a court orders mediation, no one can be forced to settle. Parties can withdraw at any time, and the mediator’s role is to facilitate, not decide. That distinction matters when you’re weighing whether to walk in with realistic settlement authority or just check a box.

What Stays Confidential

Section 4 of the UMA gives each party a privilege to refuse to disclose mediation communications and to prevent others from disclosing them. The mediator holds the same right, and so does any nonparty participant.² In practice, this means the other side can’t take an admission you made during mediation and introduce it as evidence in a later lawsuit or arbitration.

One point trips people up. Evidence that was already admissible before mediation does not become protected just because it came up during a session.² If you bring a document the other side could have obtained in discovery anyway, that document remains discoverable. What’s protected is what you said about it in the room, not the underlying record.

Beyond the statutory privilege, mediation communications are confidential to whatever additional extent the parties agree or other Illinois law provides, unless the Open Meetings Act or the Freedom of Information Act applies.³ Most mediators have the parties sign a confidentiality agreement at the outset. Those agreements can — and often do — go beyond what the statute alone requires.

When the Privilege Doesn’t Apply

Section 6 lists categorical exceptions where mediation communications lose their protection:²

Settlement agreements signed by all parties. This is what makes a mediated deal enforceable.
Threats of bodily injury, statements about a planned violent crime, or communications used to plan, attempt, or conceal ongoing criminal activity.
Malpractice or misconduct complaints against the mediator, and misconduct claims against a party or representative based on conduct during the session.
Proceedings involving a child or adult protective services agency, to prove or disprove abuse, neglect, abandonment, or exploitation. This exception does not apply where the court itself referred the case to mediation and a public agency participated.
Records already available under the Freedom of Information Act or statements made in a session required by law to be open to the public.

On top of these, a court can order disclosure after a private hearing if the evidence isn’t available any other way and the need substantially outweighs the interest in confidentiality. That narrower path is available only in felony proceedings or in disputes to rescind or reform a contract that came out of the mediation.² Even then, only the portion of the communication needed for that specific purpose comes in.

You can also lose the privilege by your own conduct. A party who uses a mediation communication to prejudice someone in a later proceeding forfeits the privilege to the extent the other person needs to respond. And anyone who intentionally uses mediation to plan or commit a crime, or to conceal ongoing criminal activity, cannot invoke the privilege at all.²

Rules the Mediator Has to Follow

Before agreeing to serve, a mediator must make a reasonable inquiry into any facts a reasonable person would view as likely to affect impartiality. That includes financial interests, personal interests, and existing or past relationships with the parties or foreseeable participants.⁴ Whatever the inquiry turns up must be disclosed to the parties as soon as practical, both before the mediator accepts the assignment and later if something new comes to light.

The penalty for skipping disclosure has real teeth: a mediator who fails to disclose loses the right to assert the mediation privilege under Section 4.⁴ Without the privilege, the mediator can be compelled to testify about what happened in the session.

The UMA does not require any specific license, degree, or credential to serve as a mediator. If a party asks, the mediator must disclose qualifications, but the statute sets no minimum bar.⁴ Court-annexed programs typically impose their own training requirements through local circuit rules. Mediators must remain impartial throughout, though parties can waive that requirement after the required disclosures are made.

Whether a Mediated Agreement Holds Up

A mediated settlement becomes a binding contract once all parties sign it. The UMA reinforces this by stripping the privilege from any agreement “evidenced by a record signed by all parties.”² A signed agreement can be presented to a court and enforced like any other contract.

When a fight breaks out over what the agreement actually means, Illinois courts apply standard contract principles: plain language, intent at the time of signing, and surrounding circumstances. Vague or ambiguous terms are the most common reason mediated settlements land back in court. Precise drafting before you sign is worth the extra half hour.

In family cases, parties often submit the agreement to the judge for approval. Once a court order incorporates it, a violation can trigger contempt proceedings, giving the deal stronger enforcement tools than a standalone contract.

When Illinois Requires Mediation

Most civil mediation in Illinois is voluntary or at the judge’s discretion. Parenting disputes are the exception. Under 750 ILCS 5/602.10, a court must order mediation when parents cannot agree on a parenting plan, unless the court finds impediments to mediation.⁵ The “impediments” language exists because mediation is not safe or productive in every situation, particularly where domestic violence, substance abuse, or a severe power imbalance is present.

Illinois Supreme Court Rule 905 requires every judicial circuit in the state to establish a mediation program for cases involving the allocation of parental responsibilities, parenting time, relocation, and related issues, regardless of whether the parents were married.⁶ Each circuit handles logistics — mediator selection, cost allocation — differently, but the availability is statewide.

Being required to mediate is not being required to settle. If the parents still can’t agree after mediation, the case goes to a hearing and the judge decides.

Outside family law, Illinois judges have discretion to refer contested civil matters to mediation. Illinois Supreme Court Rule 99, most recently amended effective March 1, 2026, governs court-annexed mediation programs, and individual circuits adopt local rules on which cases qualify and how mediators are assigned.⁷ Court-ordered civil mediation operates under the same UMA privilege and exceptions.

Where Mediation Isn’t the Right Tool

Mediation works for disputes with room to negotiate. It doesn’t work for everything. A mediator cannot grant immunity from prosecution, override a regulatory requirement, or bless an agreement that violates the law. The UMA’s exceptions reflect this: threats of violence and criminal planning fall outside the privilege because confidentiality was never meant to shield dangerous conduct, and communications relevant to child abuse or elder exploitation can be disclosed in protective services proceedings even if they came out during a session.²

Mediation is also not legal advice. The mediator is neutral and cannot advocate for either side. Parties who mediate without understanding their legal rights sometimes agree to terms they’d reject after talking to a lawyer. Nothing in the UMA stops you from bringing counsel to the session, and in matters involving significant assets, custody, or business interests, that’s usually the right call.

1
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Public Act 93-0399
2
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 710 ILCS 35 – Uniform Mediation Act
3
Dispute Resolution Institute, Inc. Illinois Public Act 93-0399 – Uniform Mediation Act
4
FindLaw. Illinois Code 710 ILCS 35-9 – Mediators Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest Background
5
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 750 ILCS 5/602.10 – Parenting Plan
6
Illinois Courts. Illinois Supreme Court Rule 905
7
19th Judicial Circuit Court of Illinois. Part 3.00 Civil Division Mediation Program