Is surrogacy legal in Oregon?
Reviewed by counsel [name], [date]. Statements on this page about Oregon law and Oregon court practice are pending review by Oregon counsel, and no statute numbers or case names are cited.
Yes. Gestational surrogacy is legal and well established in Oregon, and compensation is permitted. Oregon has no surrogacy statute. What it has instead is decades of consistent court practice: Oregon courts issue pre-birth parentage judgments to intended parents of any marital status, sexual orientation or nationality, with or without a genetic link.
Oregon is a useful counterexample to the idea that a state needs a statute to be predictable. Oregon courts have handled surrogacy parentage the same way for long enough that pre-birth judgments are routine. That consistency is why Oregon has long been a destination for international intended parents.
Jan Telman Berman, Global Surrogacy Coordinator at Private Label Surrogacy, wrote this page. With more than 18 years in the field, Jan manages PLS's national and international cycles, including families who come to the US from abroad. This page is not legal advice. Your Oregon reproductive attorney advises you, and the surrogate's own attorney advises her.
| Oregon at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Legal basis | No surrogacy statute; decades of consistent court practice |
| Status | Legal by practice; no statute; pre-birth judgments routine |
| Parentage method | Pre-birth parentage judgment |
| Who can be an intended parent | Any marital status, sexual orientation or nationality, with or without a genetic link |
| Surrogate requirements | No statutory list; set by the agreement, the clinic and the agency. PLS applies its own criteria and seven-step screening. |
| Compensation permitted | Yes |
| PLS recruits here | Yes; partner clinic Oregon Reproductive Medicine is in Portland |
What law governs surrogacy in Oregon?
Court practice, not a statute. Oregon has not enacted a surrogacy statute. Gestational carrier agreements are used, compensation is permitted, and Oregon courts have issued pre-birth parentage judgments consistently for decades.
Two things follow from that for intended parents.
First, your gestational carrier agreement does the work a statute does elsewhere. It sets out compensation, expenses, insurance, medical decision-making and parentage intentions, and it is what your attorney relies on when asking the court for a judgment. On a PLS journey, both sides have their own attorneys, the agreement is signed before any medication, and escrow is funded before the surrogate starts injections. Those habits matter more in a practice-based state.
Second, practice can change through the courts or the legislature without the clear start date a new statute would have. Confirm with Oregon counsel that current practice still matches this summary, and whether any Oregon legislation affecting surrogacy is pending, before you sign.
How is parentage established in Oregon: pre-birth or post-birth?
Pre-birth. Oregon courts issue a pre-birth parentage judgment naming the intended parents, and they issue it routinely.
What the judgment does for you on delivery day:
- You are recognized as the parents before the baby arrives, so the hospital can record you as the parents from birth.
- The surrogate is not named as a parent.
- You can plan discharge, travel and paperwork for the baby in advance.
That third point is the reason so many international families choose Oregon. A parent flying home with a newborn needs a birth certificate and a passport before travel, and a judgment in place before birth starts that process sooner.
PLS adds a birth plan with the delivering hospital: who the parents are, who is in the delivery room, how the baby is handed over and how discharge works. Pre-birth vs post-birth parentage orders compares Oregon with states that settle parentage only after birth.
Who can be an intended parent in Oregon?
Oregon courts issue pre-birth parentage judgments to intended parents of any marital status, sexual orientation or nationality, with or without a genetic link to the child.
That breadth covers:
- Married and unmarried couples
- Single men and single women
- Same-sex couples
- Families using donor eggs, donor sperm or a donated embryo
- Intended parents who do not live in the US
For international families, Oregon parentage is one part of the plan. The other part is home-country recognition 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. Talk to an immigration attorney in your home country as well as your Oregon attorney before you match.
PLS treats every family the same way, with the same process and the same standard of care.
Who can be a surrogate in Oregon?
Oregon has no surrogacy statute, so it does not set a statutory list of surrogate requirements. The standard comes from the fertility clinic, the agreement and the agency. 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 medical 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 your clinic. Dr. Silverberg, an anesthesiologist with more than 30 years of practice, reads each candidate's prenatal and delivery records and writes a physician medical summary for your clinic.
How does PLS work with Oregon surrogates and parents?
PLS recruits Oregon surrogates and matches them with intended parents from across the US and abroad. Oregon surrogates matched through PLS monitor locally in Portland, Eugene or Bend.
Oregon Reproductive Medicine in Portland is one of PLS's 14 partner fertility centers, and many Oregon surrogates transfer there. You are not required to use it. If your clinic is elsewhere, your surrogate travels to it for screening and transfer, and escrow covers the trip.
Nancy Block, RN, founded PLS in 2017 and runs matching herself. She has spoken at assisted reproduction conferences in the US, China, Israel and Europe, and after selling The Center for Egg Options Illinois in 2015 she served as VP International and Major Client Relations at Fertility SOURCE Companies.
Timeline, in plain numbers: about 9 months from signing to meeting your surrogate today, against a target of 6 months or fewer. Then 1 to 2 months for legal and medical foundations, 2 to 3 months for the medical cycle, and a pregnancy test 9 to 11 days after transfer. The whole journey typically takes 18 to 24 months.
During the pregnancy, PLS case managers Natalie Gaudio-Fricano and Jenni Symons, both former surrogates, stay with your surrogate. Julie Bendix, MPH, RD, LD, CLC, holds at least six nutrition consults with her. PLS does not employ attorneys, psychologists or escrow staff; each is an independent licensed professional.
What does an Oregon journey cost and how is money held?
An Oregon surrogate costs the same in PLS fees and compensation as a surrogate anywhere PLS recruits. Total budgets typically run $150,000 to $200,000:
- 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. The schedule is on surrogate compensation in Oregon.
- Third-party costs, $15,300 to $29,000: attorneys for each side, escrow, 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.
International parents should also budget for their own travel to Oregon for the birth and for home-country legal and immigration advice.
Your money goes to an independent licensed escrow agent, not to PLS: $10,000 at match and the balance before the surrogate's medications start. 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.
Compare states on surrogacy laws by state.
Sources
- Oregon court practice on gestational surrogacy and pre-birth parentage judgments (no surrogacy statute). Pending review by Oregon counsel.
- Federal executive order of August 6, 2026, on citizenship for children born through compensated surrogacy. Status pending review by counsel.
- Private Label Surrogacy program fee and compensation schedule, pending confirmation by Nancy Block, RN.