Illinois surrogacy laws are among the most permissive and predictable in the country. Under the Illinois Gestational Surrogacy Act (750 ILCS 47), intended parents can be named directly on the child’s original birth certificate at the hospital, with no adoption and no court order, as long as the arrangement is a gestational surrogacy and the parties follow the statute’s eligibility, contract, and pre-birth certification rules.1Illinois Department of Public Health. Surrogacy The same protections apply to single intended parents and same-sex couples on identical terms.
Only Gestational Surrogacy Gets the Administrative Path
The Act covers only gestational surrogacy, meaning the person carrying the pregnancy has no genetic connection to the child.2Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 750 ILCS 47/10 – Definitions The embryo must be created through IVF using eggs from the intended mother, a donor, or donor material combined with an intended parent’s gametes. If the surrogate did not provide the egg, the arrangement falls under the Act.
Traditional surrogacy, where the surrogate is also the biological mother, is not prohibited in Illinois but is not governed by any statute. Because the surrogate is genetically related to the child, she is the legal mother at birth. The intended parents must then wait until after delivery, have the surrogate terminate her parental rights, and establish parentage through adoption. That path is slower, more expensive, and far less predictable than what the Gestational Surrogacy Act offers. Where the arrangement can be structured as gestational, most Illinois attorneys will insist on it.
Who Qualifies
The Surrogate
At the time she signs the contract, a gestational surrogate must be at least 21, have already given birth to at least one child, complete a medical evaluation, complete a mental health evaluation, and have her own Illinois-licensed attorney, chosen by her, throughout the arrangement.3Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 750 ILCS 47/20 – Eligibility The prior-birth rule exists so the surrogate knows firsthand what pregnancy and delivery involve before agreeing to carry a child for someone else.
The Intended Parents
Intended parents must be at least 21, be experiencing infertility as defined in Section 356m of the Illinois Insurance Code, complete a mental health evaluation, and have their own Illinois-licensed attorney throughout the arrangement.3Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 750 ILCS 47/20 – Eligibility The Insurance Code definition of infertility is broad enough to cover a range of circumstances beyond a straightforward inability to conceive.
The statute consistently uses “intended parent or parents” without conditions on gender, marital status, or sexual orientation. The Illinois Parentage Act of 2015 reinforces this, applying parentage rights “without regard to the marital status, age, gender, gender identity or sexual orientation of their parents.”4Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Parentage Act of 2015 – Full Text
There is no explicit residency requirement in the Act. The attorney-licensing rule, though, creates a practical connection to Illinois on both sides of the arrangement.
What the Contract Has to Do
The written surrogacy contract is the legal backbone of the arrangement, and Section 25 is specific about what has to happen before any embryo transfer.5Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 750 ILCS 47/25 – Requirements for a Gestational Surrogacy Contract Missing any of these steps can push the parties out of the administrative parentage process and into court.
The contract must be executed before any medical procedures other than the eligibility evaluations. Each side must have separate legal counsel, and the intended parents are required to pay for the surrogate’s independent attorney so that the financial dynamic does not pressure her into accepting unfavorable terms. Combined legal fees for drafting and review typically run between $5,500 and $15,000.
Substantively, the contract must contain the surrogate’s written agreement to carry the pregnancy and surrender custody immediately after birth, and the intended parents’ agreement to accept custody and take on full financial responsibility for the child from the moment of birth. The statute explicitly allows reimbursement for medical, legal, and other professional expenses tied to the surrogacy. Well-drafted contracts also address the surrogate’s health insurance, compensation, and what happens if the pregnancy involves complications.
How the Intended Parents End Up on the Birth Certificate
This is where Illinois stands apart. When the arrangement follows the Act, parentage is established by operation of law at the moment of birth. No judge is involved and no adoption is required.6Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 750 ILCS 47/15 – Rights of Parentage
The mechanism is a set of written certifications under Section 35, filed before the child is born on forms prescribed by the Illinois Department of Public Health. Each intended parent certifies compliance with the eligibility requirements. The surrogate certifies that she met the eligibility requirements, did not provide a gamete, and is carrying the child for the intended parents. Her spouse, if she has one, is part of the certification process. A licensed physician certifies that the transferred embryo was not created with the surrogate’s egg. Each side’s attorney certifies that the parties substantially satisfied the Section 25 contract requirements.
Every certification must be witnessed by two competent adults who are not the surrogate, her spouse, or an intended parent. The completed forms are filed with both the Illinois Department of Public Health and the hospital where delivery is expected, all before the birth.7Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 750 ILCS 47/35 – Establishment of Parentage
Once those certifications are on file and the child is born, the intended parents’ names go directly on the original birth certificate. The surrogate’s name does not appear.1Illinois Department of Public Health. Surrogacy The parentage carries “the full force and effect of a judgment,” giving it the same legal weight as a court order without anyone appearing in court.7Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 750 ILCS 47/35 – Establishment of Parentage The intended parents can make medical decisions for the newborn immediately, take the child home from the hospital, and are recognized as the legal parents for every purpose under state law.
