Surrogacy in North Dakota
We serve all of North Dakota, working with surrogates and intended parents in Fargo, North Dakota and West Fargo, in Bismarck, North Dakota and Mandan across the river, in Grand Forks, North Dakota, in Minot, North Dakota, and out west in Williston, North Dakota and Dickinson, North Dakota. Families build through gestational surrogacy in North Dakota every year, with the parentage filing handled by your attorneys in the district court. Gestational surrogacy means the surrogate carries an embryo she did not help create, so she is not genetically related to the baby, and it is the only kind of surrogacy we do; North Dakota's statute says a child born to a gestational carrier is the intended parents' child for all purposes. Most of it happens where you live: you apply from home, match from home, and see your own OB for prenatal care. The first fertility-clinic appointments happen at our clinic in California, a real trip we plan with you well in advance, and from North Dakota that means a connecting flight each way. Here is what that actually looks like from North Dakota.
- Serving
- All of North DakotaFargo, Bismarck, Grand Forks, Minot, Williston and beyond
- Your care
- Your own OB and hospitalAt home in North Dakota, through delivery
- The law
- In statuteNorth Dakota's statute says a child born to a gestational carrier is the intended parents' child for all purposes
- Parentage
- By court orderYour attorneys file in the district court; the order can direct the birth record
How surrogacy works when you live in North Dakota
North Dakota's statute on children of assisted conception is one page long, and it says a child born to a gestational carrier is the intended parents' child for all purposes. So the question we hear most from Fargo or Minot is not whether surrogacy happens here. It is what working with a California program actually means from a state with no nonstop flight to California: which steps come to you, and which ones ask you to travel. Here is the plain geography, one side at a time.
North Dakota 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 Fargo, West Fargo, Bismarck, Mandan, Grand Forks, Minot, Williston or a town in between. The first fertility-clinic appointments, the medical screening, and the embryo transfer happen at our fertility clinic in California. From North Dakota that is a connecting flight and a full travel day each way, and we say so plainly: those are planned trips, booked with you well in advance, never a relocation, and never something we dress up as close.
Once pregnancy is confirmed, everything comes home: your own OB, your own hospital, whether you deliver in Fargo, Bismarck, Grand Forks, Minot or Williston, with your coordinator a call away throughout. 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. The legal work sits with independent attorneys, North Dakota counsel included, who draft the gestational carrier agreement, with separate counsel for your surrogate, and who handle the parentage filing in the district court, which North Dakota's parentage act lets them begin before 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 North Dakota, plainly.
"What are the North Dakota surrogacy laws?" is how most people here ask it, by name rather than by verdict, and the answer is one short statute. North Dakota's statute on children of assisted conception, in its current form since 2005, defines two different arrangements and treats them differently, says who the child's parents are in each, and puts the costs of the pregnancy on the intended parents. What it does not do is set a checklist for the agreement, so the agreement your attorneys draft carries the weight. The full state-by-state picture lives on our law guide.
This is general information, not legal advice. Your own North Dakota attorney confirms how it applies to your match.
Read our full surrogacy law guideNorth Dakota's statute defines two arrangements and treats them differently, and it uses two different words for them. It calls a woman a gestational carrier when she agrees to have an embryo implanted in her and bear the child for intended parents, where the embryo is conceived using the intended parents' own egg and sperm, and it says a child born to a gestational carrier is the intended parents' child for all purposes, and not a child of the carrier. It calls a woman a surrogate when she agrees to bear a child conceived through assisted conception for intended parents, and it says an agreement in which a woman agrees to become a surrogate is void, and that the surrogate is the mother of the resulting child. That is how the statute describes each arrangement, in its own terms, and it is the whole of what it says about who the parents are.
Which definition a particular match falls under is a question for your own North Dakota attorney, not for a web page, and how your embryo was created is one of the first things that attorney looks at, because the statute's gestational-carrier definition is written around the intended parents' own egg and sperm. It is also one of the first things we plan with you, before anything medical begins. Lily Baby works only in gestational surrogacy, where the surrogate is not genetically related to the child.
