PLS publishes the total package first and the base figure second, because base compensation alone understates what a surrogate receives. Every figure on this page is pending final confirmation by Nancy Block, RN, and is marked that way until confirmed.
What is the base compensation for a first-time surrogate in Illinois?
Base compensation for a first-time gestational surrogate at Private Label Surrogacy is $60,000 (proposed, up from $55,000). An experienced surrogate, one who has completed a surrogacy before, receives $65,000 to $70,000.
Base compensation recognizes your time, effort and the physical demands of carrying a pregnancy for another family. It is not a wage, and PLS calls it compensation rather than pay. It is set in your gestational carrier agreement, which your own attorney reviews, and it is paid from an independent escrow account rather than by the agency.
PLS pays the same base across Illinois. A surrogate in Chicago, the suburbs or downstate receives the same figure, and so does a surrogate in any other state where PLS recruits.
This page is written by Natalie Gaudio-Fricano, a PLS case manager who has been on the surrogate's side of the table. She was a three-time egg donor, then a gestational surrogate who delivered a boy for an international couple in October 2016 after a first-transfer success, and she has worked in medicine since 2002. The base figure is where most applicants start. The more useful questions are what the whole package adds up to, and when each piece is paid.
What does the full Illinois package include?
A first-time PLS surrogate carrying one baby receives a typical total package of roughly $68,000 to $78,000. "Typical" means a singleton pregnancy with the usual allowances and milestone payments; the exact figure depends on how long the journey runs, whether you pump, and your lost wages.
| Item | Amount | Trigger | When paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base compensation, first-time | $60,000 (proposed) | Pregnancy confirmed with a heartbeat | In installments through the pregnancy |
| Base compensation, experienced | $65,000 to $70,000 | Pregnancy confirmed with a heartbeat | In installments through the pregnancy |
| Monthly allowance | $300 per month | Contract signing | Monthly |
| Medication start | $500 | Starting injectable medications | At medication start |
| Embryo transfer | $1,000 | Each transfer | At transfer |
| Maternity clothing | $750; $1,000 for multiples | Pregnancy confirmed | Once |
| Housekeeping | $90 per week | From 32 weeks | Weekly |
| Breast milk pumping | $200 per week | If you choose to pump after delivery | Weekly |
| Twins | $5,000 added | Multiple pregnancy confirmed | With base installments |
| Triplets | $10,000 added | Multiple pregnancy confirmed | With base installments |
| Lost wages, surrogate and partner | Actual documented wages | Journey-related time off | As incurred |
| Life insurance | Extended policy up to $750,000 | Before transfer | Premium paid by intended parents |
Payment triggers and timing: confirm schedule with Nancy.
A worked example, typical singleton journey: base compensation $60,000; monthly allowance $300 for about 12 to 14 months from signing to delivery, $3,600 to $4,200; medication start $500; one transfer $1,000; maternity clothing $750; housekeeping from 32 weeks to a 40-week delivery, about $720. That is roughly $66,500 to $67,200 before lost wages and pumping support, which carry most surrogates into the $68,000 to $78,000 typical range.
Beyond the money, the package includes support you would otherwise arrange yourself. Mental-health support comes from independent licensed professionals. Julie Bendix, MPH, RD, LD, CLC, a registered dietitian and lactation counselor, holds at least six nutrition consults with you across the journey. Your own attorney, paid by the intended parents through escrow, reviews your agreement. If your health plan excludes surrogacy, the intended parents buy a dedicated policy for you.
When is each payment made?
Payments follow the journey's milestones, so you are paid as the work happens rather than all at the end.
- Contract signing. Your monthly allowance begins.
- Medication start. The $500 medication-start payment follows when you begin injectable medications.
- Embryo transfer. The $1,000 transfer fee is paid for each transfer.
- Confirmed pregnancy. Base compensation begins in installments after a heartbeat is confirmed, and continues through the pregnancy.
- Late pregnancy. Housekeeping support starts at 32 weeks.
- After delivery. Final base installment and, if you pump, weekly pumping support.
If a transfer does not result in a pregnancy, you keep the transfer fee, the medication-start payment and the allowance already earned; base compensation is tied to pregnancy. A new transfer restarts the milestone payments.
Failed-cycle policy: confirm with Nancy.
Who holds the money and why it matters
The intended parents fund an independent licensed escrow agent before your medications start: $10,000 at match, and the balance before medications begin. The escrow agent pays you according to your agreement. PLS never holds the money, and the intended parents may choose their own escrow company.
This matters because it is your protection. If money sits in an agency's own account, an agency failure can put your compensation at risk. 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. In 2025 and 2026 PLS took on three surrogates, pro bono, who were stranded when their agencies failed. PLS has used independent licensed escrow since it opened in 2017.
Before you sign, ask to see confirmation that the full escrow balance is funded. Your attorney can ask for it on your behalf. See how escrow works.
Before you sign, it also helps to ask your attorney five questions about the money:
- Is the full escrow balance funded, and can I see the confirmation?
- What exactly triggers each payment, and how quickly does escrow release it?
- What do I keep if a transfer fails, and what restarts if there is a second transfer?
- What changes if I carry twins?
- How are lost wages documented and paid?
Your attorney negotiates these terms for you. The intended parents' attorney negotiates for them. PLS makes sure both sides are working from the same published framework.
Is surrogate compensation taxable in Illinois?
Illinois law permits compensation for a gestational surrogate. Its tax treatment is unsettled, which is why PLS tells every surrogate to get her own advice rather than relying on what another surrogate or an online forum says.
Talk to a CPA before your first payment, keep copies of every escrow statement, and set aside a portion of each payment until you have advice. The intended parents do not withhold tax from your compensation. PLS does not give tax advice, and neither should anyone who is not your own tax professional.
How does Illinois compare with other states?
PLS pays the same compensation in every state where it recruits, so for a PLS surrogate, Illinois is neither higher nor lower than anywhere else.
What Illinois offers is legal clarity. The Illinois Gestational Surrogacy Act (2005) makes compensated gestational surrogacy agreements enforceable and requires that you have your own attorney. That means the payments in your agreement are written down, enforceable and paid from escrow. Not every state offers that. Michigan only legalized compensated surrogacy in April 2025, and some states still restrict it.
If you live in a neighboring state, see surrogate compensation in Wisconsin or the national surrogate compensation page.
What are the requirements to qualify?
To apply with PLS you 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: online application, interview with a case manager, 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 the intended parents' clinic. From application to match averages about 6 months. See how to become a surrogate in Illinois and the Illinois surrogacy overview.
Sources
- Illinois Gestational Surrogacy Act (2005), Illinois General Assembly. Pending review by counsel.