Surrogacy Agreement

A surrogacy agreement records a prospective gestational carrier's and intended parent or parents' preconception arrangement, including eligibility, independent representation, expenses and compensation, insurance, medical autonomy, parentage steps, and responsibility for every resulting child, subject to the law of each connected state.

A useful document turns the parties' actual arrangement into measurable duties, approvals, timing, remedies, and a reliable execution record. Its terms should be reconciled to the transaction rather than copied from an unrelated form.

• An eligible gestational carrier who will not provide the egg and one or more intended parents plan an embryo-transfer arrangement in a state that recognizes their proposed structure
• The parties need a written framework for independent counsel, screening, insurance, escrow, expenses, compensation if lawful, communications, and responsibilities before fertility medication or embryo transfer begins
• Counsel must coordinate a compliant agreement with a prebirth or post-birth parentage proceeding, hospital plan, vital-record instructions, and contingency documents
• A cross-state arrangement requires a documented analysis of every materially connected jurisdiction, including the parties' residences, place of contracting, clinic, embryo transfer, anticipated birth, and parentage venue

The document name alone does not determine the right structure. Consider a different instrument or qualified legal review when any of these conditions applies:

• Do not use a national template without current advice from separate reproductive-law counsel for the gestational carrier and the intended parent or parents; state rules differ sharply on eligibility, genetic surrogacy, compensation, expenses, formalities, court approval, parentage, and enforceability, and a choice-of-law clause cannot reliably cure a prohibited arrangement.
• Do not use it after a statutory signing deadline has passed, including after fertility medication or an embryo-transfer procedure where applicable, or before counsel confirms every required signature, witness, notarization, screening, residency, marital-status, insurance, escrow, and preapproval condition.
• Do not use it to require an abortion, pregnancy continuation, multifetal reduction, cesarean delivery, number of embryos transferred, particular clinician, or other health decision by the gestational carrier; medical consent must remain with the patient and contrary terms may be void or unenforceable.
• Do not treat it as the intended parents' IVF consent, an embryo-storage or disposition directive, a gamete- or embryo-donation agreement, a clinic or agency services agreement, a parentage judgment, an adoption, a birth certificate, a will, or an insurance policy.
• Do not use the gestational form for a genetic or traditional surrogacy arrangement in which the surrogate provides the egg unless counsel confirms that the specific jurisdiction permits that different structure and all validation and revocation rules are satisfied.

Record exact facts before clauses are written. Names, authority, dates, amounts, defined terms, dependencies, and incorporated materials should be verifiable and consistent.

• Each intended parent, the prospective gestational carrier, and every spouse or partner whose participation or notice may be required, including legal names, contact information, age, residence and residency history, citizenship or immigration status where relevant, marital status, and independent counsel
• Every connected jurisdiction and event: residence, negotiation and signing, medical and mental-health evaluation, fertility clinic, gamete or embryo source, medication, embryo transfer, anticipated prenatal care and birth, and proposed parentage and vital-record proceedings
• Eligibility and informed-consent facts required by applicable law, including prior pregnancy or birth history where relevant, genetic versus gestational status, medical clearance, mental-health consultation, and any required program, agency, background, or records review
• The known source and status of eggs, sperm, and embryos; donor involvement and donative-intent records; clinic and storage-facility details; permitted transfer attempts and embryo-transfer parameters; and references to separate clinic consents and embryo-storage or disposition directives
• Base compensation if lawful, itemized reimbursable expenses, lost wages, childcare, travel, maternity items, counseling, legal and court costs, payment triggers, tax and public-benefit notices, independent escrow funding, account controls, records, and treatment after termination or an unsuccessful cycle
• Health-plan terms and exclusions for a surrogate pregnancy, enrollment and notice requirements, deductibles and coinsurance, third-party liens, newborn coverage, uncovered care, claims administration, and any required life, disability, complications, or loss-of-reproductive-function coverage
• The parentage plan for all possible outcomes, including multiple birth, disability or health condition, laboratory error, donor issue, miscarriage, stillbirth, termination, separation or death of an intended parent, and the documents, venue, deadlines, hospital contacts, custody-at-birth logistics, and support obligations involved
• Communications, appointment participation subject to patient consent, privacy and permitted releases, travel expectations, counseling, post-birth contact if desired, dispute escalation, termination rights, and document-retention practices

These decisions shape the allocation of responsibility and should not be left for boilerplate to decide:

