Is surrogacy legal in Washington?
Reviewed by counsel [name], [date]. All statements about Washington law on this page are pending review by Washington counsel, and no statute numbers are cited until counsel approves them.
Yes, and it has been since January 1, 2019. On that date Washington's updated Uniform Parentage Act took effect and made compensated gestational surrogacy legal. Before 2019, compensated surrogacy was prohibited in Washington.
That date is the most useful fact on this page. If you find advice saying Washington bans paid surrogacy, check when it was written. Under the current law, intended parents of any marital status, sexual orientation or genetic connection obtain a pre-birth parentage order.
This page was written by Jan Telman Berman, Global Surrogacy Coordinator at Private Label Surrogacy. Jan has worked in the field for more than 18 years and manages national and international cycles. Treat it as background, not legal advice: your own Washington reproductive attorney advises you, and the surrogate has her own attorney.
| Washington at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Legal basis | Washington's updated Uniform Parentage Act, in effect since January 1, 2019 |
| Status | Legal by statute since 2019; pre-birth orders for all intended parents |
| Parentage method | Pre-birth parentage order under the Uniform Parentage Act |
| Who can be an intended parent | Any marital status, sexual orientation or genetic connection |
| Surrogate requirements | At least 21; has given birth before; medical and mental-health evaluations; independent counsel; agreement signed before medications |
| Compensation permitted | Yes, since January 1, 2019; prohibited before then |
| PLS recruits here | Yes |
What law governs surrogacy in Washington?
Washington's updated Uniform Parentage Act governs surrogacy. It took effect on January 1, 2019, replacing the earlier rule that prohibited compensated surrogacy.
The Act sets conditions on the people and on the paperwork. The surrogate must be at least 21, must have given birth before, and must complete medical and mental-health evaluations. Each party must have independent legal counsel. The agreement must be signed before any medications begin.
Those conditions read like a summary of how PLS already runs a journey. Every PLS surrogate has had at least one healthy full-term pregnancy and is raising a child. Every one has a psychological evaluation by an independent licensed professional. PLS does not employ attorneys, so each side has its own lawyer by design. And on every PLS journey, the agreement is signed and escrow is funded before the clinic starts the surrogate's medications.
The difference is that in Washington these are legal requirements, not just agency policy. An agreement that skips one of them may not carry the protections the Act provides, which is why your Washington attorney checks each condition before you sign.
Confirm the current statutory requirements, and any residency rules, with Washington counsel before signing.
How is parentage established in Washington: pre-birth or post-birth?
Pre-birth. Under the Uniform Parentage Act, intended parents obtain a parentage order before the baby is born, and that is true for all intended parents, not only married or genetically related ones.
A pre-birth order shapes delivery day. The order names you as the parents, so the hospital records you as the parents from birth. Without one, families in some states wait on a court date after delivery. See pre-birth vs post-birth parentage orders for how the two approaches compare.
On a Washington journey the parentage work runs alongside the pregnancy:
- Before medications. The agreement is signed, with independent counsel on each side, as the Act requires.
- Mid-pregnancy. Your Washington attorney prepares and files for the pre-birth order.
- Before labor. PLS works out a birth plan with the delivering hospital, so staff know who the parents are and how the delivery room and discharge will be handled.
Who can be an intended parent in Washington?
Washington's Uniform Parentage Act gives intended parents of any marital status, sexual orientation or genetic connection access to a pre-birth parentage order.
That means the same legal route for:
- Married and unmarried couples
- Single intended parents
- Same-sex couples
- Families using donor eggs, donor sperm or a donated embryo, where one or neither parent has a genetic link to the child
Confirm with Washington counsel whether the Act imposes any residency requirement on intended parents or the surrogate, and how it applies to intended parents who live outside the US.
PLS treats every family the same way: one consultation, one matching process, one escrow rule. In Washington the law does too.
Who can be a surrogate in Washington?
Under the Act, a Washington surrogate must be at least 21, must have given birth before, and must complete medical and mental-health evaluations.
PLS's criteria start where the law stops. 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
PLS screening runs 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 your fertility clinic. Washington counsel will confirm that the psychological evaluation and clinic screening meet the Act's evaluation requirements for each agreement.
Dr. Silverberg, an anesthesiologist with more than 30 years of medical practice and many obstetric cases, reads every candidate's prenatal and delivery records. He then writes a physician medical summary for your clinic.
How does PLS work with Washington surrogates and parents?
PLS recruits Washington surrogates and matches them with intended parents across the US and abroad.
Washington surrogates matched through PLS monitor at a clinic in Seattle, Tacoma or Spokane. For medical screening and the embryo transfer, they travel to your clinic. One of PLS's 14 partner fertility centers, Oregon Reproductive Medicine in Portland, is a common transfer site for Washington surrogates. You may use any clinic you choose, and travel costs come from escrow.
Nancy Block, RN, founded PLS in 2017 and personally runs matching. Before PLS she spent 17 years as an OB/GYN and fertility nurse at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, then founded and ran The Center for Egg Options Illinois for 15 years.
Today it takes about 9 months from signing to meeting your surrogate; PLS's target is 6 months or fewer. The legal and medical foundations, when both attorneys review the agreement against Washington's requirements and you fund escrow, take 1 to 2 months. The medical cycle takes 2 to 3 months and ends with the transfer, and the pregnancy test is 9 to 11 days later. Most journeys run 18 to 24 months from start to finish.
Case managers Natalie Gaudio-Fricano and Jenni Symons, both of whom have been surrogates themselves, stay with each surrogate through delivery. Julie Bendix, MPH, RD, LD, CLC, holds at least six nutrition consults with her.
What does a Washington journey cost and how is money held?
Choosing a Washington surrogate does not change PLS fees or compensation. Most intended parents budget $150,000 to $210,000 in total, including clinic fees and insurance. The total is made up of:
- 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 (proposed, up from $55,000), or $65,000 to $70,000 for an experienced surrogate. See surrogate compensation in Washington for the schedule.
- Third-party costs, $15,300 to $29,000, covering attorneys for both sides, escrow, the psychological evaluation, background check, insurance review, travel and local monitoring.
- Surrogate health insurance, $5,000 to $40,000, needed only if her plan excludes surrogacy.
- IVF and clinic fees, paid directly to your clinic.
All surrogate and third-party money is held by an independent licensed escrow agent that you may choose yourself. You fund $10,000 at match and the rest before the surrogate starts medications. PLS never holds client funds. Agency failures such as the Surro Connections collapse in late 2025, which led to a federal indictment in August 2026, show what is at stake.
The itemized budget is on the cost of surrogacy.
Sources
- Washington Uniform Parentage Act (updated, in effect January 1, 2019), Washington State Legislature. Pending review by Washington counsel.
- Private Label Surrogacy program fee, $47,500 (October 2026 schedule). Installment split and surrogate compensation schedule pending confirmation by Nancy Block, RN.