Surrogacy in Louisiana is legal but tightly limited: the state only recognizes gestational surrogacy contracts between a married husband and wife who use their own egg and sperm, who have lived in Louisiana for at least 180 days, and who get a judge’s approval of the contract before any embryo is transferred. The carrier cannot be paid a fee, only reimbursed for actual expenses. Anyone outside that narrow box, including same-sex couples, unmarried partners, single parents, and anyone who needs donor eggs or sperm, cannot use Louisiana’s framework and will have an unenforceable contract if they try.
The rules sit in a group of statutes beginning at La. R.S. 9:2718, enacted in 2016. Here is what each piece of the law actually requires, and where the practical traps are.
Who Qualifies as Intended Parents
Louisiana limits enforceable gestational surrogacy agreements to a man and a woman who are married to each other and who create the embryo using only their own gametes.1Justia. Louisiana Code 9:2718 – Purpose and Intent Donor eggs and donor sperm are not permitted. If the embryo relies on a third party’s gametes, the contract falls outside the statute and is unenforceable. This is one of the most restrictive gamete rules in the country, and it means both intended parents need viable eggs and sperm of their own.
Both spouses must also have been domiciled in Louisiana for at least 180 days before the court proceeding is filed.2Justia. Louisiana Code 9:2720.3 – Proceeding to Approve Gestational Carrier Contract
On top of that, the couple has to show medical necessity. An independent, board-certified OB/GYN or reproductive endocrinologist who has treated the intended mother must submit a sworn affidavit confirming that gestational surrogacy is medically necessary. The statute defines that term narrowly: a diagnosis of infertility in the intended mother, or a physical condition that would create a serious risk of death or substantial, irreversible impairment of a major bodily function beyond the ordinary risks of pregnancy and childbirth.2Justia. Louisiana Code 9:2720.3 – Proceeding to Approve Gestational Carrier Contract A simple preference not to be pregnant does not qualify.
One boundary to flag: only gestational surrogacy is covered, meaning the carrier has no genetic connection to the child. Traditional surrogacy, where the carrier is also the egg provider, is not enforceable in Louisiana, and any compensation paid in that arrangement is void as contrary to public policy.
Who Can Serve as the Gestational Carrier
At the time she signs the contract, the carrier must be between 25 and 35 years old and must already have given birth to at least one child.3Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code 9:2720.1 – Parties to a Gestational Carrier Contract She must also meet the same 180-day Louisiana domicile requirement as the intended parents.2Justia. Louisiana Code 9:2720.3 – Proceeding to Approve Gestational Carrier Contract If she is married, her spouse becomes a party to the contract and to the court proceeding.
Before signing, the carrier has to complete at least two counseling sessions with a licensed mental health professional, spaced at least 30 days apart, to discuss what the arrangement involves.4FindLaw. Louisiana Code Tit. 9, 2720.2 – Contractual Requirements During the pregnancy, she must agree to reasonable medical evaluation and treatment, release her medical records to the intended parents, and follow reasonable prenatal medical instructions.
What the Carrier Can and Cannot Be Paid
Louisiana prohibits compensated surrogacy. The statute defines “compensation” as any payment of money, objects, services, or anything else with monetary value, and it excludes only reimbursement of actual expenses and payment for goods and services the intended parents incur because of the pregnancy that would not otherwise exist.5Justia. Louisiana Code 9:2718.1 – Definition of Terms Any base fee or profit to the carrier makes the contract absolutely null as contrary to public policy.6Justia. Louisiana Code 9:2720 – Enforceability of Gestational Carrier Contract
The court will approve reimbursement only in these categories:
- Medical expenses for prenatal care and delivery, including hospital, testing, nursing, midwifery, and pharmaceutical costs.
- Actual mental health counseling expenses before birth and for up to six months after.
- Actual lost wages when a physician prescribes bed rest for a pregnancy complication, to the extent not covered by disability insurance.
- Actual pregnancy-related travel costs, court costs, and the carrier’s attorney fees.
- A judicially sanctioned settlement or judgment if the carrier suffers death, loss of reproductive organs, or other health complications caused by the embryo transfer, pregnancy, or delivery.
These come directly from what the judge must verify before issuing the order that allows the embryo transfer.7Justia. Louisiana Code 9:2720.5 – Order Preceding Embryo Transfer Keep careful documentation of every reimbursement. Anything that looks like disguised compensation can lead the court to refuse approval, or to void the arrangement later.
Court Approval Before the Embryo Transfer
No embryo can be transferred until a judge approves the gestational carrier contract. The intended parents or the carrier (and her spouse, if any) file a summary proceeding in the court that handles adoption of minors in the parish where either the intended parents or the carrier reside.2Justia. Louisiana Code 9:2720.3 – Proceeding to Approve Gestational Carrier Contract The filing includes the proposed contract and the physician’s affidavit on medical necessity.