• Whether the proposed arrangement is gestational or genetic and lawful in every connected jurisdiction, which state's mandatory rules and forum govern, and whether residence, citizenship, age, prior-birth, marital, genetic, screening, or program requirements are satisfied
• Which independent lawyer represents each side, when representation must begin and end, who pays without controlling the representation, and which rights notice, certification, waiting period, signature, witness, notarization, filing, or judicial approval is required before medication or transfer
• Which compensation and expense categories are lawful, which are fixed or contingent, how accrued obligations survive a failed attempt or termination, when escrow must be funded, and how tax and public-benefit consequences will be handled by appropriate professionals
• How the gestational carrier's health coverage treats surrogate pregnancy, who bears premiums, deductibles, exclusions, liens, denied claims, uncovered care, postpartum coverage, and newborn costs, and what life, disability, or complications insurance is required or chosen
• How the contract will preserve the gestational carrier's final authority over health care, clinician selection, pregnancy continuation or termination, fetal reduction, cesarean delivery, and other pregnancy decisions while documenting nonbinding preferences and communication protocols
• Which embryos may be presented for transfer, how many attempts are contemplated, and which separate clinic and storage directives control ownership, use, continued storage, donation, research, transport, or discard of unused embryos after death, incapacity, separation, nonpayment, or completion
• When and where counsel will seek any pretransfer approval and prebirth or post-birth parentage order, who handles the hospital and birth record, and how parentage, support, and guardianship are protected if there are multiples, disability, laboratory error, donor issues, or an intended parent's death or separation
• What happens after failed transfer, miscarriage, stillbirth, termination, material health change, insurance loss, party withdrawal, breach, or legal change, including accrued payments, medical follow-up, counseling, records, confidentiality, and noncoercive dispute procedures

• Parties, intent, gestational rather than genetic status, connected jurisdictions, eligibility representations, required spouse participation, and conditions precedent tied to counsel, screening, insurance, escrow, and law
• Separate independent legal counsel from the required stage through completion, allocation of counsel fees without changing who the lawyer represents, acknowledgments of informed and voluntary execution, and required attorney declarations or certifications
• Execution date and place, signatures, witnesses or notarization, delivery of copies, and an express prohibition on starting covered medication or medical procedures before all statutory and contractual preconditions are satisfied
• Clinical coordination and transfer-attempt parameters that defer to the gestational carrier's contemporaneous informed consent and treating clinicians, preserve the carrier's exclusive control over personal health and pregnancy decisions, and do not promise or compel pregnancy or a live birth
• Compensation only where lawful; defined reimbursements and noncontingent payment treatment; independent escrow funding and administration; receipts, wage-loss evidence, taxes and public-benefit notices; and accrued obligations after cancellation, failed transfer, miscarriage, stillbirth, termination, or delivery
• Health, newborn, life, disability, and complications coverage; policy review and exclusions; premiums, deductibles, copayments, liens, uncovered care, claims cooperation, continuation periods, and a backstop when coverage is denied or uncertain
• Intended-parent acceptance, custody at birth, and financial support for every resulting child regardless of number, sex, genetic connection, disability, health condition, or laboratory error, together with death, incapacity, separation, guardianship, estate, and successor-contact contingencies
• Parentage petition, required pretransfer approval or prebirth or post-birth order, counsel certifications, venue, sealed filings, hospital and birth-record instructions, post-birth cooperation, and a statement that the contract alone may not establish legal parentage
• Identification of the embryos authorized for contemplated transfer and allocation of transfer-related costs, with explicit cross-references to separate clinic, cryostorage, donation, and embryo-disposition consents governing unused embryos, death, incapacity, separation, nonpayment, storage limits, donation, research, or discard
• Privacy and narrowly tailored medical-information authorizations, communications and appointment access subject to patient consent, counseling, travel, bed rest and support logistics, post-birth contact if agreed, record custody, termination, breach remedies that cannot compel medical performance, dispute process, governing law, severability, and amendment formalities

Every provision should use the same parties, dates, standards, defined terms, and document hierarchy. A clause that is reasonable by itself can still create a conflict when it is not reconciled with payment, default, termination, or another exhibit.

1. 01Describe the intended result and the relationship in plain language.
2. 02Confirm parties, authority, governing jurisdiction, dates, money, property, services, and approvals.
3. 03Resolve the key decisions and identify every schedule, exhibit, disclosure, consent, or filing.
4. 04Draft the provisions as one consistent system, then review the complete execution set before signature.

Surrogacy has no single nationwide contract rule. The validity of the arrangement, required parties, eligibility, genetic connection, compensation, reimbursable expenses, counsel, screening, signing deadline, escrow, insurance, court approval, parentage procedure, and remedies can change across states connected to the same journey. A form drafted for one state may be void, unenforceable, or insufficient in another, and a governing-law clause cannot necessarily override another state's public policy or a court's parentage authority. The contract must never convert intended-parent preferences into control over the gestational carrier's body or medical care. Insurance exclusions, liens, uncovered postpartum care, stale screening, unfunded escrow, missing spouse signatures, clinic-document conflicts, unclear embryo records, and failure to obtain the correct parentage order can create severe medical, financial, and family-status consequences.

The main agreement may establish the framework while schedules, exhibits, disclosures, consents, or operational records supply transaction-specific details.

