The cost of mediation depends first on how it begins. Remuneration is agreed differently for a private enquiry and for court-referred civil mediation, while criminal cases follow separate rules. A useful calculator should therefore ask about the route and referral date before displaying an amount. The calculations below explain the rules in force on the date this article was updated and are not an individual quotation for a particular case.
Key points before you start
- The new civil fees apply to court referrals made on or after 17 February 2026.
- The mediator’s remuneration, expenses, VAT and the allocation of costs need to be distinguished.
- A private quotation requires advance agreement on the scope and payment arrangements.
First select the correct route and date
The Regulation of 12 February 2026, Journal of Laws item 170, governs remuneration and reimbursement of expenses for civil mediation initiated following a court referral. Under its § 6, the previous rules apply where the court referred the parties before 17 February 2026. The referral date matters, not the date of the first telephone call or the invoice.
For mediation under an agreement to mediate, the cost and payment arrangements must be agreed with the mediator before it begins. The statutory fee table for court referrals should not automatically be applied to a private meeting. Article 183⁵ of the Polish Code of Civil Procedure (KPC) requires the parties to be informed about costs and how payment will be collected. Ask what the price includes and how further meetings, document preparation and any cancellation will be charged.
A property-related case with a known dispute value
For referrals covered by the new rules, where the value of the dispute is up to PLN 200,000, the fee is 2% of that value, with a minimum of PLN 300 and a maximum of PLN 4,000 for the whole mediation. Above PLN 200,000, it is PLN 4,000 plus 1% of the excess over PLN 200,000, capped at PLN 8,000. The result is rounded upwards to a whole zloty.
This is remuneration for the entire mediation proceedings in this category, not a price per participant or per session. The examples below exclude any VAT and expenses. The dispute value should be established from the relevant documents; it is not always the same as an amount one party proposes as a concession.
- Dispute value PLN 10,000: 2% is PLN 200, so the PLN 300 minimum applies.
- Dispute value PLN 50,000: the fee is PLN 1,000.
- Dispute value PLN 200,000.01: after calculation and rounding upwards, the fee is PLN 4,001.
- Dispute value PLN 300,000: the fee is PLN 5,000; at PLN 600,000, it reaches the PLN 8,000 cap.
Sources for this section: [1]
Non-property cases and cases whose value cannot be established
In non-property cases, and property-related cases where the value of the dispute cannot be established, the fee is PLN 300 for the first session and PLN 200 for each additional session, up to PLN 900 for the whole mediation. Two sessions amount to PLN 500, three to PLN 700, and four or more to PLN 900.
If mediation in this category was conducted without a mediation session, the rules provide for PLN 300. This is different from the parties not commencing mediation. A calculator should explain that distinction instead of treating every entry of “zero meetings” as the same situation. If there is doubt, the classification of the case and the appropriate basis for charging must first be confirmed.
Sources for this section: [1]
Expenses, VAT and allocation between the parties
The regulation provides for reimbursement of documented, necessary expenses: travel under the specified rules, room hire up to PLN 110 per session and correspondence up to PLN 50. If the parties do not commence mediation, the mediator is entitled to reimbursement of expenses incurred up to PLN 110. These amounts are not automatically added in every case.
The remuneration of a mediator required to account for VAT is increased by the tax payable. The regulation also sets rules for VAT on expenses. A calculator option showing a tax-inclusive scenario does not determine a particular mediator’s tax status. The allocation of costs between participants is agreed separately. Do not automatically divide the result by the number of people without checking the agreed arrangements.
Can a settlement lead to a court-fee refund?
Article 79 of the Act on Court Costs in Civil Cases provides for refunds depending on the stage and manner in which the case ends. Before the first-instance hearing begins, Article 79 section 1 point 1 letter h is relevant; where a settlement is reached before a mediator after the hearing has begun, a refund of three quarters of the relevant fee is provided for. Section 3 requires certain refunds to be reduced by the minimum fee amount. A statement that “you always get 100% back” would therefore be inaccurate.
In its resolution of 14 July 2026, III CZP 11/26, the Polish Supreme Court confirmed that Article 79 section 1 point 1 letter h concerns settlements concluded before a court and before a mediator. An ordinary private agreement ending a dispute should not automatically be treated in the same way. The refund must be assessed in the individual case, taking account of the proceedings and applicable rules.
Criminal mediation and the next step in the calculator
The State Treasury bears the costs of mediation proceedings in a criminal case under Article 619 § 2 of the Polish Code of Criminal Procedure (KPK). This covers those proceedings, not every private consultation or the fees of your own legal representative. In the calculator, therefore, choose the appropriate route and enter only the information needed for an initial assessment.
You can review the prepared message, open it in your own email application or copy it. Preparing a draft does not itself send an enquiry or conclude a contract. Before mediation begins, the case classification, current fees, possible expenses and payment arrangements must be confirmed. If you do not know the referral date or dispute value, indicate that rather than entering arbitrary information.
Educational scenario — a fictional example, not a case handled by the Foundation.
An estimate for a dispute worth PLN 50,000
In this fictional example, the court referred the parties to mediation on 20 March 2026, and the dispute value is PLN 50,000. The basic remuneration under the new rates is PLN 1,000. This does not mean PLN 1,000 from each person. To understand the full cost, it is necessary to establish whether VAT must be added, which actual expenses may arise and how the parties will share them.
If the same dispute had been brought privately without a court referral, the table would not automatically set the price of the service. That is why the calculator starts by asking about the route. The example explains the calculation mechanism; it is neither a quotation nor information about an actual Foundation case.
Questions about this topic
Is the calculator result the full price?
For the relevant court-referred mediation, the result shows remuneration based on the information selected and the VAT option. Actual expenses and the allocation of costs require separate agreement. Private mediation is quoted individually.
Sources for this section: [1]
What if the court referred the case before 17 February 2026?
The previous rules apply under § 6 of the Regulation of 12 February 2026. Provide the referral date so that the estimate is not based on the wrong fee table.
Sources for this section: [1]
Sources and further reading
- Rozporządzenie Ministra Sprawiedliwości z dnia 12 lutego 2026 r. w sprawie wysokości wynagrodzenia i podlegających zwrotowi wydatków mediatora w postępowaniu cywilnym, Dz.U. z 2026 r. poz. 170, obowiązujące od 17 lutego 2026 r.
- Ustawa z dnia 17 listopada 1964 r. – Kodeks postępowania cywilnego, tekst jednolity Dz.U. z 2026 r. poz. 468, ze zmianami; w szczególności art. 183¹–183¹⁵, art. 259¹, art. 436 i art. 445².
- Ustawa z dnia 28 lipca 2005 r. o kosztach sądowych w sprawach cywilnych, tekst jednolity Dz.U. z 2025 r. poz. 1228, ze zmianami; w szczególności art. 79.
- Uchwała Sądu Najwyższego z dnia 14 lipca 2026 r., III CZP 11/26, skład trzech sędziów; zakres art. 79 ust. 1 pkt 1 lit. h ustawy o kosztach sądowych w sprawach cywilnych.
- Ustawa z dnia 6 czerwca 1997 r. – Kodeks postępowania karnego, tekst jednolity Dz.U. z 2026 r. poz. 490, ze zmianami; w szczególności art. 23a, art. 107, art. 178a i art. 619 § 2.
Educational material based on sources checked on 23 October 2026. It does not replace an individual legal assessment of a particular case. The scenarios are fictional and do not describe clients’ experiences or outcomes achieved by the Foundation. Legislation, judgments and research publications are cited alongside the relevant topics; DOIs are provided only for publications that have such an identifier.