What is the legal context for GPA in France, at a high level?
Status as of [date], reviewed by counsel.
This page is for intended parents who live in France and are considering gestation pour autrui (GPA) in the United States. It explains how a Private Label Surrogacy (PLS) journey works from France. It is not legal advice about French law. Every statement here about French law, recognition of parentage or consular practice is a high-level summary, and your French attorney advises you on your own case.
Surrogacy agreements are void in France under the Civil Code. French courts have nonetheless recognized the parentage of children born through surrogacy abroad in specific ways. Since 2019, courts have allowed transcription of a foreign birth certificate for the genetic parent, and adoption by the other parent.
French law on this subject has moved through court decisions rather than a single statute, so the date at the top of this page matters. Before you sign anything with PLS, meet a French attorney who handles international GPA files. Questions worth asking:
- What is the current route to recognition for each of us, the genetic parent and the other parent?
- Which US documents will the French authorities expect, and in what form: apostille, sworn translation, certified copies?
- Should we have a US court parentage order as well as the birth certificate?
- How long does transcription take today, and what happens while it is pending?
- If an adoption by the second parent is needed, when can it be filed and how long does it take?
- Does anything in the US agreement need to be written a certain way for the French file?
Share the answers with Jan Telman Berman, PLS's Global Surrogacy Coordinator. PLS has worked with French families and coordinates with attorneys in both countries, so the US documents are prepared with your French file in mind from the start.
Why do French parents choose the United States?
Because a US state can give you what French law cannot: an enforceable agreement and legal parentage at birth, in a system with published medical and financial safeguards.
In Illinois, the Gestational Surrogacy Act, in force since 2005, makes a compensated gestational surrogacy agreement enforceable when its requirements are met, and the intended parents' parentage is established before the birth. PLS places surrogates in surrogacy-friendly US states, and the law of the state where the surrogate lives and delivers governs each journey.
What a PLS journey adds on top of the law:
- Nurse-led matching. Nancy Block, RN, founded PLS in 2017 after 17 years as an OB/GYN and fertility nurse at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. She has made more than 2,500 matches in her career and runs PLS matching personally. She has spoken at assisted reproduction conferences in the US, China, Israel and Europe.
- A physician's reading of every surrogate's records. Mark Silverberg, DDS, MD, reads each candidate's prenatal and delivery records and writes a medical summary for your clinic.
- Independent professionals. PLS does not employ attorneys, psychologists or escrow agents. Each one is independent and answers to the person they protect.
- Surrogates who are partners. Each surrogate has her own attorney, her own compensation package and at least six nutrition consults with Julie Bendix, MPH, RD.
French families also ask about LGBTQ journeys. Gay couples and single parents work with PLS on the same terms as every other family. The French recognition route for two fathers is covered below and on the LGBTQ surrogacy page.
Plan on 18 to 24 months and $150,000 to $200,000 in total, paid in US dollars.
How does recognition work when you return: transcription and adoption
After the birth, families obtain the US birth certificate with an apostille and the child's US passport, then pursue transcription of the birth certificate and, where needed, adoption in France with French counsel. Case law has allowed recognition of the genetic father and adoption by the second parent.
In practice, two decisions made early in the US journey make the French file easier:
- Which parent is genetic. Your clinic records the origin of each embryo. Keep that documentation; your French attorney may ask for it.
- The US parentage order. In states with a pre-birth process, such as Illinois, the attorneys file before the birth. Ask your US attorney for certified copies of every order, and ask your French attorney how many apostilled copies to bring home.
| Document or step | What it is | Who handles it | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parentage order | US court or statutory parentage established before birth, where the state allows it | US attorneys for you and for the surrogate | Second trimester |
| US birth certificate | Birth record issued by the state where the baby is born | Hospital and state vital records | After the birth |
| Apostille | Certification of the US documents for use in France | Your US attorney or the issuing state | After the birth certificate |
| US passport | The child's US passport, subject to the August 6, 2026 executive order now under litigation | You, with your US attorney | Before departure |
| Consular steps | Contact with the French consulate; issuance of a French travel document varies | Your French attorney | Before departure |
| Transcription | Transcription of the foreign birth certificate for the genetic parent | Your French attorney | After return |
| Adoption by the second parent | Adoption by the non-genetic parent, where needed | Your French attorney | After transcription |
What documents does the French consulate expect?
