What is the full timeline for two dads?
Surrogacy for a gay couple typically takes 18 to 24 months from signing with PLS to the birth of your baby. Two dads have one phase that many other intended parents skip: the egg donor phase, which takes 3 to 5 months. Because that phase can run while PLS searches for your surrogate, it does not have to add to the total.
| Phase | Typical length | Runs in parallel with | PLS target or note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consultation, signing, escrow setup | A few weeks | Egg donor search | Escrow funded with $10,000 at match |
| Egg donor selection and screening | 1 to 2 months | Surrogate matching | Begins at signing |
| Donor stimulation and retrieval | About 2 weeks | Surrogate matching | Timed to the donor's cycle |
| Embryo culture and PGT-A results | 2 to 3 weeks | Surrogate matching | Embryos frozen until transfer |
| Signing to surrogate introduction | About 9 months today | The whole egg donor phase | Target: 6 months or fewer |
| Legal and medical foundations | 1 to 2 months | Nothing; this phase follows the match | Agreement signed and escrow funded before medications |
| Surrogate's medical cycle | 2 to 3 months | Parentage filing can be prepared | Ends in a frozen embryo transfer |
| Pregnancy test | 9 to 11 days after transfer | First confirmation of pregnancy | |
| Pregnancy | 38 to 40 weeks | Pre-birth parentage order | Birth plan prepared with the hospital |
| Total | 18 to 24 months |
The longest single wait is the surrogate match. Everything else either runs inside it or follows it in a set order.
This page is written by Jan Telman Berman, Global Surrogacy Coordinator at Private Label Surrogacy, who has more than 18 years of experience and manages national and international cycles. For the general timeline that applies to every family, see how long surrogacy takes.
How long does the egg donor phase take?
The egg donor phase takes 3 to 5 months from the start of your search to frozen embryos. It has three parts.
Donor selection and screening: 1 to 2 months. You review profiles, build a shortlist, and choose a donor. Your clinic then completes her medical screen, FDA infectious disease testing, genetic carrier screening matched to the fathers' panels, and a psychological evaluation. Her attorney and yours sign the donor agreement. A donor who has already completed screening, or a frozen egg bank lot, moves faster.
Donor stimulation and retrieval: about 2 weeks. The donor takes injectable medications to stimulate her ovaries, with regular monitoring visits. The retrieval is a short outpatient procedure. The clinic times the start to her cycle, so the calendar does not always line up the week you are ready.
Embryo culture and PGT-A results: 2 to 3 weeks. The lab fertilizes the eggs with sperm from one or both fathers and grows embryos to the blastocyst stage, usually by day 5 to 7. If you choose PGT-A testing, a small sample from each embryo goes to a genetics lab, and the embryos are frozen while you wait for results.
The months add up to more than the sum of the parts because of scheduling: the clinic's calendar, the donor's cycle, and the time to review results with a genetic counselor. For each step in more detail, see the egg donation process.
Can the egg donor cycle and surrogate matching run at the same time?
Yes, and they should. Running the egg donor cycle while PLS searches for your surrogate is the main way two dads shorten the total.
PLS begins the surrogate search at signing. Most clinics only require embryos to be ready before the surrogate starts medications, not before the match. With signing to surrogate introduction at about 9 months today, a 3 to 5 month donor phase usually finishes well inside it.
Running the two together works more smoothly at PLS for one practical reason: PLS runs egg donor matching as well as surrogacy. Nancy Block, RN, has done egg donation and surrogacy matching since 2000. Your donor and surrogate timelines are planned by one team, not by two agencies that each set their own schedule.
If you already have frozen embryos, you skip the donor phase entirely. Your timeline then depends on the match.
What slows a gay surrogacy journey down?
Most delays fall into five groups. Knowing them in advance is the best way to avoid them.
- Waiting for a surrogate match. This is the single biggest delay. The Assured tier, proposed at $55,000, gives priority matching.
- A low-yield donor cycle. If the donor produces fewer eggs than expected, or a split cycle leaves one father with few normal embryos, you may need a second retrieval. That adds roughly the length of another donor cycle.
- Screening findings. A genetic carrier match between the donor and a father, or a medical finding for the surrogate, can mean choosing again.
- A failed transfer. If embryos remain and the clinic agrees, the surrogate can usually try again in the next cycle, about 4 to 6 weeks later.
- Slow paperwork. Agreements, escrow funding and clinic forms move only as fast as the slowest signature. Answer your attorney and your case manager promptly.
International fathers have one more variable: legal work at home and, at the end, consular and passport steps. See the LGBTQ+ surrogacy guide for how that fits.
How long does the legal phase take, including the pre-birth order?
The legal and medical foundations take 1 to 2 months after the match. In that window:
- You and the surrogate each retain your own independent attorney. You pay for both.
- The attorneys draft and negotiate the gestational carrier agreement.
- Escrow is funded with the balance before the surrogate starts medications.
- Your clinic completes the surrogate's medical screening.
Nothing medical starts until the agreement is signed and escrow is funded.
The parentage order comes later. Your attorney files for parentage during the pregnancy. In Illinois, the Gestational Surrogacy Act (2005) provides pre-birth parentage for intended parents, and the Equality for Every Family Act, signed in December 2025, removed the genetic-link requirement, so both fathers can be named before birth. Filing typically happens in the second or third trimester. Statute details and timing are reviewed by counsel.
Some attorneys also recommend a confirmatory adoption or judgment for the non-genetic father after birth. Ask your attorney whether you need one and how long it takes in your state.
What is the timeline for a second child with the same surrogate?
A sibling journey with the same surrogate is usually shorter, because the two longest phases may already be done:
- No new match. If your surrogate wants to carry again and still meets the requirements, including the age limit of 43, you skip the wait for an introduction.
- No new donor cycle, if you have frozen embryos left from the first retrieval, including embryos from the other father after a split cycle.
What still takes time:
- Her recovery. Clinics and ASRM guidance generally ask a surrogate to wait a set interval after delivery before another transfer, often around 12 months. Your clinic sets the exact interval.
- A new agreement, 1 to 2 months, with both attorneys.
- A new medical cycle, 2 to 3 months, then pregnancy.
A sibling journey is billed at 50% of the PLS program fee. For the frozen embryo transfer protocol your surrogate will follow, see frozen embryo transfer protocol.
Sources
- American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), guidance on gestational carriers and embryo transfer.
- Illinois Gestational Surrogacy Act (2005) and Equality for Every Family Act (December 2025), Illinois General Assembly. Pending review by counsel.