What does a surrogacy agency fee pay for?
A surrogacy agency fee pays for the agency's own work: finding and screening a surrogate, running the match, and coordinating everyone else until your baby is home. It is one of four parts of a surrogacy budget, alongside surrogate compensation, third-party services and clinic fees.
The agency's work usually includes:
- Recruiting surrogates, which takes advertising, prescreening and many conversations for each woman who qualifies.
- Screening, from application and interview through records, background check, insurance review and the psychological evaluation.
- Matching intended parents and a surrogate whose plans and logistics fit.
- Coordination of your fertility clinic, the attorneys for both sides, the escrow agent and the insurance review.
- Case management of the surrogate through pregnancy and birth.
- Hospital coordination, including the birth plan.
- Rematching if a match ends.
At Private Label Surrogacy, two pieces of that work are done by people you can name. Nancy Block, RN, who has made more than 2,500 matches across a 27-year career, personally runs matching. Mark Silverberg, DDS, MD, reads every surrogate candidate's prenatal and delivery records and writes a physician medical summary for your clinic.
Part of the fee also pays for the surrogate's support, which protects your pregnancy as much as hers. At PLS that includes a case manager who has been a surrogate herself, at least six nutrition consults with Julie Bendix, MPH, RD, LD, CLC, a registered dietitian and lactation counselor, and coordination of mental-health support from independent licensed professionals.
| Fee component | What to ask any agency | PLS program fee |
|---|---|---|
| Recruiting | Included or extra? | Included |
| Surrogate screening | Which steps, and who performs each? | Included: seven steps, with an independent psychological evaluation |
| Physician record review | Does a physician read prenatal and delivery records before a match? | Included: Dr. Silverberg reads every candidate's records |
| Matching | Who runs it? | Included: run by Nancy Block, RN |
| Case management | Who carries my match, and how many matches do they carry? | Included: a case manager who has been a surrogate; caseloads capped |
| Hospital coordination | Is a birth plan written and shared with the hospital? | Included |
| Rematch | What does a rematch cost? | Included if a match ends before transfer (Standard); unlimited on the Assured tier |
What is the typical range of agency fees in the US?
In the US, agency fees typically run $25,000 to $60,000 (typical, 2026), based on public agency pricing. That is a wide range, and the number alone does not tell you much. Two agencies with the same fee can include very different services, and an agency that quotes a low fee may add charges later for rematches, coordination or "administration."
Compare fees by asking what is included, line by line, rather than comparing totals. The table above is a starting point.
How are agency fees paid: installments and triggers
Most agencies split the fee into installments, each due when a milestone is reached. The common triggers are signing the agency agreement, being matched with a surrogate, and medical clearance, the point when the surrogate is cleared by your clinic and the cycle can start.
The PLS program fee is $47,500. It is paid $22,500 at signing, $20,000 at surrogate acceptance and $5,000 at medical clearance.
Installments tied to milestones are fairer than a single up-front payment, because each payment follows completed work. Ask any agency what triggers each installment, in writing, and what happens to an installment if its trigger never occurs.
Installments that have been earned are generally not refundable, because the work behind them is done. Installments whose triggers never occur are not owed. What happens if a match ends is the part that differs most between agencies, and it is worth reading closely; see the refund and rematch policy page.
For cash-flow planning, the first installment is the one you need on hand at signing. The second installment comes at match, which today is about 9 months after signing at PLS (target 6 months or fewer), and that is also when you place $10,000 into escrow.
PLS charges its last installment at medical clearance because that is when screening, matching and contract coordination are complete and the cycle can start.
What is never included in the agency fee?
The agency fee never includes:
- Surrogate compensation and expenses, which are set in the gestational carrier agreement and paid from escrow.
- Legal fees for your attorney and the surrogate's attorney.
- Escrow administration and the funds held in escrow.
- Insurance, including a surrogacy maternity policy if the surrogate's plan excludes surrogacy, and her life insurance.
- Clinic charges for IVF, screening, medications and transfer.
These are paid to independent third parties. At PLS, third-party costs total $15,300 to $29,000; a surrogate health policy, if needed, costs $5,000 to $40,000; and clinic fees are paid directly to your clinic.
A fee that bundles those items is not cheaper. It is less transparent. When an agency holds your money for third parties, you can no longer see where each dollar sits, and you are exposed if the agency fails. In late 2025 the Surro Connections agency collapsed, leading to a federal indictment in August 2026, and the SEAM escrow failure involved more than $16 million. PLS never holds client money: you fund an independent licensed escrow agent, $10,000 at match and the balance before medications start, and you may choose your own escrow company.
Why are some agencies cheaper, and what are you giving up?
An agency fee pays for people and time. A lower fee usually means less of one or both. Common trade-offs:
- Lighter screening. No physician reads the surrogate's records, or the psychological evaluation is done by agency staff rather than an independent professional.
- Larger caseloads. Each case manager carries more matches, so calls wait longer.
- Extra charges later. Rematch fees, coordination fees or "administration" fees not in the headline number.
- Money held in-house. The agency holds client funds rather than using independent escrow.
None of these show up in the fee. All of them show up when something goes wrong: a surrogate whose history was not read carefully, a 10 p.m. call that goes to voicemail, a rematch you did not budget for. One night the PLS after-hours team rebooked a stranded surrogate's hotel, car and flight while another PLS surrogate was delivering twins. That is what a capped caseload pays for.
How does the PLS program fee compare?
The PLS program fee is $47,500. That sits inside the typical $25,000 to $60,000 US range. The Assured tier, at $62,500, adds priority matching, unlimited rematches and no new agency fee if the first surrogate does not succeed.
What the fee buys is the standard: nurse-led matching, physician record review, an independent psychological evaluation, independent attorneys and escrow, case managers who have been surrogates, nutrition support from a registered dietitian, and rematch if a match ends before transfer. See what the program fee covers for the full schedule and the overall cost of surrogacy for the complete budget.
What questions should you ask about any agency fee?
- What does the fee include, line by line, and what is extra?
- What triggers each installment, and what happens to an installment whose trigger never occurs?
- What does a rematch cost, and does the answer change before and after transfer?
- Is any part of the fee refundable, and in what situations?
- Does the agency hold any client money, or does an independent licensed escrow agent hold it all?
- Does the agency receive referral fees from clinics, attorneys or escrow companies?
- Is the fee fixed, or can conditional costs increase it? See fixed-price versus variable programs.
Ask for the answers in writing, and compare agencies on the answers, not the headline number. For more on evaluating agencies, see choosing a surrogacy agency.