Becoming a surrogate in Virginia is legally permitted, but the state’s surrogacy laws are more restrictive than many others. The most important thing to know upfront: Virginia only allows altruistic surrogacy. Paying a surrogate a base fee or any compensation beyond medical and pregnancy-related expenses is illegal. If you’re considering surrogacy in Virginia, you’ll need to meet specific health and age requirements, pass medical and psychological screenings, and work within a legal framework that governs everything from the contract to the birth certificate.
Virginia Only Allows Altruistic Surrogacy
Unlike states such as California or Connecticut where surrogates can receive significant base compensation (often $30,000 or more), Virginia law limits what a surrogate can receive to medical and ancillary costs. That includes prenatal and postpartum healthcare, medications, maternity clothes, and reasonable housing and living expenses directly tied to the pregnancy. Providing any compensation beyond these categories is illegal under Virginia code.
This means most surrogates in Virginia are carrying for someone they already know, such as a family member or close friend. Some surrogates do match with intended parents through agencies, but the altruistic-only model narrows the pool considerably. If earning a surrogate fee is important to you, you may want to explore working with intended parents in a state that permits compensated surrogacy, though you’d need to understand how interstate arrangements affect the legal process.
Basic Eligibility Requirements
Most fertility clinics and surrogacy professionals require the following before you can move forward:
- Age: Between 21 and 43. Most IVF clinics require a first-time surrogate to deliver before turning 44. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine allows surrogates up to 45, but clinics rarely go that high in practice.
- Pregnancy history: At least one full-term (37 weeks or later), healthy pregnancy and delivery. You also can’t have had more than five prior pregnancies, as a sixth delivery would be your last. No more than three prior cesarean sections.
- BMI: Between 18 and 35, though many IVF clinics cap it at 32 or below. A small number will consider candidates up to 35 on a case-by-case basis.
- Complications: Prior pregnancies should have been free of major complications.
These aren’t arbitrary numbers. IVF clinics set them based on the likelihood of a successful embryo transfer and a healthy pregnancy. If you fall outside one of these ranges, it doesn’t necessarily disqualify you permanently, but it does limit which clinics will work with you.
Medical and Psychological Screening
Once you’re matched with intended parents (or have agreed to carry for someone you know), you’ll go through a detailed screening process before any medical procedures begin. The medical evaluation typically includes a physical exam, a pap smear, and bloodwork to test both you and your partner (if applicable) for infectious diseases like HIV and hepatitis. You’ll also have a saline sonogram to check for uterine fibroids or other issues that could interfere with pregnancy, and a hysteroscopy to confirm your uterus is a healthy size and shape with unobstructed fallopian tubes.
Psychological screening is also standard. A licensed mental health professional will evaluate whether you’re emotionally prepared for the surrogacy process, which includes carrying a child you won’t be raising, navigating a relationship with the intended parents throughout the pregnancy, and handling the emotional complexity of relinquishing custody after birth. This evaluation protects everyone involved, including you.
How the Legal Process Works
Virginia law recognizes two paths for surrogacy contracts: court-approved and non-court-approved. Nearly everyone uses the non-court-approved route, sometimes called the administrative process, because it’s simpler and well established.
In the non-court-approved model, you and the intended parents sign a surrogacy contract before the pregnancy begins. The contract spells out the terms of the arrangement, including what expenses will be covered and the plan for custody and parental rights after birth. After the child is born, the intended parents file a Surrogate Consent and Report form with the state’s Birth Registrar at least three days after the birth. From there, the state issues a new birth certificate naming the intended parents.
The court-approved route is more formal. A judge reviews the contract in advance, appoints a guardian to represent the future child’s interests, and appoints legal counsel for the surrogate. The intended parents typically cover all legal fees unless the contract says otherwise. This path is less common but offers an extra layer of legal certainty.
Regardless of which path you take, all documentation must be filed with the State Registrar within 180 days of the child’s birth. Miss that window, and the state can’t process the request for a new birth certificate.
Gestational vs. Traditional Surrogacy
Virginia’s surrogacy statute covers gestational surrogacy, where the embryo is created through IVF and the surrogate has no genetic connection to the child. This is the standard arrangement and the one that surrogacy professionals, fertility clinics, and courts are set up to handle.
Traditional surrogacy, where the surrogate’s own egg is used, creates a genetic link between the surrogate and the child. This makes the legal situation far more complicated. If you’re exploring surrogacy in Virginia, you should expect that virtually every agency and clinic will work exclusively with gestational carriers.
What the Timeline Looks Like
The surrogacy process is not fast. Matching alone can take six months to over a year, depending on whether you’re working through an agency or connecting with intended parents independently. After matching, you’ll spend several weeks on screening, legal contracts, and coordination with a fertility clinic.
Once you’re cleared medically, the clinic will put you on a medication protocol to prepare your uterus for embryo transfer. If the transfer results in a positive pregnancy test, you’ll continue on estrogen and progesterone for roughly eight weeks. Around weeks eight to ten, your care transitions from the fertility clinic to your local OB-GYN, and from there, the pregnancy proceeds like any other.
From your first inquiry to delivery, the entire process often spans 12 to 18 months or longer. Virginia’s legal requirements add some administrative steps, but the medical timeline is similar to surrogacy in any state.
Steps to Get Started
If you meet the basic eligibility criteria and understand Virginia’s altruistic-only model, here’s how the process typically unfolds:
- Apply through an agency or connect independently. A surrogacy agency handles matching, coordinates legal and medical steps, and provides support throughout. Independent arrangements with someone you know skip the matching phase but still require legal contracts and medical screening.
- Complete screening. Medical exams and psychological evaluation happen after you’re tentatively matched with intended parents.
- Finalize the legal contract. Both sides should have their own attorney. The contract covers expense reimbursement, the plan for custody, expectations during pregnancy, and what happens in various scenarios.
- Begin the medical protocol. Your fertility clinic will guide you through medications to prepare for embryo transfer.
- Carry the pregnancy. After a successful transfer, you’ll receive prenatal care like any other pregnancy, with the added structure of your surrogacy agreement.
- Post-birth legal steps. The intended parents file the required paperwork with the Birth Registrar to establish parentage and obtain a new birth certificate.
Because Virginia requires the surrogacy to be altruistic, your primary motivation needs to be the desire to help someone build a family. The expenses you incur will be covered, but there’s no financial windfall. For many surrogates, the reward is personal, not financial.