Surrogacy laws by state, in plain language
In the United States, surrogacy is decided state by state, not by one national law. Some states write gestational surrogacy into statute, others handle it through their courts with no statute at all, and a few restrict it. Here is what that actually means for you, without the legalese.
Is surrogacy legal in the US?
There is no federal surrogacy law, so each state sets its own rules. Some states write gestational surrogacy into statute, others handle it through their courts, and a few restrict it. Where we work, we walk you through how the law applies to your match.
Is it legal in California?
California writes gestational surrogacy into statute: an agreement that meets the statute's requirements is presumptively valid, and the parentage judgment can be entered before the birth.
Will the law work where I live?
We work across 43 states, and we tell you plainly how the law applies to your situation, with independent counsel on each side, before you commit to anything.
Why surrogacy law varies by state
Many countries set surrogacy rules at the national level. The United States does not. Instead, each state decides whether and how gestational surrogacy works inside its borders, so the same arrangement can be straightforward in one state and complicated one state line away.
Some states have written statutes that spell out how a surrogacy agreement is formed and how the intended parents' parentage is established. Others have no surrogacy statute: in some of them a court has ruled on a surrogacy agreement, in others no court has, and parentage is handled through the courts by the attorneys on each match. A few are genuinely restrictive. Because of that range, three things tend to matter most: where you live, where your surrogate lives, and where the baby will be born.
There is no national surrogacy statute in the United States, and no single court ruling that settles it everywhere. That is why the answer to "is surrogacy legal" almost always starts with "it depends on the state."
What makes a state supportive
When attorneys call a state surrogacy-friendly, they are usually pointing to a handful of concrete features. The more of these a state has written into law, the less your attorneys have to work out case by case.
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Enforceable agreements
State law treats a gestational surrogacy agreement that meets its requirements as enforceable, so the commitments each side makes hold up.
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Pre-birth parentage
Courts can name the intended parents as the legal parents before the baby is born, so their names can go on the birth certificate from the start.
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Equal access
The statute reaches married and unmarried intended parents alike, and intended parents with or without a genetic connection to the child.
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Clear, written rules
The path is set out in a statute, not pieced together from scattered court rulings, so attorneys can tell you what to expect with confidence.
Key legal terms, defined simply
A few phrases come up again and again. Here is what they actually mean.
Pre-birth order
A court order obtained before the baby is born that establishes the intended parents as the legal parents from the moment of birth. In states that provide for them, the intended parents' names go on the birth certificate on the strength of that order.
Parentage order
A court order that confirms who the legal parents are. It can be issued before or after birth depending on the state. Where a pre-birth order is not available, your attorneys complete the parentage work after the birth.
Gestational surrogacy agreement
The contract between the intended parents and the gestational carrier. Each side has its own independent attorney, and the agreement covers the practical and the difficult parts alike: medical decisions, communication, expenses, and the many what-ifs of a pregnancy.
Gestational carrier
The person who carries the pregnancy in gestational surrogacy. She has no genetic link to the baby, because the embryo is created from the intended parents' or donors' eggs and sperm. This is the form of surrogacy used in modern programs.
Where we work, state by state
Every square is a state. The warm squares are the 43 states, plus Washington, D.C., where we work with intended parents and surrogates. The pale squares are the four states outside our service area, and Indiana, Louisiana, and Nebraska have their own shade because their laws genuinely restrict surrogacy. Select any state for a plain-language note, and where we have a full state page, the panel links straight to it. You can also read the same information as a list below the map.
General information, not legal advice. Confirm the current law of your state with a licensed reproductive attorney. State surrogacy law changes, courts differ, and how the law applies depends on your specific circumstances.
The same map, as a list
Where we work
We work with intended parents and surrogates in these 43 states, plus Washington, D.C. Surrogacy law varies from state to state, and we walk you through exactly how it applies to your match.
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, plus Washington, D.C.
Not in our service area
We don't place surrogates or match families in these four states right now. Reach out and we'll talk through your options.
Florida, New York, Rhode Island, and Texas.
Not served, and the law is restrictive
Louisiana's statute sharply limits compensated surrogacy, an Indiana statute makes a surrogacy agreement void and its terms unenforceable, and an older Nebraska statute makes a compensated surrogacy contract void and unenforceable, so we don't place or match families in these states. If this is your state, reach out and we'll talk through what's possible.
Indiana, Louisiana, and Nebraska.
