Colorado does not license or certify mediators, so the pool of Colorado mediators ranges from Judicial Branch–vetted neutrals on the state’s Office of Dispute Resolution Roster to private practitioners who set their own rates and standards. If your case is court-referred, start with the ODR Roster. If you’re hiring privately, focus on experience with your type of dispute and confirm fees before you book.
Finding a Mediator in Colorado
The Colorado Judicial Branch maintains the ODR Roster, which lists credentialed mediators organized by judicial district and covers all 23 districts in the state. You schedule directly with the mediator you pick; the ODR itself does not make referrals or set appointments.1Colorado Judicial Branch. Find an ODR Mediator If your case is already in court, this is the most reliable starting point, because everyone on the roster has cleared the Judicial Branch’s training and background requirements.
For private mediation outside the court system, the Mediation Association of Colorado maintains a searchable directory that lets you filter by practice area. Pick for fit: a mediator who spends every day on commercial contract disputes isn’t necessarily the right person for a parenting matter, and the reverse is also true. Before you book, ask how they structure sessions, whether they use private caucuses, and what they charge. Fees between private practitioners and ODR roster mediators vary significantly.
What Qualifies Someone as a Mediator in Colorado
There is no statewide mediator license. The Judicial Branch states plainly that “The State of Colorado does not certify, license, or otherwise regulate mediators.”2Colorado Judicial Branch. 17th JD ODR Roster Anyone can call themselves a mediator and offer services. The practical filter sits with the ODR Roster.
To be listed on the roster, a mediator must complete at least 30 hours of basic mediation skills training.3Colorado Judicial Branch. Mediation Services and Other Dispute Resolution Options They also need approval from the judicial district where they’ll work, a background check, and completion of a course called “Mediating in Colorado Courts” that covers how mediation fits inside the state’s court system.4Colorado Judicial Branch. Mediation Standards
Mediators taking domestic relations cases — divorce, parenting time, child support — complete additional specialized training beyond the basic requirement. Family law work involves financial disclosure issues and child welfare considerations that general civil mediation training doesn’t fully cover, so this matters when you’re choosing someone for that kind of case.
What Mediation Costs in Colorado
If you go through the ODR, the Judicial Branch’s published fee order sets the hourly rate per party:5Colorado Judicial Branch. Revised Fee Schedule for Alternative Dispute Resolution Services
- District court civil cases, including domestic relations, probate, juvenile, and criminal: $75 per party per hour
- County court civil and criminal cases: $50 per party per hour
- Small claims: $30 per party per hour
- Indigency determination: $15 per party per hour, with the state paying the mediator separately
When a judge from the Senior Judge Program conducts the mediation, hourly fees are waived entirely. The ODR Director can also reduce or waive fees based on a party’s need and ability to pay. For pre-eviction mediation, the tenant pays nothing; the cost falls on the landlord or is covered through the court program.6Justia. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 13 – Section 13-40-110
Private mediators set their own rates. Experienced attorney-mediators in the Denver metro area and other urban districts commonly charge $200 to $400 per hour or more. Rates tend to be lower in rural districts and among mediators who are not attorneys. In most private mediations, the parties split the cost equally unless they agree otherwise.
When a Colorado Court Will Send You to Mediation
Any Colorado court of record can refer a case to mediation at its discretion.7Justia. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 13 – Section 13-22-311 Three categories see this most often.
Domestic Relations
Many judicial districts order parties to a mandatory two-hour minimum mediation session before any contested hearing. The 4th Judicial District, for instance, issues orders stating: “The Court orders that all claims in this action are hereby ordered to a mandatory two-hour (minimum) mediation session,” citing the Dispute Resolution Act as authority.8Colorado Judicial Branch. FCF 300A Mediation ADR Order These sessions aim at child support, property division, and parenting time.
