No state currently makes surrogacy a crime. Michigan was the last holdout, and it repealed its criminal ban in April 2024. But asking which states where surrogacy is illegal still have restrictions is the right question, because several states declare surrogacy contracts void and unenforceable, one state allows it only under conditions most families cannot meet, and others impose compensation limits strict enough to make the process impractical. The result is a patchwork that ranges from fully permissive to effectively prohibitive depending on the type of surrogacy, whether money changes hands, and who the intended parents are.
States That Void Surrogacy Contracts
Nebraska and Indiana treat surrogacy contracts the way some states treat gambling debts. You can enter the arrangement, but if something goes wrong, no court will help you enforce it.
Nebraska law states that any surrogacy contract “shall be void and unenforceable,” while still preserving the biological father’s parental rights and obligations for any child born under the arrangement.1Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Revised Statute 25-21,200 – Contract; Void and Unenforceable; Definition The act itself is not criminal. There is simply no legal safety net. If the surrogate changes her mind, the intended parents cannot enforce the contract. If the intended parents walk away, the surrogate cannot sue for breach.
Indiana takes the same approach. Surrogacy agreements formed after March 1988 are void as against public policy, and the statute specifically targets contract provisions that would require a woman to become pregnant or waive parental rights over a child.
The practical fallout is significant. Without an enforceable contract, intended parents in these states generally cannot obtain a pre-birth parentage order. The surrogate’s name goes on the initial birth certificate, and the intended parents must pursue a post-birth adoption to establish their legal relationship with the child. That adds months of delay and thousands of dollars in legal fees. Courts in these jurisdictions tend to prioritize biological connections over written intent, which puts intended parents who used donor eggs or sperm in an especially difficult position.
Arizona: Void by Statute, Allowed in Practice
Arizona sits in a gray area of its own. The state statute expressly declares surrogacy contracts unenforceable. After a 1994 court decision allowed intended parents to rebut the presumption that the surrogate is the legal mother, however, Arizona courts began issuing pre-birth parentage orders anyway. Today those orders are routinely granted when both intended parents are genetically related to the child, or when at least one married intended parent has a genetic link and a donor was used for the other gamete.
The problem shows up when neither intended parent shares a genetic connection with the child. In those cases, a parentage order is unavailable, and the intended parents must go through a full adoption after delivery. Unmarried couples without a genetic connection face the steepest hurdle, because Arizona prohibits second-parent adoptions. That can leave one partner with no path to legal parentage inside the state.
Louisiana: Allowed Only Under Narrow Conditions
Louisiana is the most restrictive state that technically permits any form of surrogacy. The legislature allows gestational carrier contracts only for married couples who both contribute their own egg and sperm to create the embryo.2Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 9-2718 – Purpose and Intent No egg donors. No sperm donors. Both intended parents must be genetically related to the child. Single individuals and same-sex couples are excluded.
Compensated surrogacy is prohibited outright. Any contract that includes compensation beyond reimbursement of expenses is “absolutely null and unenforceable as contrary to public policy.”3Justia. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 9 RS 9-2720 – Enforceability of Gestational Carrier Contract Parties who enter non-compliant contracts can face civil penalties, substantial fines, and potential imprisonment. The gestational carrier contract must be in writing, signed by the carrier and her spouse if she is married, and approved by a court before any embryo transfer occurs.
Compensation Limits That Can Void an Arrangement
Even in states that permit surrogacy, paying a surrogate anything beyond actual medical and pregnancy-related expenses can void the arrangement or trigger penalties. Kentucky prohibits contracts that compensate a woman for artificial insemination and subsequent termination of parental rights, and declares any such agreement void.
The line between reimbursement and prohibited compensation is thinner than most people assume. Covering prenatal care, hospital bills, and maternity clothing generally falls on the safe side. Paying a base fee for carrying the pregnancy, compensating for pain and discomfort, or providing “inconvenience” payments can push the arrangement into what some states classify as baby-selling. If a court later decides the payments crossed the line, the entire parentage agreement can unravel. Professional agencies typically refuse to operate in states where this distinction carries criminal risk, which is one reason intended parents in restrictive states often travel elsewhere.