• Independent-counsel engagement letters and any required attorney declarations, statutory rights notices, eligibility certifications, witnessed or notarized signature pages, and spouse or partner participation documents
• Medical-clearance and mental-health consultation confirmations, clinic treatment and informed-consent forms, medication and embryo-transfer records, donor or gamete agreements, laboratory identification records, and privacy authorizations, with sensitive health information limited to what is necessary
• Fertility-clinic and cryostorage agreements, chain-of-custody records, written directives for unused-embryo storage and disposition, death or separation instructions, and any donation or research consent
• Compensation and expense schedule, independent escrow agreement and funding confirmation, reimbursement protocol, tax or public-benefit notices, and receipts or wage-loss documentation
• Health-policy documents and surrogate-pregnancy coverage review, enrollment and notice confirmations, benefit and exclusion summaries, life and disability policies, newborn coverage plan, lien information, and uncovered-expense backstop
• Parentage petition, pretransfer approval where required, prebirth or post-birth judgment, counsel certifications, hospital plan, vital-record forms, wills and guardian nominations, powers of attorney if independently appropriate, and evidence of completed filings

Each incorporated document should be identified precisely, use the same names and effective date, and follow a stated order of precedence if terms conflict.

Before anyone signs, state-specific independent reproductive-law counsel should map every connected jurisdiction and confirm eligibility, permitted compensation, required expenses and coverage, spouse participation, screening, representation, formalities, escrow, and court steps. Execute and fund the complete package before the earliest applicable medication or procedure deadline; reconcile it with clinic, donor, cryostorage, embryo-disposition, insurance, estate, hospital, and parentage documents; and track filings, orders, coverage periods, payments, and birth-record instructions through written completion. NOMOS supplies general drafting information, not legal, medical, insurance, tax, benefits, immigration, psychological, or financial advice; it does not represent any party, provide independent counsel, determine enforceability or parentage, assess medical suitability, verify coverage, hold escrow, obtain clinic consent, or secure a court order or birth record.

• Confirm legal names, roles, capacity, addresses, and signing authority
• Reconcile dates, amounts, definitions, cross-references, schedules, and exhibits
• Confirm that duties, deadlines, approvals, acceptance standards, and payment triggers are measurable
• Check that default, termination, remedies, and surviving obligations work together
• Complete jurisdiction-specific forms, notices, witnesses, notarization, filings, or professional review when applicable
• Deliver and preserve the complete signed package with its incorporated documents

These sources provide federal, state-resource, regulatory, or institutional context. They do not replace checking the law and required forms applicable to the parties, transaction, and governing jurisdiction.

1. Source 1

   California Family Code Section 7962

   California Legislative Information. Official California statute requiring specified agreement content, separate independent attorneys, witnessed or notarized execution before embryo transfer or preparatory injectable medication, insurance-coverage disclosure, and a court proceeding and order establishing the intended parents' parentage.

2. Source 2

   New York Family Court Act Section 581-403 — Requirements of surrogacy agreement

   New York State Senate. Current official New York statute addressing signatures, premedication execution, separate independent counsel throughout the arrangement, escrow for compensation and anticipated expenses, insurance disclosure, the surrogate's nonwaivable health and pregnancy decisions, counseling and disability coverage, and intended-parent custody and support obligations.

3. Source 3

   New York Family Court Act Section 581-203 — Proceeding for judgment of parentage pursuant to a surrogacy agreement

   New York State Senate. Current official New York statute setting venue, necessary parties, verified-petition and attorney-certification requirements, and the judgment that establishes intended-parent status, excludes surrogate and donor parentage, assigns support, and directs birth-record treatment.

4. Source 4

   New York Family Court Act Section 581-604 — Health insurance and medical costs

   New York State Senate. Current official New York statute detailing the surrogate's right to comprehensive coverage through pregnancy and twelve months after birth, stillbirth, miscarriage, or termination, plus intended-parent responsibility for related deductibles, copayments, and other out-of-pocket medical costs, subject to the statute's limited uncompensated-surrogacy waiver.

5. Source 5

   Chapter 26.26A RCW — Uniform Parentage Act

   Washington State Legislature. Official Washington code illustrating eligibility, evaluation and consultation, independent representation, execution before covered medical procedures, medical autonomy, expense and consideration terms, termination rules, gestational parentage orders, and distinct court-validation and withdrawal rules for genetic surrogacy.

6. Source 6

   Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:2720 — Enforceability of gestational carrier contract

   Louisiana State Legislature. Current official Louisiana statute demonstrating materially different state policy: a qualifying written gestational-carrier contract requires advance court approval, a compensated contract is null and unenforceable, and a contract cannot require pregnancy termination or multifetal reduction.

7. Source 7

   Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:2720.5 — Order Preceding Embryo Transfer

   Louisiana State Legislature. Current official Louisiana statute requiring an Order Preceding Embryo Transfer and identifying the healthcare, legal, counseling, wage-loss, travel, court, attorney-fee, and judicially sanctioned amounts that may be covered without prohibited compensation.

8. Source 8

   California Health and Safety Code Section 125315

   California Legislative Information. Official California statute requiring fertility providers to give patients information and a separate written directive addressing storage and disposition of unused embryos, including events such as death, separation, nonpayment, donation, research, or discard; it supports treating embryo disposition as a clinic-consent workflow rather than assuming a surrogacy agreement alone controls it.