Reviewed by [attorney name], [firm], on [date]. Every statement on this page about a state's law is pending review by counsel. Status as of [date].
This page explains where compensated gestational surrogacy is restricted in the United States, and what that means for intended parents and surrogates who live in those states. It is written by Jan Telman Berman, Global Surrogacy Coordinator at Private Label Surrogacy, who has managed national and international surrogacy cycles for more than 18 years. It is not legal advice.
Which states restrict compensated surrogacy in 2026?
Two states restrict compensated gestational surrogacy in 2026: Nebraska and Louisiana. Michigan was a third until April 2025, when it legalized compensated surrogacy. Arizona is a gray area: its statute calls surrogacy contracts unenforceable, but courts have granted parentage orders.
Everywhere else, compensated gestational surrogacy is either governed by a statute or practiced under court orders. For the full picture, see surrogacy laws by state.
"Restricted" does not always mean "criminal." In most cases it means the law will not enforce a paid agreement, and the intended parents cannot count on being recognized as legal parents at birth. For a journey that depends on both sides keeping their promises, that is enough to rule a state out.
The protection runs both ways. An enforceable agreement is what guarantees the surrogate her compensation, her expense reimbursements, her health insurance arrangements and her life insurance. It is also what guarantees the intended parents that they will be the legal parents of their child. Where a court will not enforce the agreement, neither side has that guarantee, however well they get along.
| State | What is restricted | Who may still proceed | Penalty or consequence | Status date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nebraska | Compensated surrogacy contracts are void and unenforceable | Uncompensated arrangements are not criminal but carry no contractual protection | Surrogate treated as the legal mother; agreement cannot be enforced | [date] |
| Louisiana | Only uncompensated gestational surrogacy is permitted | Married heterosexual couples using their own egg and sperm, under a court-approved agreement | [Consequence of a non-compliant agreement: counsel to confirm] | [date] |
| Michigan (before April 2025) | A 1988 law voided paid surrogacy contracts and made arranging one a crime | No longer restricted since April 2025 | Replaced by the Michigan Family Protection Act | April 2025 |
| Arizona | Statute calls surrogacy contracts unenforceable | Courts have granted parentage orders | Uncertain; counsel to advise case by case | [date] |
Nebraska: what the law says and what it means
In Nebraska, compensated surrogacy contracts are void and unenforceable by statute, and the surrogate is treated as the legal mother of the child.
What that means in practice:
- For a Nebraska surrogate: a paid agreement she signs cannot be enforced. Her compensation, expenses and insurance terms have no legal backing. The intended parents cannot rely on being recognized as the legal parents at birth.
- For agencies: agencies do not match Nebraska surrogates for paid journeys.
- For uncompensated arrangements: uncompensated arrangements are not criminal in Nebraska but carry no contractual protection.
PLS does not accept surrogate applicants who live in Nebraska.
Louisiana: uncompensated surrogacy under strict conditions
Louisiana permits only uncompensated gestational surrogacy, and only for married heterosexual couples using their own egg and sperm, under a court-approved agreement.
What that rules out:
- Any compensated agreement.
- Single intended parents, unmarried couples and same-sex couples.
- Journeys using donor eggs, donor sperm or donated embryos.
What it allows: a married couple using their own gametes may proceed with an uncompensated surrogate, under a court-approved agreement.
PLS does not accept surrogate applicants who live in Louisiana.
Michigan before and after April 2025
Before April 2025, Michigan was one of the most restrictive states. A 1988 law voided paid surrogacy contracts and made arranging one a crime.
In April 2025, the Michigan Family Protection Act replaced that law. Compensated gestational surrogacy has been legal in Michigan since then.
What changed for families:
- Michigan surrogates can now be compensated under an enforceable agreement.
- Michigan intended parents can work with a surrogate in their own state.
- Agencies can recruit in Michigan.
Confirm the effective date and transition rules for agreements signed before April 2025 with counsel. See surrogacy in Michigan.
Arizona and other gray-area states
Arizona has a statute that calls surrogacy contracts unenforceable, but courts have granted parentage orders. That leaves Arizona in a gray area: journeys can work, but the law does not give the predictability a statute state does.
Gray-area status is a reason for more care, not automatically a reason to stop. If you or your surrogate live in Arizona, talk to an Arizona reproductive-law attorney before you match. Ask what the attorney has seen in recent cases, how long the parentage step usually takes, and what the plan would be if a court declined to grant an order before birth. Get the answers before you commit money to a match. Ask how parentage orders are handled in the county where the surrogate would deliver. See surrogacy in Arizona.
Whether any other state should be listed as gray-area or restricted as of [date], including any 2026 changes, is being confirmed by counsel.
Can intended parents from a restricted state still pursue surrogacy?
Yes. The surrogate's state law generally governs the birth and parentage, not the intended parents' state. Intended parents who live in Nebraska or Louisiana routinely work with surrogates in surrogacy-friendly states.
How it works:
- Match with a surrogate in a surrogacy-friendly state. PLS surrogates live in surrogacy-friendly states, including Illinois.
- Each side retains an attorney in the surrogate's state. The gestational carrier agreement is drafted under that state's law.
- Parentage is established in the birth state. In a pre-birth order state, the intended parents are named legal parents before or at birth. See pre-birth vs post-birth parentage orders.
- You return home with your child. Your home state generally recognizes a valid parentage order from another state; your attorney will confirm what, if anything, is needed at home.
Working across state lines adds some practical steps. Your surrogate travels to your clinic for screening and for the embryo transfer, and has bloodwork and ultrasounds at a clinic near her home. Those costs are part of the third-party costs, which total $15,300 to $29,000 at PLS. You will also plan travel to the delivery hospital near your surrogate's home, and time there after the birth.
Everything else works as it does for any PLS journey: independent attorneys for each side, an independent licensed escrow agent funded with $10,000 at match and the balance before medications start, and screening of every surrogate before her profile is shown.
Can a surrogate from a restricted state carry for parents elsewhere?
Generally no, for a compensated journey. The law that matters is where the surrogate lives and where she delivers. If that is Nebraska or Louisiana, a paid agreement does not have the protection either side needs, wherever the intended parents live.
Whether a surrogate who lives in a restricted state could deliver in a surrogacy-friendly state, and whether that would be enough, is a question for counsel and is not something PLS arranges.
PLS recruits only in states where a compensated agreement is enforceable and a parentage order is available. If you live in a restricted state and want to become a surrogate, we cannot accept your application while you live there. If you move to a surrogacy-friendly state, we would be glad to hear from you.
Sources
- [Nebraska statute on surrogacy contracts: title, as confirmed by counsel.]
- [Louisiana statute on gestational surrogacy: title, as confirmed by counsel.]
- [Michigan Family Protection Act, April 2025: source.]
- [Arizona statute and case law: as confirmed by counsel.]
- Illinois Gestational Surrogacy Act (2005), Illinois General Assembly. Pending review by counsel.