Which states does PLS accept surrogates from?
Reviewed by [attorney name], [firm], on [date]. State law summaries on this page are pending review by counsel.
You do not need to live in Illinois to be a surrogate with Private Label Surrogacy. PLS is based in Northbrook, Illinois, but accepts surrogates in any US state where two things are true: a compensated gestational surrogacy agreement is enforceable, and the intended parents can be named as the legal parents through a pre-birth or post-birth parentage order.
That covers most of the country. PLS does not currently accept surrogate applicants who live in Nebraska or Louisiana. In a few other states, PLS reviews each application with counsel before going ahead.
Where you live also has to fit the rest of the surrogate requirements, including US citizenship or permanent residency. See citizenship and residency requirements if that applies to you.
| Tier | Example states | PLS acceptance | Parentage order available |
|---|---|---|---|
| Statute: surrogacy law with pre-birth orders | Illinois, California, Colorado, New Jersey, New York, Washington, Nevada, Michigan since April 2025 | Accepted | Pre-birth order or attorney certification before birth |
| Statute with conditions | Texas, Florida | Accepted when the intended parents meet the state's conditions | Pre-birth in Texas with conditions; post-birth in Florida |
| Favorable case law or court practice | Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Oregon, Minnesota, Missouri, Iowa, North Carolina, Tennessee | Accepted | Pre-birth or post-birth order, depending on the county and court |
| Uncertain | Arizona | Reviewed case by case with counsel | Courts have granted orders, but the statute is unfavorable |
| Not accepted | Nebraska, Louisiana | Not accepted | Compensated agreements are void or not permitted |
For each state's details, see surrogacy laws by state.
Why the law of your state controls the contract
Your gestational carrier agreement is a contract between you and the intended parents. It sets out your compensation, your expenses, your insurance and how medical decisions are made. For you to be protected, that contract has to be enforceable.
The law that governs your agreement, and the hospital's birth certificate process, is generally the law of the state where you live and deliver. You will deliver at a hospital near your home, which may not be in Illinois. So the question is not where PLS is, or where the intended parents are. It is where you are.
That is also why your attorney must be licensed in your state. You have your own independent attorney, who answers only to you. The intended parents pay the fee. Your attorney reviews and negotiates the agreement under your state's law, and coordinates with the parents' attorney on the parentage order. PLS refers to independent reproductive-law attorneys and does not employ lawyers. See the legal contract.
What makes a state surrogacy-friendly?
Four things, roughly in this order of importance:
- The agreement is enforceable. A statute or settled court practice says a compensated gestational surrogacy contract will be honored.
- Parentage is clear. The intended parents can be named the legal parents, ideally before birth, without an adoption.
- Compensation is allowed. Some states permit only unpaid arrangements.
- The process is predictable. Courts and hospitals in the state have handled surrogacy births before and know the paperwork.
Illinois, under the Gestational Surrogacy Act of 2005, meets all four. Michigan legalized compensated surrogacy in April 2025. For you, a friendly state means your agreement protects you, and on delivery day the hospital already knows the baby goes home with the intended parents. PLS serves as hospital liaison wherever you deliver, so the birth plan reaches the hospital before labor begins.
Which states are excluded and why?
PLS does not accept surrogates who live in Nebraska, where compensated surrogacy contracts are void by statute and the surrogate is treated as the legal mother. PLS does not accept surrogates who live in Louisiana, where only uncompensated gestational surrogacy is permitted, for married couples using their own egg and sperm.
The reason is protection, for you first. If your contract cannot be enforced, the promises in it, including your compensation and insurance, are not secure. And if parentage is unclear, you could be treated as a legal parent of a child you carried for someone else. PLS will not ask you to take that risk.
The excluded-state list is reviewed by counsel and confirmed with Nancy Block, RN, before publishing. Laws change. Michigan moved from banned to permitted in 2025. If you live in a state that is not listed, ask; PLS will check. See restricted states for the background.
Does it matter where the intended parents live?
No. Intended parents may live anywhere in the US or abroad. What matters is where you live and deliver.
PLS works with intended parents across the US and internationally. Jan Telman Berman, PLS's Global Surrogacy Coordinator, has more than 18 years of experience and manages national and international cycles. For international parents, the baby's travel documents and home-country citizenship are planned by their attorneys. A federal executive order dated August 6, 2026, on citizenship for children born through compensated surrogacy to two non-citizen parents is under litigation. Status as of [date], reviewed by counsel. That question affects the parents' planning. It does not change your agreement or your compensation.
The intended parents' clinic may be in another state, so you may travel for medical screening and the embryo transfer. Travel is paid for. Local monitoring, the bloodwork and ultrasounds before transfer, happens at a clinic near your home.
What if you move during the journey?
Tell your case manager before you move, not after. A move to another state can change which law governs your agreement and where you deliver. That may mean new legal work, a new attorney licensed in the new state, and a new delivering hospital.
A move within your state, or before you match, is usually simple. A move across state lines after the agreement is signed takes planning, and a move to a state where PLS does not accept surrogates could put the journey at risk. Your case manager and both attorneys will work through it with you.
What if you are in the military and could be transferred?
Being part of a military family does not, by itself, rule you out. If you, or your spouse, could receive orders during the journey, say so on your prescreen.
The issues are the same as any move, with less control over timing. Your attorney can plan for a possible relocation in the agreement. Your case manager will look at where you might be sent and whether that state is accepted. Military health coverage and how it treats a surrogate pregnancy are reviewed in the insurance review before you match.
If your state is on the accepted list and you meet the other requirements, start the five-minute prescreen at See if I qualify. For what surrogates receive in Illinois specifically, see Illinois surrogate compensation.
Sources
- Illinois Gestational Surrogacy Act (2005), Illinois General Assembly. Pending review by counsel.
- Michigan Family Protection Act (2025), Michigan Legislature. Pending review by counsel.
- ASRM (American Society for Reproductive Medicine), recommendations for practices using gestational carriers. asrm.org
- SEEDS (Society for Ethics in Egg Donation and Surrogacy), of which Nancy Block, RN, is a former President.