Surrogacy in Oregon is governed by the Oregon Uniform Parentage Act at ORS 109.222 through 109.244, added by Senate Bill 163 in 2025. The law covers gestational surrogacy, where the carrier has no genetic link to the child, and lets intended parents become legal parents by operation of law the moment the child is born under a valid written agreement. Courts can issue the parentage order before birth. There are no restrictions based on marital status, sexual orientation, or whether an intended parent is genetically related to the child.1Oregon State Legislature. SB 163 2025 Regular Session2Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 109.238 – Parentage Under Gestational Surrogacy Agreement
Traditional surrogacy, where the surrogate provides her own egg, sits outside this framework. It is not prohibited in Oregon, but it does not get the automatic parentage protections described below.
Who Can Be a Surrogate or Intended Parent in Oregon
ORS 109.222 sets statutory minimums for everyone involved. Missing one can undermine the agreement itself.
A gestational surrogate must be at least 21, have given birth to at least one child before, complete a medical evaluation with a licensed healthcare provider, complete a mental health consultation with a licensed mental health provider, and have her own attorney, paid for by the intended parents, advising her on the agreement.3Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 109.222 – Eligibility to Enter Into Gestational Surrogacy Agreement The statute sets no upper age limit. Fertility clinics and agencies commonly cap eligibility around 40 to 42 and look for a BMI under 35, but those are clinical standards, not legal ones.
Intended parents face parallel requirements: at least 21 years old, a medical evaluation, a mental health consultation, and their own legal representation.3Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 109.222 – Eligibility to Enter Into Gestational Surrogacy Agreement Single people, same-sex couples, and different-sex couples all qualify, and no biological connection to the child is required.
For Oregon law to apply, at least one of three jurisdictional conditions must hold: at least one party resides in Oregon, the embryo transfer happens in Oregon, or everyone intends for the child to be born in the state.4Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 109 – Section 109.224
What the Written Agreement Has to Do
The surrogacy agreement must be in writing and signed before any embryo transfer. All intended parents, the surrogate, and the surrogate’s spouse (if any) must be parties. Each person signs under penalty of perjury or has the signature notarized, each acknowledges receiving a copy in writing, and the agreement identifies the attorneys representing each side.4Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 109 – Section 109.224
Separate counsel on each side is not optional. The surrogate picks her own lawyer and the intended parents pay for it; the intended parents have their own. One lawyer representing both sides would violate the statute and could void the agreement.3Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 109.222 – Eligibility to Enter Into Gestational Surrogacy Agreement
The statute does not set compensation amounts. In the current Oregon market, base compensation for the carrier generally runs $40,000 to $60,000 depending on experience and location, with additional terms covering health insurance premiums, out-of-pocket medical expenses, lost wages, travel, and a maternity clothing allowance. Total cost of a gestational surrogacy arrangement in Oregon, including agency, legal, medical, and compensation, commonly lands between $140,000 and $160,000.
Agreements typically also spell out how many embryos will be transferred, how the parties will handle selective reduction, and what the surrogate agrees to regarding prenatal care and lifestyle. A well-drafted contract plans for harder scenarios too: an intended-parent divorce or separation during pregnancy, the death of an intended parent before delivery, or serious medical complications.
Getting the Pre-Birth Parentage Order
Under ORS 109.242, any party to the agreement can petition the court to declare the intended parents as the child’s legal parents and direct the State Registrar at the Center for Health Statistics to list them on the birth record. The petition can also ask the court to seal the record and, if necessary, order the child surrendered to the intended parents.5Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 109 – Section 109.242
The court can enter judgment before the child is born, but enforcement is stayed until birth and a party must notify the court once the child arrives.5Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 109 – Section 109.242 Attorneys typically file during the second trimester so the order is in hand before the due date. Oregon courts handle these filings electronically with no in-person hearing required.
Once the order is in place and the baby is born, it goes to the hospital and the Oregon Center for Health Statistics. The intended parents appear on the original birth certificate and have full authority to make medical decisions for the newborn at delivery. No post-birth adoption or second hearing is needed.
