Can You Be a Surrogate in California?

California wrote its gestational surrogacy rules into the Family Code in 2013, and they are some of the most specific in the country. Here's what the law asks of you, what it leaves to your agency and clinic, and how parentage is settled before the baby arrives.

Published October 19, 2026

Yes - gestational surrogacy is legal in California, and the state sets out its rules in sections 7960 to 7962 of the California Family Code. The law requires you and the intended parents to have separate attorneys, requires a signed and notarized agreement before the embryo transfer or any injectable medication that prepares you for it, and lets a court confirm the intended parents as the legal parents before the baby is born.

California comes up constantly in the searches that bring women to us, usually as "ca surrogacy" or "california surrogacy" with nothing else attached. That makes sense. California has a long history with surrogacy and a reputation as a friendly place to do it. What's less well known is what the law actually asks of you as the surrogate, and what it leaves to your agency, your clinic and your contract. Here it is in plain language.

Where California's law comes from

For decades, California's approach rested on a 1993 California Supreme Court decision, Johnson v. Calvert. The court held that when a woman carries an embryo created from the intended parents' egg and sperm under a surrogacy agreement, the intended mother is the child's legal mother. Courts built on that reasoning for years without a detailed statute behind it.

In 2012 the legislature passed a bill that took effect at the start of 2013 and spelled the rules out in the Family Code. Section 7960 defines a gestational carrier as a woman who is not an intended parent and who agrees to carry an embryo that is genetically unrelated to her. In other words, California's statute is written for gestational surrogacy, where your own eggs aren't used. If you're still sorting out the difference, our article on gestational vs. traditional surrogacy explains it.

What the agreement has to include

Section 7962 says a gestational carrier agreement must contain, at a minimum:

• The date it was signed.
• Where the eggs and sperm come from. If donor eggs, sperm or embryos are used, the agreement says which, but it doesn't have to name the donor.
• Who the intended parents are.
• How the intended parents will pay for your medical care and the baby's. If health insurance will be used, the agreement has to include a review of the policy's relevant terms, such as whether you could end up liable for costs, liens or other insurance, and notice requirements. If coverage is uncertain, the agreement can say so.

That last item matters more than it looks. Insurance is one of the places surrogacy arrangements most often get complicated, and California makes the parties put the plan in writing before anything starts. Our guide to insurance and surrogacy covers what to look at in your own policy.

Your own attorney, chosen by you

Before the agreement is signed, California requires you and the intended parents to each be represented by separate, independent licensed attorneys of your own choosing. That lines up with ASRM. Its practice guidance calls it "imperative" that the surrogate and her spouse have independent legal counsel licensed in the applicable state, and its Ethics Committee adds that carriers "must be free to choose their own counsel." It's common for the intended parents to pay for your attorney, and that doesn't change whose side the attorney is on. Your lawyer works for you.

Nothing starts until it's signed

The agreement has to be signed by everyone and notarized, or witnessed by an equivalent method recognized where it's signed. Then comes the rule that shapes your timeline: under section 7962, the parties can't start injectable medications in preparation for an embryo transfer, and can't do the transfer itself, until the agreement is fully executed.

ASRM's guidance points the same way. It says a fully executed legal agreement and a legal clearance letter should be in place before any treatment begins. In practice, that means contract negotiation sits between your medical screening and your medication calendar, and it typically takes a few weeks, depending on the attorneys and how much back and forth the terms need.

How parentage is settled before the birth

This is the part California is best known for. A parentage action can be filed before the baby is born, in the county where the baby is expected to be born, where the intended parents or you live, where the agreement was signed, or where the medical procedures take place. A copy of the agreement is lodged with the court, and the parties and their attorneys sign declarations, under penalty of perjury, that the agreement complies with the statute.

When the paperwork is in order, the court issues a judgment establishing the intended parents as the legal parents and stating that you, and your spouse or partner if you have one, have no parental rights or duties. That generally happens without a hearing, unless the court or a party has a good-faith reason to believe the agreement wasn't properly signed. A compliant agreement is presumed valid and can't be undone without a court order.

The court file is confidential, open only to the parties, their attorneys and the state's social services department unless a judge orders otherwise. A party can also ask the court to redact information that identifies the surrogate from documents given to others. Our article on pre-birth orders explains why getting this done before delivery makes the hospital stay simpler for everyone.

What California's law doesn't set

California's statute is about the agreement and parentage. It doesn't set an age range, a BMI limit, a residency rule, a marriage requirement or a pregnancy history requirement for surrogates. Those come from ASRM guidance and from your agency and clinic. Programs typically look for women aged 21 to 42 with a BMI under 32 (a few programs go to 35), and ASRM says that ideally a carrier has had at least one term, uncomplicated pregnancy. ASRM also says that ideally a carrier has had no more than five previous deliveries or three cesareans.

The statute also doesn't set a compensation amount. First-time surrogates typically earn $60,000 to $75,000 in total compensation and experienced surrogates $75,000 to $100,000 or more, plus a monthly allowance commonly $250 to $350, with all medical costs covered, depending on the agency and contract. ASRM's Ethics Committee says compensation should be aimed primarily at the time, inconvenience and risk of embryo transfer, pregnancy and delivery, and should not be contingent on the birth of a healthy child. Our breakdown of how surrogate compensation adds up goes line by line.

Your body, your decisions

Section 7962 doesn't list medical decision-making rules the way some states' laws do, but your rights don't depend on that. ASRM's Ethics Committee says carriers are the sole source of consent for their own medical care from embryo transfer through delivery and aftercare, and that a carrier "cannot be compelled to submit to or decline a procedure regardless of the contract." A good agreement still spells out everyone's expectations about things like prenatal testing and the number of embryos transferred. ASRM strongly recommends single embryo transfer in all gestational carrier cycles.

Where Borne fits

Our questionnaire asks where you live because state law shapes everything that follows. California is one of the states we work with, and a couple of states don't allow surrogacy at all. If you're in California, we'll talk through how the process works there on your screening call, and your partner agency and your own attorney typically handle the agreement and the court filing with you.