The statute puts the costs of pregnancy-related services, including labor and delivery, on the intended parents. It sets no checklist of its own for the agreement: no age, no prior birth, no evaluation, no counsel, no writing, no timing, no escrow. So the agreement, written with independent counsel on each side and signed before any medical step, is where the protections live, and that is how every Lily Baby match is built, as our program rather than as North Dakota's law. Your attorneys handle the parentage filing in the district court, which North Dakota's parentage act lets them begin before the birth, and the court's order can direct an amended birth registration naming the parents. The act also says the proceeding is not concluded until after the birth, so when an order issues is your attorneys' plan for your match, not something a page can promise.
A note on accuracy. Nothing above is our verdict on North Dakota's law; it is what the statute says, in its own words, about two different arrangements, and the only kind of surrogacy we do is gestational. Because the statute sets no requirements for the agreement and provides no procedure of its own for the parentage filing, the drafting and the counsel carry the weight; your own North Dakota attorney confirms how it applies to your match.
Requirements to become a surrogate in North Dakota
These are the general guidelines most surrogacy programs follow, ours included, for anyone thinking about becoming a surrogate in North Dakota. They are ours, not the state's: North Dakota's statute sets no checklist of its own. 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.
North Dakota's statute asks for none of this. It sets no age, prior-birth, evaluation, counsel or escrow requirement of its own for a gestational carrier, so the standards that protect you are ours and your agreement's. Our screening covers your medical records, a clinic evaluation in California, psychological screening and a background review, done in that order and explained as we go, and every match includes your own independent attorney, separate from the intended parents', before anything medical begins. That is how we work in every state, and we would rather say so than dress it up as North Dakota law.
How much do surrogates make in North Dakota, or how much surrogates get paid, 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. North Dakota's statute puts the costs of pregnancy-related services, including labor and delivery, on the intended parents, so your medical costs are never yours; the compensation itself is a program matter, agreed in writing with your own attorney and held in escrow. We would rather have that conversation with you personally than post headline numbers, so the answer you hear is actually yours.
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 Fargo, Bismarck, Grand Forks or Minot
From Fargo or West Fargo, from Bismarck or Mandan, from Grand Forks or Minot, or from Williston, Dickinson or Jamestown, North Dakota, the first step is the same: a phone call and no commitment. Working with us from North Dakota means one coordinated team for the match, the screening, the clinic and the independent legal work, run by one person you know by name, and we tell you up front where every step happens, connecting flight included. 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, and we tell you exactly which steps ask for one. The step-by-step arc is on our how surrogacy works page.
Counsel who draft the agreement and handle the parentage filing
Your agreement is drafted and reviewed by independent attorneys, with separate counsel for your surrogate, and it is signed before any medical step because every Lily Baby match requires it; North Dakota's statute sets no checklist of its own for the agreement, so the drafting carries the weight. How your embryo was created is one of the first things your North Dakota attorney looks at, because the statute's gestational-carrier definition is written around the intended parents' own egg and sperm, and we plan that question with you first. Your attorneys then handle the parentage filing in the district court, which North Dakota's parentage act lets them begin before the birth, and the court's order can direct an amended birth registration naming the parents. The parentage act also says the court applies North Dakota law to adjudicate parentage and that the applicable law does not depend on where the child is born or lives, so intended parents outside North Dakota can match with a North Dakota surrogate; your attorneys confirm jurisdiction and venue for your match.
Every kind of family, welcomed
We welcome married, unmarried, LGBTQ+, and single intended parents. That is our own service statement rather than a reading of North Dakota's statute; what the parentage act does say is that a child born to parents who are not married to each other has the same rights under the law as a child born to parents who are married to each other, which is a fact about the child. Experienced North Dakota counsel structure the path for each family. See how we support LGBTQ+ families.
Clear costs before you commit
"How much does surrogacy cost in North Dakota?" comes up early, from Bismarck and Minot as much as from Fargo, so we answer it early. Surrogate compensation is one part of the cost in North Dakota, 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. "Will insurance pay for surrogacy?" is a real North Dakota question too, and your consultation covers what your own coverage does and does not do, policy by policy. One thing the statute does settle is that the costs of pregnancy-related services, including labor and delivery, are the intended parents' responsibility, and we build that into the estimate from the start. Our surrogacy costs guide shows how that conversation works.
How does surrogacy work in North Dakota?
Six steps, the same order every time, at the pace your match sets. Here is the road from first call to homecoming, with the California steps named where they fall.
