Surrogacy in Hawaii
We serve all of Hawaii, working with surrogates and intended parents on Oahu, from Honolulu to Kapolei and Kailua, on Maui, on Hawaii Island in Hilo and Kona, and on Kauai. Since January 1, 2026, Hawaii writes gestational surrogacy into state law: the state's Uniform Parentage Act recognizes gestational surrogacy agreements, sets clear eligibility rules, allows compensation, and makes the intended parents the child's legal parents at birth, whether or not they are genetically related. Most of it happens where you live: you apply from home, match from home, and see your own OB for prenatal care on your own island. The first fertility-clinic appointments happen at our clinic in California, a nonstop of roughly five to six hours from Honolulu, Kahului, Kona, or Lihue, planned with you. Here is what that actually looks like from Hawaii.
- Serving
- All of HawaiiOahu, Maui, Hawaii Island, Kauai and beyond
- Your care
- Your own OB and hospitalAt home on your island, through delivery
- Clinic steps
- A small number of visitsTo the fertility clinic in California
- The law
- In state law since January 1, 2026Hawaii's Uniform Parentage Act; the intended parents are the parents at birth, whether or not genetically related
How surrogacy works when you live in Hawaii
Two questions come up before any others: what does Hawaii's new law actually do, and where does everything happen when the agency is in California? Hawaii families build through gestational surrogacy under a written law now, and almost everything outside the clinic steps happens at home on your island. Here is the honest geography for each side.
Your island for the pregnancy, California for the clinic
Applying, the screening conversations, and the records review happen from home by phone and video, whether home is Honolulu, Pearl City, Kailua, or Kapolei on Oahu, Kahului or Kihei on Maui, Hilo or Kailua-Kona on Hawaii Island, or Lihue on Kauai. The first fertility-clinic appointments, the medical screening, and the embryo transfer happen at our fertility clinic in California. That is a nonstop of roughly five to six hours from Honolulu, Kahului, Kona, or Lihue, and Hilo families usually connect through Honolulu or drive to Kona: a small number of planned trips, booked with you, never a relocation.
Once pregnancy is confirmed, everything comes home: your own OB, your own hospital, whether you deliver on Oahu, Maui, Hawaii Island, or Kauai, with your coordinator a call away throughout. And because Hawaii's law asks that at least one party to the agreement be a Hawaii resident, a surrogate who lives in Hawaii meets that on her own; the clinic being in California does not take your agreement outside Hawaii's statute. The full picture is on our become a surrogate page.
One team, from the first call to the parentage order
Consultations happen by video, or in person at our California home office when you would rather have a table between you. One coordinator runs the match, the screening, and the clinic, and the legal work sits with independent attorneys, Hawaii counsel included, who draft the agreement to Hawaii's statute and plan the parentage order for your specific match before anything medical begins. Your surrogate may live in Hawaii or in another state we serve, and the attorneys plan around where she lives and delivers.
We tell you where each step happens, and who is in the room, before you commit to anything. Start with surrogacy for intended parents.
Yes, and since January 1, 2026 it is written into Hawaii law
"Is Hawaii surrogacy friendly?" is how most people ask it, and the honest answer changed on January 1, 2026: Hawaii now has a written surrogacy law rather than a case-by-case practice. Because it is new, we would rather say exactly what it does than borrow last year's summary. The full state-by-state picture lives on our law guide.
This is general information, not legal advice. Your own Hawaii attorney confirms how it applies to your match.
Read our full surrogacy law guideSince January 1, 2026, Hawaii writes gestational surrogacy into state law. The state's Uniform Parentage Act recognizes gestational surrogacy agreements, sets real eligibility rules for surrogates and intended parents, requires each side to have its own attorney throughout, with the intended parents paying for the surrogate's, and requires the agreement to be signed before any medication or medical procedure begins. It expressly allows compensation and reimbursement of expenses to the surrogate, and it leaves every health decision about her own body and her pregnancy with her.
When a gestational surrogacy agreement meets the law's requirements, each intended parent is a legal parent of the child at birth, whether or not they are genetically related, and the surrogate and her spouse are not. The family court can enter the parentage order before the birth (it takes effect when the baby is born) and direct the Department of Health to name the intended parents on the birth certificate, and the same law says the intended parents choose the child's name. An agreement made the way the statute requires is enforceable under Hawaii law, which is why the agreement is done exactly right, with counsel, first.
