Surrogacy in Maine
We serve all of Maine, working with surrogates and intended parents in Portland, Maine, and the towns around it, South Portland, Westbrook, Scarborough and Falmouth, in Lewiston and Auburn, up in Bangor, Maine, in Augusta, Maine, along the York County coast in Biddeford, Saco and Sanford, and on the Midcoast and in Aroostook County. Families build through gestational surrogacy in Maine every year, with the parentage work handled by your attorneys under the Maine Parentage Act. Maine wrote gestational carrier agreements into that statute: the agreement is signed with independent counsel on each side before any medical step beyond the required evaluations, the surrogate's lawyer is hers to choose and the intended parents' to pay for, and when the agreement meets the statute's requirements the intended parents are the child's parents by operation of law at the birth, with a District Court birth order your attorneys can seek before or after the birth. Most of it happens where you live: you apply from home, match from home, and see your own OB for prenatal care, a choice Maine's statute protects in so many words. The first fertility-clinic appointments happen at our clinic in California, a real trip we plan with you well in advance; most Maine families fly out of the jetport in Portland, Maine, or Bangor International. Here is what that actually looks like from Maine.
- Serving
- All of MainePortland, Lewiston, Bangor, Augusta, Biddeford, Brunswick, Presque Isle and beyond
- Your care
- Your own OB and hospitalAt home in Maine, through delivery
- The law
- In statute since 2016The Maine Parentage Act; independent counsel on each side, a birth order your attorneys can seek before or after the birth
- Parentage
- At birth, by statuteWhen the agreement meets the statute's requirements the intended parents are the parents by operation of law; your attorneys petition the District Court for the birth order
How surrogacy works when you live in Maine
Maine wrote this into its own statute, and most Maine families already expect to travel for fertility care, so the honest question is not whether this happens in Maine. It is where each step actually happens when you work with a California program, and why. Here is the plain geography for each side.
Maine 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 Portland, Maine, Lewiston or Auburn, Bangor, Maine, Augusta, Maine, Biddeford, or a town far up in Aroostook County. The first fertility-clinic appointments, the medical screening, and the embryo transfer happen at our fertility clinic in California: planned trips, booked with you well in advance, never a relocation.
Once pregnancy is confirmed, everything comes home: your own OB, your own hospital, whether you deliver in Portland, Maine, in Lewiston, in Bangor, Maine, or in Augusta, Maine, with your coordinator a call away throughout. Maine's statute itself says the agreement must protect your right to a health care provider of your choosing for your pregnancy care, which is the way we already work. The full picture is on our become a surrogate page.
One team, from the first call to the birth 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, Maine counsel included, who draft the gestational carrier agreement Maine's statute requires, arrange the separate counsel for your surrogate that the statute asks you to pay for, attach the written declarations the statute calls for, and petition the District Court for the birth order, which the statute lets them seek before or after the birth.
We tell you where each step happens, and who is in the room, before you commit to anything. Start with surrogacy for intended parents.
What the law says in Maine, plainly.
"Is surrogacy legal in Maine?" is how most people ask about Maine surrogacy laws, and the plain answer is that Maine has a statute for it: the Maine Parentage Act, which has governed gestational carrier agreements since 2016. The agreement is signed with independent counsel on each side before anything medical begins beyond the required evaluations, so the plan is made before any medications. The full state-by-state picture lives on our law guide.
This is general information, not legal advice. Your own Maine attorney confirms how it applies to your match.
Read our full surrogacy law guideMaine wrote gestational carrier agreements into its parentage statute, the Maine Parentage Act, in force since 2016. Under it, the agreement is in writing, signed by every party and notarized, and executed before any medical procedure other than the required evaluations and, in every instance, before the embryo transfer. The surrogate and the intended parents each have independent counsel in all matters concerning the agreement, the surrogate's lawyer is of her own choosing and paid for by the intended parents, and each lawyer attaches a written declaration that the agreement meets the statute. The statute asks that a gestational carrier be at least 21, have given birth to at least one child, and complete a medical evaluation that includes a mental health consultation, and that the intended parents complete a medical evaluation and mental health consultation of their own, whether or not they are genetically related to the child. It asks that at least one party to the agreement be a legal resident of Maine, which a Maine surrogate satisfies.
