The surrogacy legal process from the agency's side

The agency does not practise law, but it does manage the calendar the law runs on. Knowing the order of the legal steps, and what each one waits for, is how an agency keeps a match from stalling between the attorneys.

Short answer: From the agency's side, the legal process runs in this order: agency agreements with the intended parents and the surrogate; independent attorneys for each side; the gestational carrier agreement drafted, negotiated and signed; escrow funded and insurance reviewed; then legal clearance to the clinic so medication can start. During the pregnancy, the intended parents' attorney works on legal parentage (a pre-birth order where the state allows it, otherwise post-birth steps), and after delivery come the birth certificate and, for international parents, citizenship and travel documents. The agency's job is to keep every step moving, not to give legal advice.

General information, not legal advice. Surrogacy and donation law differs by state and country and changes often. Agencies should work with an experienced assisted reproduction attorney, and every surrogate, donor and intended parent should have independent legal counsel.

The legal steps, in order

1. Agency agreements. The intended parents sign a service agreement with the agency; many agencies also have an agreement with the surrogate covering their program.
2. Attorneys retained. After the match, each side has its own attorney, experienced in assisted reproduction law in the relevant state.
3. The gestational carrier agreement (GCA) is drafted, usually by the intended parents' attorney, reviewed and negotiated by the surrogate's attorney, and signed.
4. Escrow funded according to the agreement.
5. Insurance reviewed: the surrogate's health insurance checked for surrogacy exclusions, a separate policy bought if needed, and often a life insurance policy for her.
6. Legal clearance. The attorneys confirm to the clinic that the agreement is signed, so medication and transfer can go ahead. Most clinics will not start medication before this.
7. Parentage work during the pregnancy.
8. Birth and after: the hospital is prepared with the parentage paperwork, the birth certificate is issued naming the intended parents, and international parents obtain their child's travel documents.

Independent counsel

ASRM guidance recommends that the surrogate and the intended parents each have independent legal counsel, and some state laws require it for the agreement to be enforceable. In most programs the intended parents pay for both attorneys. The agency should never draft the gestational carrier agreement itself or advise either side on its terms. It can keep a list of experienced attorneys, but each party should choose freely.

The gestational carrier agreement

The agreement typically covers: the intentions of the parties and legal parentage; compensation, allowances and reimbursements; medical decisions, including the number of embryos to transfer, prenatal testing, termination and selective reduction (with the important caveat that agreements cannot force medical procedures on the surrogate, a point attorneys explain to both sides); conduct during the pregnancy; insurance; confidentiality; contact during and after the pregnancy; what happens if something goes wrong, such as a miscarriage, a medical emergency or the death of an intended parent; and dispute resolution. Negotiation is where matches stall, so it helps when both sides' preferences were discussed thoroughly at matching. See how matching works.

Parentage

How the intended parents become the child's legal parents depends on the law where the child is born, and sometimes where the parents live. In many US states, the intended parents' attorney seeks a pre-birth order during the pregnancy, so the hospital can name them on the birth certificate. Other states handle parentage after the birth, and a few have restrictions or require extra steps. Some states have adopted versions of the Uniform Parentage Act, which addresses surrogacy, and the law keeps changing, which is why the attorneys lead this work. The agency's part is timing: knowing when the attorney plans to file, making sure the order or paperwork is with the hospital before the due date, and sharing the hospital plan.

International intended parents

For intended parents from other countries, two more questions matter: how their home country recognises parentage from a surrogacy abroad, and how the baby gets the documents to travel home. Some countries restrict or prohibit surrogacy, and recognising a foreign birth certificate is not automatic. They need advice from a lawyer in their home country as well as a US attorney. For US citizens having a child abroad, the State Department has guidance on citizenship through assisted reproduction. See working with international intended parents.

What the agency coordinates

• Introducing each side to attorneys, and sharing what each attorney needs (with consent).
• Tracking where the agreement is: drafting, with the other side, in revision, ready to sign, signed.
• Following up when a draft has sat with one side too long.
• Making sure the clinic receives legal clearance, and that escrow is funded and insurance reviewed before medication starts.
• Keeping the parentage timeline on the journey calendar, and the hospital informed.
• Storing signed agreements where the team can find them, and where the parties can see their own copies.

How SurroHub helps

SurroHub tracks the legal stage like every other: as steps with owners and dates, and documents on the record.

• Agency agreements by e-sign. Your service and program agreements become templates with merge fields filled from each profile; signers get a secure link, sign on any device, and the sealed PDF files itself.
• Live contract status. See what is awaiting signature, countersign or overdue, and nudge with one click.
• A legal checklist on the match. Attorneys retained, GCA drafted, signed, escrow funded, insurance reviewed, clearance sent, parentage filed: each a step with an owner and a due date, with late steps flagged.
• Documents both sides can see. Completed contracts appear in each party's portal, ready to preview or download; internal documents stay visible to your team only.

Want the facts in one place? SurroHub by the numbers: what it is, who built it, and what agencies run on it today.

Sources: ASRM, Recommendations for practices using gestational carriers (2022); US Department of State, Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) and surrogacy abroad.

Frequently asked questions

← Back to SurroHub