Gestational vs. Traditional Surrogacy
Legality turns heavily on whether the surrogate has a genetic connection to the child. In gestational surrogacy, the embryo is created from the intended parents’ or donors’ gametes, and the surrogate contributes no genetic material. In traditional surrogacy, the surrogate uses her own egg, making her the biological mother. Most modern surrogacy statutes were written to cover gestational arrangements, and they leave traditional surrogacy in much murkier legal territory.
Many states treat traditional surrogacy as a form of private-placement adoption rather than a surrogacy arrangement. That reclassification matters because adoption laws in most jurisdictions prohibit a birth mother from agreeing to relinquish parental rights before the child is born. A traditional surrogate who changes her mind after delivery may have a constitutionally protected right to keep the child, and the contract becomes irrelevant.
Gestational surrogacy avoids most of these complications because courts can focus on the intended parents’ genetic connection or documented intent rather than the surrogate’s biological claim. States that permit gestational surrogacy and issue pre-birth parentage orders give intended parents the strongest legal footing: their names go directly on the birth certificate, with no adoption required. This is why reproductive law attorneys in restrictive states almost universally steer clients toward gestational arrangements when possible.
States That Have Opened Up Recently
The trend over the past decade has been toward legalization, and several states that once banned or severely restricted surrogacy have reversed course.
Michigan’s shift was the most significant. Until 2024, Michigan was the only state in the country that made surrogacy contracts a criminal offense. Parties to an agreement faced misdemeanor charges, and anyone who brokered one could be charged with a felony. Governor Whitmer signed the Michigan Family Protection Act in April 2024, repealing those criminal prohibitions and replacing them with a regulatory framework that compensates surrogates, requires independent legal representation for all parties, and mandates medical screening.4Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Gov. Whitmer Signs Bills Decriminalizing Surrogacy and Protecting IVF The law also removed the requirement that LGBTQ+ families go through additional court proceedings to confirm parental status.
Washington, D.C. went through a similar transformation. The District previously prohibited all surrogacy contracts, declared them unenforceable, and imposed fines and potential jail time for violations. In 2017, D.C. repealed that ban through the Collaborative Reproduction Amendment Act, which now authorizes surrogacy agreements and recognizes intended parents as the legal parents when statutory requirements are met.5D.C. Law Library. D.C. Law 21-255 – Collaborative Reproduction Amendment Act of 2016
New York’s legalization in 2021 opened one of the largest surrogacy markets in the country. The Child-Parent Security Act permits gestational surrogacy for any intended parent regardless of marital status, sexual orientation, or gender, and allows pre-birth parentage orders without requiring a genetic connection to the child.6New York State Unified Court System. Parentage Proceedings Under the Child-Parent Security Act The law includes a formal Surrogate Bill of Rights, mandatory independent legal counsel, and comprehensive health and life insurance paid for by the intended parents. Hawaii followed a similar path, with its surrogacy statute taking effect January 1, 2026, permitting both gestational and genetic surrogacy with pre-birth parentage orders.
If You Live in a Restrictive State
Intended parents in restrictive states are not stuck. The most common path is pursuing surrogacy in a state with favorable laws. California, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, and several others have well-established statutory frameworks that enforce surrogacy contracts and issue pre-birth parentage orders regardless of the intended parents’ marital status, sexual orientation, or genetic connection. You do not need to live in that state. You need a surrogate who resides there or an agency that operates there, along with legal counsel licensed in that jurisdiction.
Crossing state lines adds complexity and cost. You will need attorneys in both your home state and the state where the surrogacy takes place, and you should verify that a parentage order issued in the surrogacy state will be recognized where you live. The Full Faith and Credit Clause generally requires states to honor court orders from other states, but recognition is smoother when your home state has some legal framework for surrogacy rather than an outright prohibition. Intended parents in Nebraska or Indiana may still face questions about out-of-state parentage orders that parents in permissive states never encounter.
Before committing to any arrangement, consult a reproductive law attorney in both your state and the state where the surrogacy will occur. Four states changed their surrogacy laws between 2021 and 2026, and an attorney who practices in this area will know whether pending legislation or recent court decisions affect your plan.