On money, the statute uses its own words: a gestational carrier agreement may provide for payment of reasonable expenses, negotiated in good faith between the parties, and it must spell out how the surrogate's health care costs are paid. The agreement may not limit her right to make decisions to safeguard her health, and it must protect her right to a health care provider of her choosing during the pregnancy. When the agreement meets the statute's requirements, the intended parents are, in the statute's words, the parents of the child by operation of law immediately upon the birth, and neither the surrogate nor her spouse is a parent. A party to the agreement can ask the District Court, before or after the birth, for an order designating the birth certificate, declaring parentage and sealing the record. The exact filings and their timing are your attorneys' plan, not something a page can promise.
A note on accuracy. Maine's statute covers gestational carrier arrangements, where the surrogate has not contributed her own eggs, and that is the only kind of surrogacy we do. Because the protections turn on an agreement that meets the statute's requirements, the drafting and the counsel carry the weight; your own Maine attorney confirms how it applies to your match.
Requirements to become a surrogate in Maine
Maine surrogacy requirements start here: 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.
Maine's statute asks for some of this too. The Maine Parentage Act asks that a gestational carrier be at least 21, have given birth to at least one child, complete a medical evaluation that includes a mental health consultation, and have her own independent attorney, chosen by her and paid for by the intended parents. All four are already part of how we screen; the rest of the list above is program guidance, not Maine's statute. What carries the remaining 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.
How much do surrogates make in Maine is one of the first questions we hear, and the honest answer is personal: compensation is real, it is written into your agreement before any medications begin, and it is shaped by your situation. Maine's statute speaks to it in its own words: a gestational carrier agreement may provide for payment of reasonable expenses, negotiated in good faith between the parties, and it must spell out how your health care costs are paid; it also says that if the agreement ends before an embryo transfer, you keep every payment you have received. All of it goes into writing with your own attorney, chosen by you and paid for by the intended parents, before anything medical, and is held in escrow. We would rather have that conversation with you personally than post headline numbers, so the figure you hear is actually yours.
A c-section in your history? A tubal ligation, anxiety, or PCOS? Not necessarily 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 in Maine, from Portland to Bangor
Surrogacy in Maine starts the same way in Portland, Maine, as it does in Lewiston, in Augusta, Maine, or in Bangor, Maine: with a phone call and no commitment. Families across New England often begin the search for a surrogacy agency close to home, and a few will ask how a California program compares. From Maine, 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 planned trip from Portland, Maine, or Bangor, Maine. The step-by-step arc is on our how surrogacy works page.
Counsel who draft the agreement and petition for the birth order
Your agreement is drafted and reviewed by independent attorneys, who write it to the Maine Parentage Act, arrange the separate counsel for your surrogate that the statute asks you to pay for, attach the written declarations the statute asks each lawyer to sign, and petition the District Court for the birth order, which the statute lets a party seek before or after the birth. Maine's statute asks that at least one party to the agreement be a legal resident of Maine, which a Maine surrogate satisfies on her own, so intended parents from outside Maine can match here too, and it lets the parentage petition be brought where the child is or will be born or where a parent or intended parent resides; your attorneys confirm residency, venue and jurisdiction for your match.
Every kind of family, welcomed
We welcome married, unmarried, LGBTQ+, and single intended parents. Maine's statute defines an intended parent as a person, married or unmarried, and its eligibility section applies to intended parents whether or not they are genetically related to the child, and experienced Maine counsel structures the right path for each family. See how we support LGBTQ+ families.
Clear costs before you commit
How much surrogacy costs in Maine comes up early, so we answer it early. Surrogate compensation is one part of the cost in Maine, and the clinic, the legal work, and your insurance shape the rest, so we post no price lists and spring no surprises: before you commit, we walk through what shapes the total and put a personalized estimate in writing for your situation. What IVF costs and what insurance does and does not cover are real Maine questions too; your consultation covers both, and Maine's statute itself asks the agreement to spell out how the surrogate's health care costs are paid. Our surrogacy costs guide shows how that conversation works.
How does surrogacy work in Maine?
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 Maine. 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. Maine's statute asks a medical evaluation and mental health consultation of the surrogate and of the intended parents alike, and our screening covers both.
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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 the pregnancy and views on hard medical decisions. You decide together whether to move forward.
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Legal contracts with independent counsel on each side
Each side retains its own attorney, and the surrogate's lawyer is hers to choose and the intended parents' to pay for, as Maine's statute requires. The gestational carrier agreement is completed, signed by every party and notarized before any medical step beyond the evaluations and, in every instance, before the embryo transfer, and each lawyer attaches the written declaration the statute calls for. 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 Maine takes over: your own OB, your own hospital, your own bed, in Portland, Maine, in Lewiston, in Bangor, Maine, in Augusta, Maine, in Biddeford or wherever home is, from the first heartbeat appointment to delivery, with your coordinator close to both sides throughout.
