The full timeline at a glance
From application to delivery, becoming a surrogate with Private Label Surrogacy typically takes 12 to 18 months. Pregnancy itself is about nine months of that. The rest is screening, matching, the legal agreement and the medical cycle that leads to the embryo transfer.
The phases happen in order:
- Screening. Application, interview, records review, background check, insurance review and psychological evaluation.
- Matching. Nancy Block, RN, matches you with intended parents who fit your wish list.
- Legal and escrow. Your contract is negotiated by your own attorney, and the parents fund escrow.
- Medical cycle. Screening at the clinic, a possible mock cycle, medications, and the transfer.
- Pregnancy test. 9 to 11 days after transfer.
- Pregnancy, delivery and postpartum.
| Phase | Shortest typical | Longest typical | What controls the duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screening | About one month | About two months | How quickly your medical records arrive |
| Matching | A few weeks | A few months | Your wish list and your state |
| Legal and escrow | Two weeks | Four weeks | Attorney review and negotiation |
| Medical cycle | Two months | Three months | Your clinic's protocol, your cycle, whether a mock cycle is needed |
| Pregnancy test | 9 days after transfer | 11 days after transfer | The clinic's testing schedule |
| Pregnancy | About nine months | About nine months | Your body and the baby |
| Application to transfer | About four months | About eight months | Mostly matching |
The biggest variables are how fast your records arrive, your wish list for intended parents, and whether the first transfer works.
Screening: one to two months
Screening usually takes one to two months. Several steps run at the same time, so it moves faster than the list suggests.
- Prescreen and interview. You complete these in the first week. The prescreen checks the basics: age 21 to 43, a US citizen or permanent resident, BMI under 33, at least one healthy full-term pregnancy, currently parenting, a non-smoker, no government assistance, and a stable home.
- Records. Collecting your prenatal and delivery records takes two to four weeks. Mark Silverberg, DDS, MD, reads every record and writes a physician medical summary for the intended parents' clinic.
- Background check, insurance review and psychological evaluation. These run in parallel with the records request. The psychological evaluation is done by an independent licensed professional, not a PLS employee.
The slowest part is almost always the records. Hospitals and doctors' offices answer requests on their own schedules.
Matching: the most variable step
Matching is where timelines differ most. Nancy Block, RN, runs matching herself. Your profile is shown only to intended parents who fit the wish list you set in your interview: family type, LGBTQ or international parents, religion, the number of embryos to transfer, views on termination, and how much contact you want.
PLS never asks you to compromise on your wish list to match faster. A narrow wish list can take longer. A flexible one can be fast. Cleared surrogates with flexible preferences in surrogacy-friendly states sometimes match within weeks.
For context, intended parents at PLS currently wait about six months for matching, and about nine months from signing to meeting a surrogate. The surrogate side usually moves faster, because more families are waiting than surrogates are available.
Read how matching and the match meeting work.
Legal and escrow: two to four weeks
Once you and the parents both say yes, the legal phase usually takes two to four weeks.
You have your own independent attorney, paid for by the intended parents. The parents' attorney drafts the gestational carrier agreement, your attorney reviews it with you, and the two attorneys negotiate. At match, the parents deposit $10,000 with an independent licensed escrow agent. They fund the balance before you start any medication.
Nothing medical starts until the contract is signed and escrow is funded.
Medical cycle: two to three months
The medical cycle takes two to three months. It includes:
- Medical screening at the intended parents' fertility clinic. A one-day visit.
- A possible mock cycle, a trial run some clinics use to see how your lining responds to medication.
- Medications, 10 to 14 weeks in all, starting with Lupron and estrogen and adding progesterone before transfer. See the medication guide.
- Embryo transfer, a short procedure at the intended parents' clinic.
Your pregnancy blood test is 9 to 11 days after transfer.
Pregnancy and postpartum
If the test is positive, the fertility clinic monitors the early weeks. You then move to your own OB for the rest of the pregnancy, which lasts about nine months, like any pregnancy.
Milestones along the way: the pregnancy blood test, an early ultrasound at the fertility clinic to confirm a heartbeat, the move to your OB, and the third trimester, when housekeeping help of $90 per week begins at 32 weeks. Your case manager stays with you through each one, and you are paid your monthly allowance of $300 throughout.
After delivery, recovery takes several weeks. Your contract covers lost wages for recovery. If you agreed to pump breast milk, that can continue for days or months, as agreed with the parents.
For the intended parents, the whole journey from signing with an agency to taking the baby home typically takes 18 to 24 months. Your part is shorter because you join after they have signed and waited to be matched.
What speeds the process up
- Requesting your records early. Call the hospitals and offices where you delivered as soon as you apply.
- Answering quickly. Forms, scheduling and calls returned within a day or two keep each step moving.
- A flexible wish list. Only if flexibility is right for you. Never widen it just to match faster.
- Living in a surrogacy-friendly state.
- A regular cycle, which makes clinic scheduling simpler.
- A clinic that skips the mock cycle, if your history supports it. That is the clinic's decision.
What slows it down
- Missing records. The most common delay.
- A narrow wish list. Worth it, if it reflects what you want.
- A finding at medical screening, such as a polyp, that needs a minor procedure first.
- Insurance questions, if your plan excludes surrogacy and the parents need a dedicated policy.
- A transfer that does not work. A second transfer usually follows within one to two months, without repeating screening or the legal phase.
- Life events, for you or for the parents. A move, a new job or a family emergency can pause a journey. That is allowed.
Every step is listed in order in the surrogate process, and the become a surrogate guide covers the basics. When you are ready, start with the prescreen: see if you qualify.
Surrogate-side durations on this page are estimates pending confirmation with Nancy Block, RN.
Sources
- American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), recommendations for practices using gestational carriers. https://www.asrm.org
- SEEDS, Society for Ethics in Egg Donation and Surrogacy.