Consular practice for children born through surrogacy changes over time and varies by case; your French attorney confirms the current list before the birth.
PLS prepares the US side of the file. That means a checklist built from your French attorney's list, the timing of the parentage filing coordinated with both US attorneys, a hospital that knows who the intended parents are before labor, and copies of the documents you will need ordered before you fly home. You and your attorneys handle the filings themselves.
A federal executive order dated August 6, 2026, on citizenship for children born through compensated surrogacy to two non-citizen parents is under litigation. It may affect the child's US passport. Most families exit the US on the child's US passport; counsel advises on alternatives. See citizenship and passport and leaving the US with your baby.
How is the journey paid and protected in US dollars?
The journey is paid in US dollars. Money for the surrogate and for third-party services goes to an independent licensed escrow agent, never to PLS.
- $10,000 into escrow at match.
- The balance before the surrogate starts medications. Nothing medical begins until escrow is funded and the agreement is signed.
- Third-party costs of $15,300 to $29,000, paid from escrow: both attorneys, escrow administration, the psychological evaluation, background checks, insurance review, surrogate travel and local monitoring.
- The PLS program fee, paid to PLS at signing, surrogate acceptance and medical clearance. Program fee: confirm current schedule.
- Clinic and IVF fees, paid directly to your clinic.
Exchange-rate movement between the euro and the dollar is your risk. Many families convert in two or three tranches rather than all at once. You may choose your own escrow company; PLS refers to independent licensed agents and has no fee interest in any of them. The agent sends you a ledger of every payment, which your French attorney can use. See currency and escrow.
When do you travel and how long do you stay?
Most French families make two trips to the US.
The embryo trip. If your embryos are not already at a US clinic, the first trip is for egg retrieval or sperm collection and IVF at the clinic you choose. PLS works with 14 partner fertility centers. The clinic's calendar sets the dates. [Typical length of the embryo trip: confirm with Jan.]
The birth trip. You arrive before the due date and stay until the US documents are in hand and your counsel clears you to travel. [Typical length of the post-birth stay for French families: confirm with Jan and counsel.]
Between those trips, the work happens remotely. Today it takes about 9 months from signing to meeting a surrogate, with a target of 6 months or fewer. After match, legal and medical foundations take 1 to 2 months, the medical cycle 2 to 3 months, and the pregnancy test comes 9 to 11 days after transfer.
How does PLS support French-speaking parents?
PLS arranges French-speaking interpreters and refers to French-speaking US counsel. Current language coverage is being confirmed with Jan.
Your journey has one coordinator from signing to departure: Jan Telman Berman, who has managed national and international cycles for more than 18 years and comes from a women's health clinic background. Nancy runs your match. Once you are matched, a case manager, Natalie Gaudio-Fricano or Jenni Symons, carries the pregnancy. Both have been surrogates, and Natalie delivered for an international couple in 2016.
Calls are scheduled across the time difference, and every document you need for France is on one checklist that Jan keeps current with your French attorney.
Sources
- Private Label Surrogacy program terms: escrow funding schedule, timeline and cost ranges.
- Illinois Gestational Surrogacy Act (2005), Illinois General Assembly. Pending review by counsel.
- French Civil Code and French case law on recognition of children born through GPA abroad, summarized at a high level. Pending review by French counsel.
- Federal executive order of August 6, 2026, on citizenship for children born through compensated surrogacy. Under litigation; pending review by counsel.