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First conversation and application
By phone or video from anywhere in North Dakota. 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 a planned trip, and from North Dakota it is a connecting flight, since no airport in the state flies nonstop to California; you will know the dates 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 on each side
Each side retains its own attorney, with the surrogate's counsel separate and independent from the intended parents', and the gestational carrier agreement is completed and signed before any medical procedure begins. North Dakota's statute asks for none of that; every Lily Baby match does. 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 embryo transfer; the surrogate carries an embryo she did not help create, which is what makes this gestational surrogacy, the only kind we do. Then North Dakota takes over: your own OB, your own hospital, your own bed, whether that is in Fargo, Bismarck, Grand Forks, Minot, Williston or Dickinson, from the first heartbeat appointment to delivery, with your coordinator close to both sides throughout.
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Parentage and birth
Your attorneys handle the parentage filing in the district court, which North Dakota's parentage act lets them begin before the birth and says is not concluded until after it, and the court's order can direct an amended birth registration naming the parents, so the family goes home together, on North Dakota'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 Fargo or Bismarck storefront. When you search for a North Dakota surrogacy agency, the names that come up are national programs and a couple of small regional ones based just across the state line; we are not pretending to be nearby, and we are not pretending the clinic is either. No airport in North Dakota flies nonstop to any California airport, so a clinic trip from Fargo, Bismarck, Grand Forks, Minot or Williston is one connection each way and a full travel day, and the program is built for exactly that: 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 Fargo or West Fargo, a neighborhood in Bismarck or Mandan, Grand Forks, Minot, Williston or Dickinson out west, or Jamestown, Wahpeton or Devils Lake. The only steps that bring you to California are the clinic ones.
11989 Arrow Route, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91739
(626) 528-6868
North Dakota surrogacy, answered
Is surrogacy legal in North Dakota?
North Dakota's statute on children of assisted conception treats two arrangements differently. When a woman carries an embryo conceived using the intended parents' own egg and sperm, the statute calls her a gestational carrier and says the child is the intended parents' child for all purposes. When a woman agrees to bear a child conceived through assisted conception for intended parents, the statute calls her a surrogate, says that agreement is void, and says she is the child's mother. Lily Baby works only in gestational surrogacy.
The statute answers the question in its own terms rather than with a verdict, and which definition a particular match falls under is a question for your own North Dakota attorney. For the state-by-state picture, see our surrogacy law guide.
Can intended parents get a pre-birth order in North Dakota?
North Dakota's parentage act lets a proceeding to determine parentage be commenced before the birth of the child, and says it may not be concluded until after the birth; the statute on children of assisted conception says a child born to a gestational carrier is the intended parents' child for all purposes. Your attorneys plan the filing in the district court, and the court's order can direct an amended birth registration naming the parents.
The statute itself does not say when an order issues, so neither do we; how your filing runs is your attorneys' plan for your match. The depth lives on our surrogacy law guide.
What are the requirements to become a surrogate in North Dakota?
North Dakota's statute sets no checklist of its own for who can be a gestational carrier, so the standards are ours and your agreement's: roughly 21 to 38 years old, at least one healthy birth, a child you are raising now, good general health, no smoking, a stable and supported home, and your own independent attorney before anything medical.
Final eligibility is by conversation plus screening: your medical records, a clinic evaluation in California, psychological screening and a background review. 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 North Dakota?
Compensation for a North Dakota surrogate is real, it is written into the agreement before any medications begin, and it is shaped by her situation; North Dakota's statute puts the costs of pregnancy-related services, including labor and delivery, on the intended parents, so her medical costs are never hers.
The agreement you sign with your own attorney is where the compensation terms live, and we talk it through with you personally rather than posting numbers. The whole arc is on our become a surrogate page.
How do intended parents in Fargo, Bismarck or Grand Forks 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 walk through costs before you commit: surrogate compensation is one part of the cost in North Dakota, 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 North Dakota?
Every Lily Baby match includes independent counsel on each side, drafted before any medical step. North Dakota's statute sets no checklist of its own for a gestational carrier agreement, so that counsel, and the agreement they draft, is where the protections live.
Your attorneys draft the agreement and handle the parentage filing in the district court. We coordinate the referrals so you are never hunting for counsel alone.
Get started in North Dakota
It starts with a conversation, from wherever you are in North Dakota, Fargo to Bismarck. We listen first, then show you exactly what comes next, including which steps ask for a flight.