Best surrogacy agencies in Illinois and Chicago: an honest list and how to judge it

All statements about other agencies on this page are pending legal review, and each will be verified from the agency's own public pages and the SEEDS directory, with dates. Last checked: [date].

This page is written by Nancy Block, RN, founder of Private Label Surrogacy. PLS is one of the agencies listed, so we do not rank. We set out criteria you can check yourself, apply them to every agency including ours, and say where another agency may suit you better.

Why 'best' needs criteria in a state that does not license agencies

A list of the best surrogacy agencies is only as good as the criteria behind it. There is no official body that ranks surrogacy agencies. Illinois does not license surrogacy agencies. That means anyone can open an agency, and anyone can publish a "top agencies" list.

Most online lists rank by reviews, years in business or how prominently an agency advertises. Those tell you something, but not the things that decide whether your journey goes well: whether your money is safe, whether your surrogate was screened carefully before you met her, and whether someone with time for your case picks up the phone.

Illinois law, through the Gestational Surrogacy Act, sets requirements for the surrogacy agreement, for the surrogate and intended parents, and for independent legal counsel. It does not set standards for how an agency holds money, screens candidates or staffs cases. Those are agency choices. So the criteria below focus on agency choices you can verify.

Reviews still have a place. They describe what it felt like to work with an agency: how quickly calls were returned, whether a surrogate felt respected, how a hard moment was handled. Read them for that. But a review cannot show you how a surrogate's records were screened or where the escrow money sits, and a family whose journey went smoothly may never have had reason to find out. Use reviews alongside the criteria, not instead of them.

The six criteria and how to verify each

1. Who holds client funds. The strongest answer is an independent licensed escrow agent, holding money in an account in the parties' names, with statements sent directly to you. The weakest is the agency or a company tied to it. Verify by looking up the escrow company's license, asking for a sample statement, and asking whether you can choose your own escrow company. Read how to vet an agency's finances.

2. Whether a physician or nurse reviews surrogate records. Someone medically trained should read each candidate's prenatal and delivery records before her profile reaches you. Verify by asking who reads them, what their credentials are, and whether your clinic receives a written summary.

3. Published fee and compensation transparency. An agency should publish its fee, what the fee covers, when each part is due, and the surrogate's compensation package itemized. Verify by asking for a line-item budget and the payment schedule before you sign.

4. Caseload per case manager. Ask how many active matches each case manager carries and whether there is a cap. Verify by asking for the number and the names of the people who will manage your journey.

5. SEEDS membership or a comparable ethics commitment. SEEDS, the Society for Ethics in Egg Donation and Surrogacy, is a professional organization whose members commit to published standards. Membership does not guarantee good practice, but it is a commitment you can check. Verify membership directly with SEEDS, and ask any agency that is not a member what standard it follows instead.

6. Years operating. Experience matters, and so does continuity: the same people running the agency over time. Verify the founding date and ask who has been there longest.

Illinois and Chicago agencies measured against the criteria

Agencies headquartered in the Chicago area include ConceiveAbilities, Family Source Consultants, Golden Surrogacy and Private Label Surrogacy. National agencies such as Circle Surrogacy also work with Illinois surrogates and parents. Confirm which agencies are headquartered in Illinois.

For fees and compensation side by side, see the Illinois surrogacy agencies comparison.

A blank or "from public page" cell means we have not yet verified that agency's answer. It does not mean the agency falls short. Ask them directly; the "Ask them" column gives you the first question.

When a boutique agency is the right choice

A smaller agency may suit you if:

• You want the founder or a senior person involved in your match, not an intake team.
• You want to know your case manager's name and caseload before you sign.
• You value a surrogate pool screened closely by a small team over a larger pool screened by many hands.
• You want the agency to refer independent attorneys, psychologists and escrow, rather than providing them in house.

The trade-offs are real. A smaller agency has fewer surrogates available at any time, which can affect wait times for families with narrow criteria. It may not offer every program a large agency does. See boutique vs national agencies.

When a national agency is the right choice

A larger national agency may suit you if:

• You want a fixed-price guarantee program that a smaller agency does not offer.
• You prefer in-house legal services under one roof, rather than independent attorneys you choose.
• You have narrow criteria and want the largest possible pool of surrogates to draw from.
• You want a single agency with offices in several states.

Apply the same six criteria to a national agency. Size does not answer the escrow question or the caseload question. Ask them the same way.

Questions that separate agencies on a first call

1. "Who holds our money, and can I see the escrow agent's license and a sample statement?"
2. "Who reads the surrogate's medical records before we see her profile, and what are their credentials?"
3. "How many active matches does each case manager carry right now?"
4. "Are you a SEEDS member? If not, what standard do you publish?"
5. "What is your wait from signing to meeting a screened surrogate, and what date is that figure from?"
6. "May we speak with a recent parent and a surrogate who has delivered with you?"

Write down the answers. Specific answers, with names and numbers, separate agencies faster than any list. Vague answers tell you something too.

Weigh the first two questions most heavily. They protect you from the outcomes that are hardest to undo: money you cannot get back, and a surrogate who was not medically ready. The remaining four tell you how the agency works day to day, and help you choose between agencies that answer the first two well.

How PLS scores, including where it does not fit

Escrow. PLS has always used independent licensed escrow and has never held client funds. You fund the escrow agent with $10,000 at match and the balance before medications start, and you may choose your own escrow company. The Surro Connections collapse in late 2025 and the SEAM escrow failure, which involved more than $16 million, left families unable to reach money they had deposited.

Medical record review. Mark Silverberg, DDS, MD, Executive Director, reads every surrogate candidate's prenatal and delivery records and writes a physician medical summary that goes to your fertility clinic. PLS was founded by a nurse: Nancy Block spent 17 years as an OB/GYN and fertility nurse and staff educator at Northwestern Memorial Hospital's Prentice Women's Pavilion.

Transparency. PLS publishes its program fee, payment stages, third-party cost range ($15,300 to $29,000) and surrogate compensation package. The program fee is $47,500. Results are reported as counts with definitions: more than 100 journeys and more than 60 births since 2017.

Caseload. Two case managers, Natalie Gaudio-Fricano and Jenni Symons, both former surrogates, carry the active matches. The caseload is capped. Nancy personally runs matching.

Ethics. Nancy is a former President of SEEDS and received its 2018 Shining Star Award. PLS publishes the PLS Standard.

Years operating. PLS since 2017; Nancy in egg donation and surrogacy since 2000, with more than 2,500 matches across her career.

Where PLS may not fit you:

• Fixed-price guarantee. PLS's Assured tier ($62,500) includes unlimited rematches and no new agency fee if the first surrogate does not succeed, but it is not a full fixed-price program covering all journey costs. If you want one price for everything, a national agency may offer that.
• In-house legal. PLS does not employ attorneys, on purpose. If you want legal services from your agency, PLS is not built for that.
• Speed above all. The current PLS wait from signing to surrogate introduction is about 9 months, with a target of 6 or fewer. If your timeline cannot accommodate that, ask other agencies for their defined, dated wait and compare.

Judge every agency, including PLS, on the same six criteria. If you would like to walk through them with Nancy, book a consultation.

Sources

• SEEDS, Society for Ethics in Egg Donation and Surrogacy, member directory. [Date checked.]
• Illinois Gestational Surrogacy Act (2005), Illinois General Assembly. Pending review by counsel.
• Each listed agency's public website. [URLs and dates to be added.]
• [News reporting and court filings on the Surro Connections and SEAM collapses: outlet or court, date.]