One hard exception applies. A court cannot order mediation when one party claims to be a victim of physical or psychological abuse by the other party and states they are unwilling to participate. That protection applies even if the party previously agreed to mediate.7Justia. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 13 – Section 13-22-311
Residential Evictions
Colorado requires mandatory mediation before certain residential eviction cases can move forward. The ODR must schedule the session at the first available date, no later than fourteen calendar days after the landlord requests it, conducted by a trained neutral at no cost to the tenant.6Justia. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 13 – Section 13-40-110 Both sides can bring legal representation. A tenant can waive mediation voluntarily, but a landlord cannot bury that waiver in a lease. If the landlord skips mediation and files anyway, the tenant can raise noncompliance as an affirmative defense and the court must dismiss the case without prejudice.
Small Claims
Small claims courts routinely schedule cases for mediation before setting a trial date. If the parties reach agreement during the session, they sign a stipulation and the case closes. If not, the mediator sets the case for trial with a judge, often as early as the next day. Witnesses are not allowed in the mediation session, and nothing said during mediation can be used as evidence at trial.9Colorado Judicial Branch. Small Claims Court Information
What to Expect in the Session
Most sessions open with a joint meeting. Each side describes the dispute from their perspective, the mediator sets ground rules, explains confidentiality, and identifies the key issues. From there, many mediators split into private caucuses: separate meetings with each party. During a caucus, you can share information with the mediator that you don’t want passed to the other side, and the mediator will ask what you’re comfortable having communicated and what should stay confidential. That back-and-forth is often where real movement happens, because people speak more candidly when they’re not sitting across from the other party.
The mediator does not decide who’s right, offer legal advice, or predict how a court would rule. The role is to help each side understand the other’s position, test how strong each position actually is, and find out whether a deal exists that both sides can accept.
Confidentiality is the structural reason this works. Under Colorado’s Dispute Resolution Act, no party or mediator can voluntarily disclose, or be compelled through discovery, communications made during a mediation proceeding, and if someone violates the rule, the disclosed communication cannot be admitted into evidence. Narrow exceptions apply: all parties and the mediator can waive the privilege in writing; communications revealing intent to commit a felony, inflict bodily harm, or threaten a child under eighteen lose protection; and evidence that would be discoverable on its own doesn’t become privileged just because someone mentioned it in mediation.10Justia. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 13 – Section 13-22-307 That last point trips people up. A damaging email the other side could get through regular discovery doesn’t become off-limits just because it came up in the room.
How to Prepare
Preparation shows in outcomes. Before the session, gather documents that support your position and organize them so you can pull up specific evidence quickly. In a contract dispute, that means the contract, relevant correspondence, and records of financial losses. In a family law matter, bring financial disclosures, parenting schedules, and any prior agreements.
Some mediators ask for a short pre-mediation statement. Keep it focused: key facts, the issues you want resolved, any prior settlement discussions, and the outcome you’d accept. Five to seven pages is the upper limit. Most mediators don’t want to read something that looks like a court filing.
Decide your settlement range before you walk in. Know your opening position, your best realistic outcome, and your walk-away point. If you have an attorney, have this conversation before mediation day. If a decision-maker with settlement authority needs to approve any deal, like an insurance adjuster or a corporate officer, make sure that person is either in the room or reachable by phone.
Making the Agreement Stick
A handshake at the end of a session isn’t enough. The Dispute Resolution Act requires specific steps for a mediated agreement to become enforceable as a court order: the parties reduce the agreement to writing, all parties sign it, any party may present it to the court as a stipulation, and the court approves it.11FindLaw. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 13 – Section 13-22-308 Until each step is done, you do not have a court-enforceable order. Get it in writing before you leave the session.
If mediation fails, your rights are preserved. The case returns to the regular litigation track, the mediator cannot testify, and nothing discussed during the session comes in as evidence. Partial agreements still help: parties can sign on the resolved issues and litigate only what remains, which narrows the scope and cost of what’s left for the court.