A note on accuracy. Hawaii's law also regulates genetic surrogacy, where the surrogate uses her own egg, under a separate and stricter set of rules; we work exclusively in gestational surrogacy, where the surrogate is not genetically related to the child. The law is new and its court practice is still forming, so always confirm your specifics with a Hawaii-licensed reproductive attorney before anything medical begins.
Requirements to become a surrogate in Hawaii
These are the general guidelines most surrogacy programs follow, ours included. Read them as a starting point rather than a verdict; the deciding step is always a conversation and a medical review.
Are between about 21 and 38 years oldThe range can flex based on your health history.
Have given birth before and are raising a child of your ownAgencies and clinics look for prior pregnancy experience.
Had healthy, full-term pregnancies and deliveriesReviewed with your medical records during screening.
Are in good general healthConfirmed through a clinic medical evaluation.
Live in a stable home with reliable supportA partner, family, or friends you can lean on.
Do not smoke or use illicit drugsAsked about and reviewed as part of screening.
Are a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent residentHelps keep the legal process clean and predictable.
Have a stable income, not relying on cash assistanceSo compensation is genuinely yours to keep.
Hawaii's law asks for much of this too. The state's own baseline for a gestational surrogate is at least 21, a prior birth, a medical evaluation, a mental-health consultation, and your own independent attorney throughout, all of which are already part of how we screen. What carries the rest of the weight is the screening itself: your medical records, a clinic evaluation in California, and psychological screening, done in that order and explained as we go. Anywhere in Hawaii works, Oahu or a neighbor island; what matters is a good OB, a hospital you trust, and reaching an airport with a Southern California nonstop or a connection through Honolulu.
About pay, because every surrogate asks: Hawaii's law expressly allows a surrogacy agreement to provide for compensation and reimbursement of your expenses, and requires the agreement to be signed before any medication begins. Yours goes into writing before anything medical, reviewed by your own attorney, held in escrow, and shaped by your own situation. We would rather have that conversation with you personally than post headline numbers, so the figure you hear is actually yours.
Military families are part of Oahu's community and are welcome here; if a move or a deployment could land mid-journey, that is something to talk through with your coordinator and your attorney early, not a reason to stay silent about it. A c-section in your history? A tubal ligation, anxiety, or PCOS? Usually not the end of the story, and never a reason to be turned away unheard. Our surrogate eligibility guide takes those questions one condition at a time, the become a surrogate page covers the whole arc, or simply reach out.
Building your family from Honolulu, Maui, Hilo, Kona, or Kauai
From Hawaii, working with us means one coordinated team: the match, the screening, the clinic, and the independent legal work, all run by one person you know by name. Here is what that means in practice.
Remote first, in person when you want
Video consultations fit around work and school pickups; when you would rather sit down together, the California home office is a nonstop from Honolulu, Kahului, Kona, or Lihue. The step-by-step arc is on our how surrogacy works page.
Counsel who draft to Hawaii's statute
Hawaii's law now sets out exactly what a gestational surrogacy agreement must contain and how the parentage order works. Your attorneys draft the agreement to that statute, plan the parentage order for your specific match before anything medical begins, and tell you what your family's path looks like before you commit, including that the family court can enter the order before the birth.
Every kind of family, welcomed
We welcome married, unmarried, LGBTQ+, and single intended parents. Hawaii's law applies to intended parents whether married or unmarried and whether or not they are genetically related to the child, so married and unmarried couples, same-sex couples, and single parents stand on the same statutory footing, and experienced Hawaii counsel structures the path for each family. See how we support LGBTQ+ families.
Clear costs before you commit
Cost comes up early in Hawaii, so we answer it early. We post no price lists and spring no surprises: before you commit, we walk through what shapes the total, including the clinic steps, the travel, and what your insurance does and does not cover, and put a personalized estimate in writing for your situation. Our surrogacy costs guide shows how that conversation works.
How does surrogacy work in Hawaii?
Six steps, the same order every time, at the pace your match sets. Here is the road from first call to homecoming.
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First conversation and application
By phone or video from anywhere in Hawaii. Surrogates begin an application; intended parents talk goals, timing, and the kind of relationship they hope to have with their surrogate. Nothing medical yet.
