What Disqualifies You From Being a Surrogate?

Every program has a list, and most women only hear one item from it at a time. Here is the whole picture in one place: where each rule comes from, and which ones change with time.

Published October 15, 2026

The most common things that disqualify you from being a surrogate are never having carried a pregnancy to term, serious complications in a past pregnancy, a delivery history beyond ASRM guidance, current use of psychoactive medication or certain mental health history, nicotine or drug use, an age or BMI outside a program's range, a felony conviction, and living in a state where surrogacy isn't workable. Some of these are permanent, but many, like your BMI, the time since your last delivery or a recent tattoo, only mean "not right now."

If you've searched for this, you've probably already seen a list of requirements written in the positive: be 21 to 42, have a healthy pregnancy behind you, have a stable home. That's useful, but it doesn't tell you what actually stops an application. This article turns it around. It gathers the reasons women are turned down into one place, explains where each rule comes from, and marks which ones tend to change.

Disqualifying rules come from three places. The first is guidance from the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), which clinics use to screen gestational carriers. The second is each agency's or program's own policy, which sits on top of that. The third is the law where you live. Knowing which layer a rule comes from tells you a lot about whether another program would see it differently.

Your pregnancy history

• Never having carried a pregnancy to term. ASRM says that, ideally, a carrier should have had at least one term, uncomplicated pregnancy. Its Ethics Committee explains why: giving true informed consent without having been through a pregnancy and delivery is problematic, because the experience is so long and so intense. We've written more about this in can you be a surrogate if you've never been pregnant.
• Serious complications in a past pregnancy. Preeclampsia, preterm birth, gestational diabetes and similar events are looked at case by case. How severe it was, whether it happened more than once and how your most recent pregnancy went all matter. Our article on preeclampsia and gestational diabetes goes through how clinics weigh it.
• A delivery history beyond ASRM guidance. ASRM says that, ideally, a carrier should not have had more than five previous deliveries or three deliveries by cesarean. Your own children count toward that total.
• Too little time since your last baby. Programs commonly want 6 to 12 months after a vaginal birth and 12 to 18 months after a cesarean before a transfer, and often want breastfeeding finished.
• Problems with the uterus itself. ASRM highly recommends an evaluation of the uterine cavity before a carrier is accepted. A hysterectomy rules surrogacy out, and an endometrial ablation is generally treated as disqualifying. Fibroids depend on where they sit; see our fibroids article.

Your physical health

• Age. Most programs accept women between 21 and 42, and some cap lower, in the high thirties or at 40. ASRM's Ethics Committee says carriers should be at least 21.
• BMI. Most programs look for a BMI under 32, and a few accept up to 35. This is program policy rather than an ASRM number. Our BMI article explains where the cutoff comes from.
• Nicotine and drug use. ASRM's recommended preconception testing includes a urine drug screen, and programs typically require a documented period of being nicotine-free, including vaping.
• Certain infections. ASRM recommends infectious disease testing for carriers and their partners before transfer. Under its guidance, someone who tests positive for HIV, hepatitis B or hepatitis C should generally not serve as a carrier. Treatable infections such as syphilis, gonorrhea or chlamydia mean treatment and a retest first, not a permanent no.
• A recent tattoo or piercing done without sterile technique. ASRM says a carrier should not be used if she has had a tattoo or piercing in the past 12 months that wasn't done with sterile technique.
• Some chronic conditions. Many are workable when well controlled, and the clinic decides. We've covered high blood pressure, thyroid conditions and PCOS separately.

Mental health and medication

ASRM requires a psychological evaluation for every potential carrier and for her partner or primary support person, before any contract is signed. Its list of criteria for declining a carrier candidate includes:

• current use of psychoactive medication;
• a history of major depression, postpartum mood disorder, bipolar disorder, psychosis, or a clinically significant anxiety disorder with impaired functioning;
• unresolved or untreated alcohol or drug abuse, child, sexual or physical abuse, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, or a traumatic pregnancy, labor or delivery.

If you currently take an antidepressant or anti-anxiety medication, ASRM lists current use of psychoactive medication among its reasons to decline a candidate. If you took one in the past, the answer depends on why you took it and your history. Our article on antidepressants and surrogacy covers it in detail. Never stop or change a medication on your own; that conversation belongs with your prescriber.

Your life right now

ASRM says carriers must have a stable family environment with adequate support. Its criteria for declining a candidate also include current marital or relationship instability, not enough emotional support from a partner or support system, a chaotic lifestyle or a current major life stressor, evidence of financial or emotional coercion, evidence of an inability to emotionally separate from the child at birth, a failure to show altruistic commitment, and a motivation to use the compensation to solve your own infertility.

Finances come up here too. The psychological evaluation looks at your main source of income and any government assistance, to make sure money pressure isn't pushing you into this. At most programs, WIC is fine, Medicaid may be workable if you switch coverage at the match, and SNAP, TANF, Section 8, SSI or SSDI usually put an application on hold. Our government assistance article explains why.

Legal status and background

• Citizenship. Most programs require you to be a US citizen or permanent resident.
• Criminal record. Programs generally require no felony convictions, for you or your spouse or partner.
• Background and credit check. Agencies typically look back seven years for bankruptcy. Here's what the check covers.
• Where you live. Most states work, but a couple of states don't, so your address is part of the answer.

If one of these applies to you

Ask which rule it is and which layer it comes from. A program's own BMI ceiling can differ from the next program's, while an ASRM criterion is generally followed by reputable clinics, and a medical exclusion that exists to protect you isn't worth trying to get waived. We've written a separate guide on what to do if you're told you don't qualify, including the questions to ask and why reapplying with changed answers backfires.

How this works with Borne

Our questionnaire asks about the same things a program would: your pregnancies, your health, your medications and where you live. If something on this list applies to you, we'll tell you which one and whether it's the kind that changes, rather than leaving you to guess.