What the Surrogate Background Check Covers
Agencies run one, and it covers your spouse or partner too. Here's what it looks at (and the financial check that often comes with it), what actually disqualifies someone, and why disclosing something first is always better than letting the report find it.
A surrogate background check is a criminal history check run on you and on any spouse or partner, and many programs pair it with a credit check that looks for any bankruptcy in the last seven years. At Borne's partner agencies a felony conviction for either of you is a firm disqualifier, while misdemeanors are reviewed case by case.
Somewhere between your application and your match, a surrogacy agency will run a criminal background check on you. If you're married or living with a partner, they'll run one on your partner too. This surprises some people — it feels a bit formal for something that starts as a generous impulse — but it's a standard step at every reputable program, and understanding it in advance takes most of the anxiety out of it.
Why agencies run it
Intended parents are about to entrust a person they've just met with their pregnancy, their embryos, and a year or more of intimate contact with their family. The agency is vouching for that person. A background check is one of the few objective tools it has, and intended parents expect it — many ask about it directly. The same logic applies to your spouse or partner, who will be in the home for the entire pregnancy, will be a party to the contract, and will be part of the intended parents' lives too.
It's also protective for you. The intended parents go through screening of their own, including background checks at most agencies, before anyone is matched. Nobody in the arrangement is being asked to take the other party on faith alone.
What it covers
The core of it is a criminal history check — felony and misdemeanor convictions, typically at the county, state, and national level, run by a third-party screening service the agency uses. Some agencies also check the sex-offender registry separately and ask about any history with child protective services. A smaller number include a home visit or ask for personal references.
Many programs also run a basic financial check alongside it, usually a credit report with a specific eye on any bankruptcy in the last seven years, and ask for proof of income. This isn't about how much you earn. It's about confirming that compensation isn't the only thing holding your household together, which matters both for you and for the intended parents. A modest income and an ordinary credit history are fine; a recent bankruptcy is something to mention early so the agency can tell you how they handle it.
The check is typically arranged and paid for by the agency or the intended parents, so you usually won't be asked to cover it. It usually happens during agency intake, after you've been screened by Borne and referred, and before you're presented to intended parents.
What disqualifies someone
Here is the plain version. At the partner agencies Borne works with, a felony conviction is a firm disqualifier — for the surrogate and for her spouse or partner. At these programs there is no real gray area here, and it doesn't soften much with time. If you or your partner has a felony conviction, most programs will not be able to move forward, and it's better to know that at the start than after weeks of paperwork.
Misdemeanors are handled case by case. A decade-old traffic offense or a minor charge from your early twenties is unlikely to matter. Anything involving children, violence, drugs, or fraud gets looked at much more closely regardless of how it's classified, because those are the categories intended parents ask about. Recency counts — a program will read a five-year-old record differently than a five-month-old one — and so does what your life has looked like since.
This is the part people most often don't see coming. If your spouse or live-in partner has a felony conviction, that closes the door at most programs even if your own record is spotless. Some agencies extend the check to every adult in the household. If this applies to you, tell us on the screening call — we'd rather give you an honest answer in thirty minutes than have an agency give you one in three months.
Expunged, sealed, or dismissed
Charges that were dismissed, or that never led to a conviction, generally don't count against you, though they can still appear on some reports and are worth being ready to explain. Expunged or sealed records vary: depending on the state and the screening service, they may not show up at all, or may appear with the disposition noted. Agencies differ on how they treat them. Don't assume an expungement makes something invisible or irrelevant — mention it, and let the agency tell you how it's handled.
Disclose first. Always.
If there's one thing to take from this article, it's this. The background check is likely to find what's there. A conviction that you disclosed on your intake form is a data point the agency can evaluate. The same conviction surfacing on a report you said would be clean is a trust problem, and trust is the entire currency of a surrogacy match. Agencies routinely work with candidates who have something minor in their past; they almost never work with candidates who hid something.
The practical approach is simple. Before you apply, know exactly what's on your record and your partner's — you can request your own criminal history from your state. Write down the year, the charge, the outcome, and a sentence about the context. Then share it when you're asked, or earlier. On your Borne screening call, we ask about anything an agency might flag so we can route you to a program where you'll be a genuine fit, and criminal history is squarely in that conversation. A candid answer there doesn't hurt you; it just helps us do our job.
Common questions
Can you be a surrogate with a felony?
Not at Borne's partner agencies. A felony conviction is a firm disqualifier there, for the surrogate and for her spouse or partner.
Does my husband need a background check if I become a surrogate?
Yes. Agencies typically run the criminal background check on your spouse or live-in partner too, and some extend it to every adult in the household.
Can you be a surrogate with a misdemeanor?
Often yes, because misdemeanors are handled case by case. An old minor offense is unlikely to matter, while anything involving children, violence, drugs or fraud is looked at much more closely.
Do surrogates have a credit check?
Many programs run a basic financial check alongside the criminal one, usually a credit report with an eye on any bankruptcy in the last seven years, plus proof of income. It is not about how much you earn; a modest income and an ordinary credit history are fine.
See where you stand.
Our questionnaire takes about 10 minutes and covers the requirements agencies screen for — and if there's something in your history you're unsure about, tell us on the call and we'll give you a real answer.
See if you qualify →