Can You Be a Surrogate in Michigan?
For decades Michigan was the one place paid surrogacy contracts were a crime. That changed in 2025. Here's what the new law says, in plain language, and what it means if you live there.
Yes - compensated gestational surrogacy has been legal in Michigan since April 1, 2025, when the Assisted Reproduction and Surrogacy Parentage Act replaced the state's old ban on paid surrogacy contracts. Under the new law you must be at least 21, have given birth at least once, complete a medical evaluation and a mental health consultation, and have your own Michigan-licensed attorney before you sign an agreement.
If you looked into surrogacy in Michigan a few years ago, you were probably told it wasn't possible, or that you'd have to work around the law somehow. That answer is out of date. Michigan now has a detailed surrogacy statute, and it includes specific protections for the surrogate, not just for the intended parents.
What changed
Michigan's Surrogate Parenting Act, passed in 1988, prohibited compensated surrogacy contracts, and Michigan was the only state that made surrogacy contracts a crime. In 2024 the Legislature passed a package of bills known as the Michigan Family Protection Act. One of them created the Assisted Reproduction and Surrogacy Parentage Act (2024 Public Act 24), which took effect on April 1, 2025 and repealed the old ban.
Today Michigan law expressly allows a surrogacy agreement to provide for compensation, support and reasonable expenses. It also lays out who can enter an agreement, what the agreement has to contain, and how the intended parents become the child's legal parents.
What the law asks of you
Before you sign an agreement to act as a surrogate, Section 301 of the act says you must:
- Be at least 21 years old.
- Have previously given birth to at least one child.
- Have completed a medical evaluation concerning the surrogacy arrangement.
- Have completed a mental health consultation.
- Have independent legal representation of your choice by an attorney licensed in Michigan, covering the negotiation, the signing and the whole length of the agreement.
These are legal minimums, not the whole screening. Agencies and clinics add their own requirements on top: most programs accept women between 21 and 42, look for a BMI under 32 (a few accept up to 35), and run a background and credit check. ASRM guidance goes further than the statute on mental health, too. Where Michigan asks for a "mental health consultation," ASRM guidance calls for a full psychological evaluation, with a clinical interview and standardized testing, for you and your partner or primary support person.
What your agreement must include
Sections 302 and 303 set out how a valid agreement has to be put together. In plain terms:
- A Michigan connection. At least one party has to live in Michigan, or the birth or the fertility treatment has to happen there.
- Everyone signs. You, your spouse if you're married, and each intended parent must be parties to the agreement, and every signature has to be notarized.
- The intended parents pay for your lawyer. The law requires them to cover your independent legal representation.
- Signed before treatment. The agreement must be signed before any medical procedure related to it, other than the medical evaluation and mental health consultation.
- Your health decisions stay yours. The agreement must leave decisions about your health and welfare with you, and let you use the health care practitioner of your choice.
- Money is spelled out. It must say how expenses will be covered, and it may provide for compensation and reasonable expenses.
This lines up with ASRM, whose Ethics Committee says the carrier is the sole source of consent for her own medical care and cannot be compelled to submit to or decline a procedure regardless of the contract. ASRM also says a fully signed legal agreement should be in place before any treatment begins.
Section 305 lets any party end a Michigan surrogacy agreement at any time before an embryo transfer. If a transfer doesn't result in a pregnancy, any party can end it again before the next transfer. Unless the agreement says otherwise, the intended parents still owe the reimbursable expenses you incurred up to that point, so read that part with your attorney.
How parentage works
Under a surrogacy agreement that meets the law's requirements, each intended parent is the child's legal parent by operation of law once the baby is born, and you and your spouse are not. A court can issue a judgment of parentage before or after the birth, as the parties request, with enforcement held until the baby arrives. That is the Michigan version of what's often called a pre-birth order, and it's typically what's used to put the intended parents' names on the birth certificate.
The law treats genetic (traditional) surrogacy differently, so if you were ever asked to use your own eggs, parentage would be decided under other Michigan law. Almost all programs work only with gestational surrogacy, where the baby isn't genetically related to you.
Compensation in Michigan
Because paid agreements are now allowed, Michigan surrogates are offered the same kind of packages as surrogates elsewhere. 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 of around $250 to $350, with medical costs covered. The exact figures depend on your agency and your contract. ASRM's Ethics Committee says compensation should be aimed primarily at your time, inconvenience and risk, and should not be contingent on the birth of a healthy baby.
A few practical notes
- Check your health insurance early. Some policies exclude surrogate pregnancies, which changes how your coverage is arranged. Our guide to checking your policy walks through what to look for.
- Choose a lawyer who knows the new act. The law is recent, and an attorney who has drafted agreements under it will save everyone time.
- Moving matters. If you might leave Michigan during the journey, raise it before you sign. Our article on moving during a surrogacy explains why.
This is general information, not legal advice. Your own attorney is the person who tells you how the act applies to your agreement.
Where Borne fits
We screen prospective surrogates and connect qualified candidates with partner agencies, and Michigan is now one of the states we can work with. If you live there and have been waiting for the law to catch up, it has.
Common questions
Is surrogacy legal in Michigan?
Yes. Compensated gestational surrogacy has been legal in Michigan since April 1, 2025, under the Assisted Reproduction and Surrogacy Parentage Act, which replaced the state's old ban on paid surrogacy contracts.
What are the requirements to be a surrogate in Michigan?
Michigan law requires you to be at least 21, to have given birth to at least one child, to complete a medical evaluation and a mental health consultation, and to have your own Michigan-licensed attorney. Agencies and clinics add their own requirements on top, such as age, BMI and a background check.
Do surrogates get paid in Michigan?
Yes. Michigan's law allows a surrogacy agreement to provide for compensation and reasonable expenses, and first-time surrogates typically earn $60,000 to $75,000 in total compensation, depending on the agency and contract.
Can a surrogate change her mind in Michigan?
Michigan's law lets any party end the agreement at any time before an embryo transfer, and again before a later transfer if one doesn't result in a pregnancy.
Who are the legal parents in a Michigan surrogacy?
Under a surrogacy agreement that meets the law's requirements, the intended parents are the child's legal parents by operation of law, and the surrogate and her spouse are not. A court can issue a judgment of parentage before or after the birth.
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