Is surrogacy legal in California?
Reviewed by counsel [name], [date]. Every statement about California law on this page is pending review by California counsel, and no statute numbers are cited until counsel signs off.
Yes. California is the most settled surrogacy state in the US. A statute in force since 2013 codifies gestational carrier agreements, compensation is permitted, and California courts issue pre-birth parentage judgments to intended parents of any marital status, sexual orientation or nationality, with or without a genetic link.
For intended parents, that means fewer variables. The legal route is the same for a married couple, a single father, two mothers or parents living abroad.
This page is written by Jan Telman Berman, Global Surrogacy Coordinator at Private Label Surrogacy, who manages national and international cycles. It is not legal advice. Your own California reproductive attorney advises you before you sign, and the surrogate's own attorney advises her.
| California at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Legal basis | State statute codifying gestational carrier agreements, in force since 2013 |
| Status | Legal by statute since 2013; most permissive; pre-birth judgments for all intended parents |
| Parentage method | Pre-birth parentage judgment statewide |
| Who can be an intended parent | Any marital status, sexual orientation or nationality, with or without a genetic link |
| Surrogate requirements | Independent counsel; agreement signed and notarized before any medication or transfer; PLS also requires age 21 to 43, BMI under 33 and the full PLS screening |
| Compensation permitted | Yes |
| Client funds | Must be held by an independent licensed escrow agent or attorney trust account |
| PLS recruits here | Yes |
What law governs surrogacy in California?
A California statute in force since 2013 codifies gestational carrier agreements. It sets three core conditions. Each party must have independent legal counsel. The agreement must be signed and notarized before any medication or embryo transfer. Once those conditions are met, the intended parents can obtain a pre-birth parentage judgment.
California also regulates surrogacy facilitators. Client funds must be held by an independent licensed escrow agent or in an attorney trust account, not by the agency.
That second rule is the one PLS follows in every state, whether or not the state requires it. PLS never holds client money. Parents fund an independent licensed escrow agent and may choose their own escrow company.
Confirm the current statutory requirements with California counsel before signing.
The statute covers gestational surrogacy, where the embryo is created through IVF and the surrogate has no genetic link to the child. PLS arranges gestational surrogacy only.
How is parentage established in California: pre-birth or post-birth?
Pre-birth. California courts issue a parentage judgment before the baby is born, statewide. The judgment names the intended parents, and the hospital uses it so the intended parents are recorded as the parents from birth.
Here is how that usually plays out:
- The agreement is signed and notarized before any medication. This is a statutory condition, not a formality.
- Your attorney files for the judgment during the pregnancy, so it is in place well before the due date.
- PLS writes a birth plan with the delivering hospital, so the staff know who the parents are before labor begins and how discharge will work.
A pre-birth judgment shortens the time between birth and going home, which matters most to international parents who need a birth certificate and passport before they fly. See pre-birth vs post-birth parentage orders for how this compares with states that settle parentage after delivery.
Who can be an intended parent in California?
Under California law, intended parents of any marital status, sexual orientation or nationality can obtain a pre-birth parentage judgment, with or without a genetic link to the child.
That includes:
- Married and unmarried couples
- Single women and single men
- Two fathers and two mothers
- Parents who used donor eggs, donor sperm or a donated embryo
- Intended parents who live outside the US
International intended parents still need to plan for home-country recognition of parentage and the baby's citizenship. A federal executive order dated August 6, 2026, on citizenship for children born through compensated surrogacy to two non-citizen parents is under litigation. Status as of [date], reviewed by counsel.
PLS treats every intended parent the same way, with the same process and the same standard. California simply has the fewest legal differences between families.
Who can be a surrogate in California?
California's statute requires the surrogate to have independent legal counsel and to sign and notarize the agreement before any medication or transfer. PLS's own criteria sit on top of that. To apply with PLS, a surrogate must be:
- 21 to 43 years old
- A US citizen or permanent resident
- At a BMI under 33
- Someone who has had at least one healthy full-term pregnancy and is raising a child now
- A non-smoker
- Not receiving government assistance
- Living in a stable home
- Not currently taking antidepressants
Screening has seven steps: application, interview, a records review by Mark Silverberg, DDS, MD, a background check, an insurance review, a psychological evaluation by an independent licensed professional, and medical screening at the intended parents' clinic. Dr. Silverberg reads every candidate's prenatal and delivery records himself and writes a physician medical summary for your fertility clinic.
How does PLS work with California surrogates and parents?
PLS matches California surrogates and intended parents as part of a national program that serves parents across the US and abroad. The sequence:
- Consultation and signing with Nancy Block, RN, who founded PLS in 2017 and personally runs matching.
- Matching. About 9 months from signing to surrogate introduction today, with a target of 6 months or fewer.
- Legal and medical foundations, 1 to 2 months. Each side retains its own California attorney. The agreement is signed and notarized. You fund escrow.
- Medical cycle, 2 to 3 months, ending in the embryo transfer at your clinic. The pregnancy test is 9 to 11 days after transfer.
- Pregnancy, with the pre-birth judgment filed by your attorney.
- Birth, with the hospital already holding the judgment and the birth plan.
The whole journey typically takes 18 to 24 months.
California surrogates matched through PLS monitor at a local clinic in Los Angeles, San Diego, the Bay Area or Sacramento. They travel to your clinic for screening and transfer. One of PLS's 14 partner fertility centers is Oregon Reproductive Medicine, on the West Coast; you may use any clinic you choose.
Each surrogate's PLS case manager, Natalie Gaudio-Fricano or Jenni Symons, both former surrogates, stays with her through delivery. Julie Bendix, MPH, RD, LD, CLC, holds at least six nutrition consults with her across the journey.
What does a California journey cost and how is money held?
PLS's own fees and the surrogate's compensation are the same in California as in every PLS state. Intended parents typically budget $150,000 to $200,000 in total:
- PLS program fee. Program fee: confirm current schedule. The current fee is $35,000; a proposed fee of $42,000 applies to new agreements.
- Surrogate compensation. A typical total package of roughly $68,000 to $78,000, built on $60,000 first-time base compensation (proposed, up from $55,000), or $65,000 to $70,000 for an experienced surrogate. See surrogate compensation in California.
- Third-party costs, $15,300 to $29,000: attorneys on both sides, escrow, the psychological evaluation, background check, insurance review, travel and local monitoring. Confirm with California counsel how the pre-birth judgment filing affects legal fees.
- Surrogate health insurance, $5,000 to $40,000, only if her plan excludes surrogacy.
- IVF and clinic fees, paid directly to your clinic.
Every dollar for the surrogate and third parties runs through an independent licensed escrow agent. You fund $10,000 at match and the balance before the surrogate starts medications. 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. California's escrow rule exists for exactly this reason, and PLS has applied the same rule everywhere since 2017.
See the cost of surrogacy for the full itemized budget and surrogacy laws by state to compare states.
Sources
- California gestational carrier agreement statute (in force since 2013), California Legislature. Pending review by California counsel.
- California surrogacy facilitator and client-funds requirements, California Legislature. Pending review by California counsel.