Surrogacy in New York: is it legal and how does parentage work?

Is surrogacy legal in New York?

Reviewed by counsel [name], [date]. Every statement about New York law and New York agency licensing on this page is pending review by New York counsel, and no statute numbers are cited until counsel signs off.

Yes. Compensated gestational surrogacy has been legal in New York since February 15, 2021, under the Child-Parent Security Act.

The Act did three things that matter for families. It created a Surrogates' Bill of Rights. It requires surrogacy agencies operating in New York to be licensed by the state. And it lets intended parents obtain a pre-birth parentage order.

Private Label Surrogacy is preparing its New York program license application. Until PLS is licensed, it does not match New York residents; New York surrogates may join a waitlist.

This page is written by Jan Telman Berman, Global Surrogacy Coordinator at PLS, who manages national and international cycles. It is not legal advice. Your own New York reproductive attorney advises you before you sign.

What law governs surrogacy in New York?

The Child-Parent Security Act governs surrogacy in New York. It took effect on February 15, 2021, and made compensated gestational surrogacy agreements legal and enforceable.

The Act's Surrogates' Bill of Rights gives the surrogate:

• Independent legal counsel of her choosing, paid for by the intended parents.
• Health insurance.
• The right to make her own medical decisions during the pregnancy.
• Life insurance.

The Act also requires surrogacy agencies that operate in New York to hold a state program license.

Most of those protections are already standard on a PLS journey in every state. Every PLS surrogate has her own attorney, paid by the intended parents. Her health plan is reviewed before match, and the intended parents buy a dedicated policy if her plan excludes surrogacy. Every PLS surrogate has an extended life insurance policy up to $750,000.

Confirm the current statutory requirements with New York counsel before signing.

How is parentage established in New York: pre-birth or post-birth?

Pre-birth. Under the Child-Parent Security Act, intended parents can obtain a parentage order before the baby is born. The order names the intended parents, and the hospital uses it so they are recorded as the parents from birth.

In practice:

• The agreement is signed before any medication, with each side represented by its own attorney.
• Your attorney files for the order during the pregnancy, so it is ready well before the due date.
• The delivering hospital receives the order and a birth plan before labor begins, so staff know who the parents are and how discharge will work.

For a comparison with states that settle parentage after delivery, see pre-birth vs post-birth parentage orders.

Who can be an intended parent in New York?

The Child-Parent Security Act includes a residency rule: at least one intended parent or the surrogate must have lived in New York for six months.

Confirm with New York counsel how the Act treats marital status, single intended parents and genetic connection; this page does not summarize those rules until counsel reviews them.

PLS treats single parents, same-sex couples and every other intended parent the same way, with the same process and standard of care. A New York attorney will confirm the legal path for your family.

If you live in New York and want to start now, you can match with a surrogate in a state where PLS is already active. Confirm with New York counsel what PLS may do for New York residents before it is licensed. In Illinois, PLS's home state, the Gestational Surrogacy Act provides pre-birth parentage.

Who can be a surrogate in New York?

Under the Child-Parent Security Act, a surrogate must be at least 21 and a US citizen or permanent resident. 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 antidepressant or anti-anxiety medication (a treated, resolved history is reviewed case by case with the clinic)

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 the intended parents' clinic.

New York surrogates may join the PLS New York waitlist now; matching begins once PLS is licensed.

How does PLS work with New York surrogates and parents?

PLS is preparing its application for the New York program license required by the Child-Parent Security Act. Until PLS is licensed, it does not match New York residents. Once licensed, the New York journey will follow the same sequence as every PLS journey:

1. Consultation and signing with Nancy Block, RN, who founded PLS in 2017 and personally runs matching.
2. Matching. About 9 months from signing to surrogate introduction today, with a target of 6 months or fewer.
3. Legal and medical foundations, 1 to 2 months. Each side retains its own attorney. You fund escrow.
4. Medical cycle, 2 to 3 months, ending in the embryo transfer at your clinic, with a pregnancy test 9 to 11 days later.
5. Pregnancy, with the pre-birth order filed by your attorney.
6. Birth, with the hospital already holding the order and the birth plan.

The whole journey typically takes 18 to 24 months.

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, a registered dietitian and lactation counselor, holds at least six nutrition consults with her.

PLS does not employ attorneys, psychologists or escrow staff. It refers you to independent licensed professionals so each one answers to the person they serve. That stance lines up with the Act's requirement of independent counsel for the surrogate.

What does a New York journey cost and how is money held?

PLS fees and surrogate compensation are the same in every PLS state. Intended parents typically budget $150,000 to $210,000 in total, including clinic fees and insurance. The main parts are:

• PLS program fee. $47,500. It is paid $22,500 at signing, $20,000 at surrogate acceptance and $5,000 at medical clearance.
• Surrogate compensation. A typical total package of roughly $68,000 to $78,000, built on $60,000 first-time base compensation (up from $55,000), or $65,000 to $70,000 for an experienced surrogate. See surrogate compensation in New York.
• Third-party costs, $15,300 to $29,000: attorneys on both sides, escrow, the psychological evaluation, background check, insurance review, travel and local monitoring.
• Surrogate health insurance, $5,000 to $40,000, only if her plan excludes surrogacy.
• IVF and clinic fees, paid directly to your clinic.

Money is held by an independent licensed escrow agent, never by PLS. You fund $10,000 at match and the balance before the surrogate starts medications, and you may choose your own escrow company. 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 has used independent licensed escrow since 2017.

See the cost of surrogacy for the itemized budget and surrogacy laws by state to compare New York with other states.

Sources

• Child-Parent Security Act (in force February 15, 2021), New York State Legislature. Pending review by New York counsel.
• New York State surrogacy program licensing requirements. Pending review by New York counsel.
• Illinois Gestational Surrogacy Act (2005), Illinois General Assembly. Pending review by counsel.