How much does a first-time surrogate earn in Wisconsin?
A first-time gestational surrogate in Wisconsin matched through Private Label Surrogacy receives a typical total package of roughly $68,000 to $78,000. That is built on $60,000 base compensation (proposed, up from $55,000), or $65,000 to $70,000 if you are an experienced surrogate. PLS publishes the total first and the base second, because base alone understates what you receive.
PLS recruits surrogates in Wisconsin and pays them exactly what it pays in Illinois. The base is the same in every PLS state. What changes from state to state is the legal path and where you do your monitoring. Wisconsin surrogates are close to PLS. The office is in Northbrook, Illinois, about 90 minutes south of Milwaukee, and many intended parents work with Chicago-area fertility clinics.
Base compensation recognizes your time, effort and the physical demands of carrying a pregnancy for another family. 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.
This page is written by Natalie Gaudio-Fricano, a PLS case manager who has been on your 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.
What is in the full compensation package?
"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 monthly installments through the pregnancy |
| Base compensation, experienced | $65,000 to $70,000 | Pregnancy confirmed with a heartbeat | In monthly 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, you and your 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.
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. If your health plan excludes surrogacy, the intended parents buy a dedicated policy for you. The full national breakdown is on the surrogate compensation page.
When is each payment made and who holds the money?
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 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 monthly installments after a heartbeat is confirmed.
- Week 32. Housekeeping support starts.
- After delivery. The final base installment and, if you pump, weekly pumping support.
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.
That is your protection. 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. Before you sign, ask your attorney to confirm the full escrow balance is funded. See how escrow works.
What are the requirements to become a surrogate in Wisconsin?
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
The requirements are the same in Wisconsin as in Illinois. 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. Screening takes several weeks once your records arrive.
Where do Wisconsin surrogates do monitoring and transfer?
Most of your journey happens close to home.
- Monitoring. Before transfer, you have bloodwork and ultrasounds at a fertility clinic near you, often in Milwaukee or Madison. Your monitoring clinic reports to the intended parents' clinic, which sets your medication calendar.
- Medical screening and transfer. You travel to the intended parents' clinic for screening and for the embryo transfer. PLS works with 14 partner fertility centers, including Fertility Centers of Illinois, Kindbody, Shady Grove Fertility and Oregon Reproductive Medicine. When the clinic is in the Chicago area, the trip from southeastern Wisconsin is a drive rather than a flight.
- Prenatal care and delivery. Once the pregnancy is established, you see your own OB and deliver at your own Wisconsin hospital.
Travel is paid by the intended parents from escrow: flights, hotel, meals, mileage, childcare, and lost wages for you and a companion. You do not front the cost of a trip you are making for their journey.
What does Wisconsin law mean for you as a surrogate?
Wisconsin has no surrogacy statute. Gestational surrogacy is legal by case law: in 2013 the Wisconsin Supreme Court held that a surrogacy agreement is enforceable unless enforcing it would be contrary to the child's best interest.
Parentage is set by court order, and practice varies by county. Many counties issue a pre-birth order naming the intended parents; some require a post-birth order, and a non-genetic intended parent may be advised to complete a confirmatory adoption.
What that means for you in practice:
- You are not the legal parent. The attorneys handle the parentage filing, and you sign what is needed. Your own attorney explains each document before you sign it.
- Your attorney matters. You have your own Wisconsin reproductive attorney, paid by the intended parents through escrow, who answers only to you.
- Your payments do not depend on the courtroom. Your compensation sits in an independent escrow account, funded before medications start.
See the Wisconsin surrogacy law overview for the intended parents' side. State law statements on this page are pending review by counsel.
How to apply with PLS
Start with the online application. It asks about your pregnancies, your health and your household. A case manager reviews it and calls you to talk it through, and if you are a fit, PLS requests your medical records for Dr. Silverberg to review.
Matching averages about 6 months and depends on intended-parent demand for your state and profile. Nancy Block, RN, personally runs matching. Natalie Gaudio-Fricano and Jenni Symons, both former surrogates, carry the active matches. If you have questions before you apply, call (847) 496-0600 or email team@privatelabelsurrogacy.com. See how to become a surrogate.
Sources
- Private Label Surrogacy compensation schedule, pending confirmation by Nancy Block, RN.
- Wisconsin Supreme Court, Rosecky v. Schissel (2013). Pending review by counsel.