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Parentage and birth
When the agreement meets the statute's requirements, the intended parents are the parents by operation of law at the birth, and your attorneys petition the District Court for the birth order, which the statute lets them seek before or after the birth, so the birth certificate names the intended parents and the family goes home together, on Maine's timeline.
A California team, honest about the miles
Our home office is in Rancho Cucamonga, California, and we would rather say that plainly than pretend a storefront in Portland, Maine, or Bangor, Maine. Many southern Maine families already drive to Boston for fertility care, and some surrogacy agencies are based there, so we are not pretending to be nearby. Surrogacy agencies serving Maine from a New England address do exist, and some families will rightly prefer one.
Maine is a real flight away, so the program is built for it: phone and video for everything except the clinic steps, scheduled around your work and your kids, with trips planned well ahead. When you reach out, a real person calls you back and stays your person, whether home is a street in Portland, Maine, or South Portland, a neighborhood in Lewiston or Auburn, a block in Bangor, Maine, or Augusta, Maine, the York County coast around Biddeford, Saco and Sanford, the Midcoast around Brunswick and Rockland, Waterville, or Presque Isle and Caribou up in Aroostook County. The only steps that bring you to California are the clinic ones.
11989 Arrow Route, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91739
(626) 528-6868
Maine surrogacy, answered
Is surrogacy legal in Maine?
Maine wrote gestational carrier agreements into its parentage statute, the Maine Parentage Act, in force since 2016: the agreement is signed with independent counsel on each side before any medical step beyond the required evaluations and in every instance before the embryo transfer, the statute says the agreement may provide for payment of reasonable expenses negotiated in good faith, and when the agreement meets the statute's requirements the intended parents are the child's parents by operation of law at the birth, with a District Court birth order your attorneys can seek before or after the birth.
The statute covers gestational carrier arrangements, where the surrogate has not contributed her own eggs, and that is the only kind of surrogacy we do. For the state-by-state picture, see our surrogacy law guide.
Can intended parents get a pre-birth order in Maine?
A party to a gestational carrier agreement that meets Maine's statute can ask the District Court, before or after the birth, for an order designating the birth certificate, declaring that the intended parents are the parents, and sealing the record; the statute itself makes the intended parents the parents by operation of law at the birth when the agreement complies, and says neither the surrogate nor her spouse is a parent.
Your attorneys plan the filing and its timing for your match. The depth lives on our surrogacy law guide.
What are the requirements to become a surrogate in Maine?
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. Maine's statute asks that a gestational carrier be at least 21, have given birth to at least one child, complete a medical evaluation that includes a mental health consultation, and have her own independent attorney, chosen by her and paid for by the intended parents.
Those program 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.
How much do surrogates make in Maine?
Compensation for a Maine surrogate is real, it is written into your agreement before any medications begin, and it is shaped by your situation; Maine's statute says the agreement may provide for payment of reasonable expenses negotiated in good faith and must spell out how your health care costs are paid.
All of it is in writing with your own attorney, chosen by you and paid for by the intended parents, before anything medical. The whole arc is on our become a surrogate page.
How do Maine intended parents get started?
With a conversation, whether home is Portland, Maine, Lewiston and Auburn, Bangor, Maine, or Augusta, Maine. 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 walk through costs before you commit: surrogate compensation is one part of the cost in Maine, and the clinic, the legal work, and your insurance shape the rest. Start on our intended parents page, see the full arc on how surrogacy works, or read the surrogacy costs guide.
Do you need a lawyer for surrogacy in Maine?
Every Lily Baby match includes independent counsel on each side, drafted before any medical step, and Maine's statute itself asks that the surrogate and the intended parents each have independent counsel in all matters concerning the agreement, that the surrogate's lawyer be of her own choosing and paid for by the intended parents, and that each lawyer attach a written declaration that the agreement meets the statute.
Your attorneys draft the agreement and petition the District Court for the birth order. We coordinate the referrals so you are never hunting for counsel alone. The state-by-state picture is on our surrogacy law guide.
Get started in Maine
It starts with a conversation, from wherever you are in Maine. We listen first, then show you exactly what comes next.