California, written into statute
California writes gestational surrogacy into its Family Code. The statute sets out what a gestational carrier agreement must contain, that the surrogate and the intended parents each have their own separate, independent attorney, when the agreement is signed, and how the intended parents' parentage is established, including before the birth.
Those provisions sit in the Family Code's parentage law, first enacted in 2012 and in force since 2013, with the most recent amendments taking effect in 2020. Our home office is in California, and the first fertility-clinic appointments for every match happen at our clinic here.
California surrogacy in depth-
The agreement is presumptively valid. When the statute's steps are followed, including a separate, independent attorney for each side, notarized signatures, and signing before any injectable medication or the embryo transfer, the agreement is presumptively valid and cannot be rescinded or revoked without a court order.
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Parentage can be established before birth. A party to the agreement can file the parentage action before the birth, and the statute provides for a judgment establishing the intended parents as the parents, which may be issued before or after the birth, with enforcement stayed until the baby arrives.
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Married or unmarried. The statute defines an intended parent as an individual, married or unmarried, and speaks of the intended parent or parents. We welcome married, unmarried, LGBTQ+, and single intended parents.
The California Family Code's provisions on assisted reproduction agreements for gestational carriers, read in their current form. General information, not legal advice. Your own California attorney confirms how it applies to your match.
How Lily Baby helps with the legal side
You do not have to figure out the law on your own. Telling you plainly how it applies where you are is part of our job.
We work with intended parents and surrogates across 43 states. Because the law depends on where you live, where your surrogate lives, and where the baby is born, we look at your specific situation and tell you plainly what to expect.
If something is genuinely complicated in your state, we will say so rather than gloss over it. You can read more about the full path in how surrogacy works or, if you are building your family, on the intended parents page.
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We map your situation
We look at the states involved and walk you through how surrogacy law is likely to apply before you make any commitments.
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Each side gets its own attorney
Intended parents and surrogates are represented by separate, independent reproductive attorneys. We help coordinate it; we do not give legal advice ourselves.
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Parentage is handled in order
Your legal team prepares the agreement and the parentage steps, whether that is a pre-birth order or another route your state uses.
Surrogacy law, answered
Is surrogacy legal in the United States?
There is no federal surrogacy law, so each state sets its own rules. Some states write gestational surrogacy into statute, others have no surrogacy statute and handle parentage through their courts, and a few restrict it. Where you live, where your surrogate lives, and where the baby is born all factor into how the law applies, and your own attorney confirms how it applies to your match.
Is surrogacy legal in California?
California writes gestational surrogacy into its Family Code. An agreement that meets the statute's requirements, including a separate, independent attorney for each side and notarized signatures before any injectable medication or embryo transfer, is presumptively valid, and the statute provides for a judgment establishing the intended parents' parentage that may be issued before the baby is born. The statute defines an intended parent as an individual, married or unmarried. We welcome married, unmarried, LGBTQ+, and single intended parents.
For the full picture, see surrogacy in California.
What is a pre-birth order?
A pre-birth order is a court order obtained before the baby is born that names the intended parents as the legal parents, so they appear on the birth certificate from the start. It is available in states that provide for it. Where it is not, your attorneys complete the parentage work after the birth.
Which states are the most surrogacy-friendly?
Some states write gestational surrogacy into statute. California does: its statute treats a gestational carrier agreement that meets its requirements as presumptively valid and provides for a judgment of parentage that can be entered before the birth. Among the other states where we work, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington have written law under which a gestational surrogacy agreement that meets the statute's requirements is enforceable and which provides for the intended parents' parentage, in several of these states through an order or judgment the court can enter before the birth.
Wherever you live, the practical question is how your state's law applies to your specific match, and walking you through that is part of our job. Our state-by-state map above shows where we work at a glance. This is general information, not legal advice.
Is there a federal surrogacy law?
No. Surrogacy is governed entirely at the state level. That is the single biggest reason your state, and your surrogate's state, matter so much to how your path will look.
What is the difference between a pre-birth and a post-birth order?
Both establish who the legal parents are. A pre-birth order is finalized before delivery, so the intended parents are recognized at birth. A post-birth order is completed after the baby arrives. Which one applies depends on the state, and your attorney will confirm the right route for your situation.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Surrogacy laws change, and how they apply depends on your specific circumstances. Before you make decisions, talk with a reproductive attorney licensed in your state. Lily Baby Surrogacy coordinates independent legal counsel for intended parents and surrogates, and can help connect you.
Know your state's laws
Tell us where you and your surrogate live, and we'll walk you through how surrogacy law applies to you.