Within 60 days of filing, the court sets a hearing. Before signing what the statute calls the “Order Preceding Embryo Transfer,” the judge confirms that the statutory requirements are met, that criminal records and child-abuse registry checks raise no risk to the child or carrier, that healthcare and legal costs are provided for, that the carrier will receive no prohibited compensation, and that everyone understands the contract and consents freely.7Justia. Louisiana Code 9:2720.5 – Order Preceding Embryo Transfer
The order does two jobs at once: it authorizes the clinic to proceed with the embryo transfer, and it declares the intended parents to be the legal parents of any child born under the contract. Independent legal counsel for each side is strongly recommended, and attorney fees for intended parents through the contract and court-approval phase typically run $5,500 to $15,000 depending on complexity.
What the Contract Cannot Require
A gestational carrier contract in Louisiana cannot require the carrier to agree to terminate a pregnancy for any reason, including a prenatal diagnosis of a disability, a genetic variation, a health condition, gender selection, or the reduction of multiple fetuses. Any provision attempting to mandate termination is absolutely null and unenforceable.6Justia. Louisiana Code 9:2720 – Enforceability of Gestational Carrier Contract Talk through these scenarios before signing, because the contract cannot resolve them for you.
Parentage and the Birth Certificate
Because the pre-transfer order already names the intended parents as the child’s legal parents, parentage is largely settled before the pregnancy begins.7Justia. Louisiana Code 9:2720.5 – Order Preceding Embryo Transfer A separate statute handles the birth certificate for a child born through surrogacy: the biological parents, confirmed by DNA testing, are considered the legal parents, and the certificate is issued in their names with the carrier’s name removed.8Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code 40:46.10 – Child Born as a Result of a Surrogacy Agreement
Bring a certified copy of the pre-transfer court order to the hospital at delivery. Between that order and the DNA-based birth certificate rule, no post-birth adoption is needed.
Health Insurance Is the Biggest Practical Trap
Many health insurance policies exclude maternity charges incurred by a person acting as a surrogate. Policies without an explicit exclusion sometimes deny claims by arguing the child is not a “dependent” of the carrier, because the carrier never intended to keep parental responsibility. One federal court accepted that reasoning when an insurer denied coverage under the carrier’s spouse’s group plan.
Read the carrier’s policy line by line before signing the contract. If it excludes surrogate pregnancies or uses ambiguous dependent language, you will likely need a separate surrogacy-specific policy or should budget to pay medical costs out of pocket. Because the judge has to confirm that reasonable healthcare expenses are provided for before approving the contract, this cannot wait until after the embryo transfer. Unresolved insurance gaps can produce surprise bills in the tens of thousands.
If You Do Not Qualify Under Louisiana Law
Louisiana’s framework excludes same-sex couples, unmarried couples, single people, and anyone who needs donor eggs or sperm. The usual path for people in these categories is pursuing surrogacy in a state with a more permissive legal framework. California, Colorado, Nevada, Illinois, and Washington are commonly cited as states that issue enforceable pre-birth parentage orders without regard to marital status or sexual orientation.
In an out-of-state arrangement, the other state’s law governs the contract, the parentage order, and the birth certificate, which you then register in Louisiana after returning home. Costs are substantially higher because most other states allow compensated surrogacy; a full U.S. surrogacy journey typically runs $135,000 to over $215,000 depending on state, agency, and medical expenses. Canada offers a lower-cost altruistic model with longer matching timelines.
Louisiana’s public-policy stance is strict enough that a contract violating the state’s requirements is void even when executed elsewhere, so an out-of-state arrangement should be structured by an attorney experienced in interstate or international surrogacy to avoid problems when you bring the child home.
A Note on Federal Taxes
Many intended parents assume surrogacy costs are deductible medical expenses. For the most part, they are not. Under 26 U.S.C. ยง 213, unreimbursed medical expenses above 7.5% of adjusted gross income are deductible, but only for medical care of the taxpayer, the taxpayer’s spouse, or a dependent.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 213 – Medical, Dental, Etc., Expenses A gestational carrier is none of those, and the IRS has stated that most expenses paid to bring about a surrogate pregnancy are not deductible.10Internal Revenue Service. IRS Private Letter Ruling 202505002
Costs that generally do not qualify include the carrier’s medical and hospital expenses, egg retrieval performed on the carrier, IVF for the surrogate pregnancy, agency fees, legal fees for the contract and parentage order, surrogate medical insurance, and travel. Fertility treatments performed directly on an intended parent, such as the intended father’s sperm donation or the intended mother’s egg retrieval and hormone treatments, may qualify as the taxpayer’s own medical care.10Internal Revenue Service. IRS Private Letter Ruling 202505002 You must itemize to claim any of this.