What Happens If the Paperwork Falls Short
Not every surrogacy arrangement hits every statutory requirement. When something is missed, the administrative path disappears, but the arrangement is not automatically void. Section 37 of the Act addresses substantial noncompliance by sending the parties to court, where a judge determines rights and duties based on the parties’ intent at the time they signed the agreement, with consideration of the child’s best interests. Any party to the agreement, including a spouse who signed, has standing to bring the action. Section 25 contains a parallel safety valve: if the contract requirements are not met, a court determines parentage based on evidence of intent.
Illinois courts will generally try to honor the arrangement even when the paperwork fell short. But the process shifts from a quick administrative filing to litigation with uncertain timelines and outcomes, which is exactly the uncertainty the Act was built to avoid.
Compensation and Expenses
Illinois explicitly permits compensated gestational surrogacy. The Act defines compensation as payment beyond reasonable medical and related costs, meaning the surrogate can be paid for her time, effort, and the physical demands of the pregnancy.2Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 750 ILCS 47/10 – Definitions All financial terms must be negotiated and written into the contract before the embryo transfer.
Surrogate compensation typically ranges from $35,000 to $60,000 depending on experience and the terms of the particular arrangement. Beyond base compensation, contracts usually cover reimbursable expenses such as uncovered medical bills, maternity clothing, travel, lost wages, and childcare during appointments. The statute confirms that contracts with these reimbursement provisions remain enforceable.5Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 750 ILCS 47/25 – Requirements for a Gestational Surrogacy Contract
Funds are almost always held in a third-party escrow account managed by a company or an attorney. The arrangement protects the surrogate by ensuring money is available when expenses arise and protects the intended parents by creating a documented record of every disbursement. Intended parents working with an agency should also plan for management fees, which commonly run between $15,000 and $60,000.
The Insurance Trap
Health insurance for the surrogate is the single most overlooked cost in a surrogacy arrangement. Many standard health policies contain a surrogacy exclusion in the fine print. If the insurer finds out the pregnancy is a surrogacy, it can deny coverage for the entire pregnancy, leaving the intended parents responsible for prenatal care, delivery, and postpartum costs out of pocket.
Before the contract is signed, the surrogate’s existing policy should be reviewed by an attorney or insurance specialist who understands surrogacy exclusions. If the policy excludes surrogacy, or if coverage is inadequate, the intended parents will need to purchase a dedicated surrogacy maternity policy, which typically adds $15,000 to $30,000 to the total cost. Some policies also carry subrogation risk, meaning the insurer may try to assert a lien on compensation funds to recoup medical expenses it covered. An uninsured delivery with complications can easily reach six figures, so the contract should clearly assign who obtains coverage, who pays the premiums, and what happens if coverage is denied mid-pregnancy.
Long-Term Protection Against Parentage Challenges
The Gestational Surrogacy Act does not stand alone. The Illinois Parentage Act of 2015 (750 ILCS 46) works alongside it and explicitly recognizes parentage established under the Gestational Surrogacy Act as a valid method of creating the parent-child relationship.4Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Parentage Act of 2015 – Full Text
The Parentage Act also prohibits genetic testing from being used to challenge the parentage of someone who is a parent under the Gestational Surrogacy Act. A surrogate, a biological donor, or any other third party cannot later use DNA evidence to try to claim parental rights or unseat the intended parents’ legal status.4Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Parentage Act of 2015 – Full Text For families built through surrogacy, that long-term bar on relitigation is often the most reassuring protection in Illinois law.
After the Birth: Social Security and Passport
Once the birth certificate issues with the intended parents’ names, the next steps are a Social Security number and, if needed, a passport.
For the Social Security number, intended parents should skip the hospital’s automatic newborn number assignment. That system can link the child’s Social Security record to the surrogate rather than the intended parents, and correcting it is reportedly difficult. Wait until you have the birth certificate in hand, then apply at a local Social Security Administration office with the birth certificate, your government-issued ID, and any applicable pre-birth legal orders. There is no fee.
Passport applications follow the standard newborn process once the birth certificate lists the intended parents. Apply at a passport acceptance facility with the birth certificate, both parents’ identification, and the child’s passport photos. Processing typically takes several weeks, and expedited service is available. For international surrogacy involving U.S. citizens, the State Department may require additional documentation such as DNA testing, IVF reports, and evidence that the surrogate waived parental rights.