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Screening, remote first
Records review and psychological screening are arranged around your schedule, mostly from home. The in-person clinic evaluation at the California clinic is one of the planned trips, with dates you will know well in advance.
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Matching
We introduce a surrogate and intended parents who fit each other on values, expectations, communication style, and the practical things, like contact during pregnancy and views on tough medical decisions. You decide together whether to move forward.
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Legal contracts with independent counsel
For a Hawaii match, the attorneys draft the gestational surrogacy agreement to Hawaii's statute, each side with its own attorney, and it is signed before any medication begins, because Hawaii's law says so. This is also when compensation and expenses go into writing.
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Embryo transfer and pregnancy
The California clinic handles the medical cycle and the transfer. Then Hawaii takes over: your own OB, your own hospital, your own bed on your own island, from the first heartbeat appointment to delivery, with your coordinator close to both sides throughout.
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Parentage and birth
Your attorneys seek the parentage order Hawaii's law provides, which the family court can enter before the birth, so the intended parents are the parents on the birth certificate, and your coordinator stays with both families through delivery and the trip home.
A California team, honest about the ocean
Our home office is in Rancho Cucamonga, California, and we would rather say that plainly than pretend a Honolulu office. Hawaii has genuinely local agencies, and some families will choose one; what we offer is a program built for matches that cross state lines, said plainly: phone and video for everything except the clinic steps, scheduled around your work and your kids, with the flights planned well ahead.
When you reach out, a real person calls you back and stays your person, whether home is Honolulu, Kailua, or Kapolei, Kahului or Kihei, Hilo or Kailua-Kona, or Lihue. The only steps that bring you to California are the clinic ones.
11989 Arrow Route, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91739
(626) 528-6868
Hawaii surrogacy, answered
Is surrogacy legal in Hawaii?
Yes. Since January 1, 2026, gestational surrogacy, including compensated surrogacy, is written into Hawaii's Uniform Parentage Act, which recognizes gestational surrogacy agreements, sets clear eligibility rules, and makes the intended parents the child's legal parents at birth, whether or not they are genetically related.
Agreements are signed before any medication or medical procedure begins, with independent counsel on each side. For the state-by-state picture, see our surrogacy law guide.
Is Hawaii a surrogacy-friendly state?
Honestly, Hawaii is now one of the states with a written surrogacy law rather than a case-by-case practice, and it is new, in effect since January 1, 2026. What makes it work in practice is doing the agreement exactly the way the statute requires, with counsel, before anything medical.
That is a difference worth understanding, not a barrier to building a family here. Our surrogacy law guide shows how Hawaii compares.
What are the requirements to become a surrogate in Hawaii?
Roughly: 21 to 38 years old, at least one healthy birth, a child you are raising now, good general health, no smoking, and a stable, supported home. Hawaii's law adds its own baseline: at least 21, a prior birth, a medical evaluation, a mental-health consultation, and your own attorney throughout.
Those guidelines plus medical and psychological screening carry the decision. Every application is read by a person, not a filter; the surrogate eligibility guide handles the condition-by-condition questions.
Do I have to travel to California?
Yes, for exactly two kinds of milestones: the first fertility-clinic appointments, including screening, and the embryo transfer, which happen at the California clinic, a nonstop of roughly five to six hours from Honolulu, Kahului, Kona, or Lihue.
Those are planned trips we book together, well in advance. Everything else, the application, the screening conversations, your prenatal care, and the delivery, stays home on your island with your own OB and hospital.
Do you need a lawyer for surrogacy in Hawaii?
Yes, and in Hawaii it is the law, not just our practice: each side has its own attorney throughout, the intended parents pay for the surrogate's, and the agreement is signed before any medical step.
Your attorneys draft the agreement to Hawaii's statute and seek the parentage order for your family. We coordinate the referrals so you are never hunting for counsel alone.
How do intended parents in Honolulu, Maui, Hilo, or Kauai get started?
With a conversation. Consultations are remote or at our California home office, and from there we coordinate the match, the screening, the clinic, and the independent legal work.
We tell you where your surrogate would live and walk through what shapes your costs before you commit. Start on our intended parents page, see the full arc on how surrogacy works, or read the surrogacy costs guide.
Get started in Hawaii
It starts with a conversation, from wherever you are in Hawaii. We listen first, then show you exactly what comes next.