Once the parentage order is in place, each intended parent is a parent by operation of law at birth, and the surrogate and her spouse are not. That holds even if neither intended parent is genetically related to the child, and even if a lab or clinical error means the child is not genetically related to an intended parent or donor.2Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 109.238 – Parentage Under Gestational Surrogacy Agreement
What Happens If Someone Breaks the Agreement
If a party breaches, the non-breaching side has standard legal remedies, including damages.6Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 109 – Section 109.244
There is one firm limit. A court cannot order specific performance against a surrogate for provisions requiring her to become pregnant, continue or terminate a pregnancy, or submit to medical procedures.6Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 109 – Section 109.244 No contract overrides bodily autonomy in Oregon.
Specific performance does run the other direction. If a surrogate or her spouse blocks an intended parent from exercising parental rights at birth, or an intended parent refuses to take custody, a court can compel compliance.6Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 109 – Section 109.244 The child cannot be left in legal limbo.
Insurance and Tax Issues People Miss
Health insurance is one of the most expensive mistakes in surrogacy. Many private plans contain surrogacy exclusion clauses that deny coverage for any pregnancy the policyholder is carrying for someone else, and employer plans sometimes do the same. Review the surrogate’s policy for exclusion language early in the matching process, before anyone signs a contract. When the existing policy excludes coverage, the intended parents cover all out-of-pocket medical expenses. Supplemental surrogacy insurance exists but is expensive: premiums around $10,000 with deductibles that often start at $15,000.
Agreements also typically require the intended parents to provide a life insurance policy on the surrogate, usually in effect from the start of surrogacy-related medications through delivery. Because term life insurance requires underwriting and sometimes a physical, attorneys generally recommend applying eight to ten weeks before the embryo transfer.
Taxes catch both sides off guard. For surrogates, the IRS has not issued a formal ruling specific to gestational surrogacy compensation, but under IRC Section 61 all income is taxable unless an exception applies, and there is no blanket exemption for surrogacy payments. Some attorneys structure compensation to argue it falls under IRC Section 104, which excludes damages for personal physical injuries, but the argument is contract-dependent and not guaranteed. Not getting a 1099 does not eliminate the reporting obligation.
For intended parents, the IRS has consistently ruled that most surrogacy-related costs are not deductible as medical expenses under Section 213. In a 2021 private letter ruling, the IRS concluded that egg retrieval, IVF, the surrogate’s medical care and insurance, childbirth costs, and agency and legal fees do not qualify because the procedures affect the surrogate’s body, not the taxpayer’s. Federal courts have reached the same conclusion in multiple cases. Expenses directly involving the intended parent’s own body, such as sperm donation or retrieval, may be deductible, subject to the 7.5 percent AGI threshold.7Internal Revenue Service. Private Letter Ruling 202114001 – Surrogacy Medical Expense Deductions
Using Oregon From Out of State or Abroad
You do not need to live in Oregon to use its surrogacy law. The jurisdictional rule under ORS 109.224 is satisfied if the embryo transfer happens in Oregon or if all parties intend the child to be born in the state.4Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 109 – Section 109.224
International intended parents who need the Oregon birth certificate recognized in their home country generally need an apostille from the Oregon Secretary of State. The process: get a certified copy of the birth certificate from the Oregon Center for Health Statistics, then submit it with a Request for Authentication Form to the Secretary of State’s Corporation Division. Each apostille costs $10.8Oregon Secretary of State. How to Get an Authentication or Apostille Photocopies are not accepted. FedEx or UPS shipping speeds the turnaround, and VitalChek can send the birth certificate directly to the Corporation Division.
Check whether your home country recognizes surrogacy-born children as citizens before you start. Some countries require a genetic link between the intended parent and the child, and some do not recognize surrogacy at all. A citizenship dispute while a newborn sits in an Oregon hospital is worth preventing with legal counsel in both jurisdictions.