Apply to Become a Surrogate in New York
If you’re interested in becoming a surrogate, you could be joining a unique club of women who have helped others to finally become parents. Gestational surrogates offer their time and energy toward making the dreams of so many deserving individuals and couples a reality. For those prospective surrogates who live in New York, the process is now equitable with other surrogacy-friendly states around the country.
Whether you reside in New York City, Long Island, Rochester, Westchester County, Buffalo, or elsewhere in the state, the Reproductive Possibilities team can make the surrogacy process as straightforward and rewarding as possible.
Your Guide to Becoming a New York Surrogate
If you live in New York state and are interested in becoming a gestational surrogate, you’ve come to the right place!
Below, you’ll find information about everything you need to know:
- Surrogacy in New York
- Surrogate Requirements in New York
- Surrogate Compensation in New York
- How Surrogates Match with Parents
- Benefits of Being a New York Surrogate
- How to Become a Surrogate in New York
Surrogacy in New York
For decades, paid surrogacy arrangements were prohibited in New York. However, compensated gestational surrogacy is now legal in New York under the Child-Parent Security Act, thanks to the significant efforts of advocates, fertility organizations, and local fertility communities in and outside of the state.
What is Surrogacy?
Surrogacy is used in cases where someone is needed to carry a child for someone else, whether this is due to a fertility issue or for same-sex male couples wishing to grow their families. Known as gestational surrogacy, the child is created using eggs and sperm from the intended parent(s) and/or a donor(s). The surrogate shares no genetic connection to the baby. Gestational surrogacy is when the surrogate is not the baby’s biological mother because the eggs come from the intended parent or a donor.
How does surrogacy work in New York?
Gestational surrogacy is fully legal in the state of New York. Not only can surrogates be compensated for their time and efforts in helping to build families, but their rights as a surrogate are clearly defined and protected under the New York Surrogate Bill of Rights.
If you have additional questions about surrogacy in New York, the Reproductive Possibilities team can help assist.
Surrogate Requirements in New York
To help ensure the health and safety of both the surrogate and baby, surrogates must meet certain requirements. If you meet these requirements, then you’re ready to complete an online application!
At Reproductive Possibilities, some of our requirements for New York and all surrogates are that you...
- Have given birth at least once previously (with no medical complications and no more than three c-sections)
- Are a non-smoker
- Have a BMI of 18-33
- Are between the ages of 21 and 44 years old (exceptions may be made for experienced surrogates)
All New York surrogate applications are reviewed individually. If you are accepted into our surrogacy program, then it’s time to start the matching process so you can be connected with your intended parents. Learn more about surrogate requirements.
Surrogate Pay in New York
Through gestational surrogacy, surrogates are well-compensated for their physical, emotional, and mental dedication toward the process. In New York, surrogates typically earn about $55,000 - $60,000 for their journey. This range would include your base pay, relevant expenses, and benefits. To help clarify how things break down, a single fetus can earn a surrogate a base compensation of $35,000. In the event of multiples, each fetus can earn about $5,000.
More experienced surrogates tend to earn more in total, and the Reproductive Possibilities team can elaborate on what surrogates who have undergone the process before can expect regarding pay.
How New York Surrogates and Parents Are Matched
Before being accepted into our surrogacy program, you’ll need to complete an application and finish the screening process. Once these steps have taken place and you’re accepted, then the matching phase can begin. During this part of the process, Reproductive Possibilities will ask both the surrogate and her intended parents about their initial preferences so a suitable match can be made. For example, surrogates have the option of letting us know what type of intended parents they most desire to work with.
Reproductive Possibilities works with intended parents from all over the U.S. and internationally as well. We have many amazing surrogates and growing families in the Empire State just waiting to be matched with one another.
Once a potential match has been made, the Reproductive Possibilities team will organize a conference with all parties to discuss various details, including:
- Preferred forms of communication
- Family and other support systems
- Willingness to carry multiples, reduce, and/or terminate a pregnancy, etc.
If after this conversation, you and the intended parents agree to move forward, then you are considered matched! The surrogacy process will then begin in earnest and your coordinator at Reproductive Possibilities will initiate the next steps.
To learn more, visit our surrogacy process page for surrogate mothers.
Benefits of Becoming a Surrogate in New York
There are many benefits to becoming a surrogate in New York state! Whether you reside in New York City, Long Island, Rochester, Westchester County, Buffalo, or elsewhere in the state, you’ll have access to the state’s leading clinics and hospitals through your pregnancy and delivery. Plus, New York surrogates are also among the first in decades to help make the dreams of parenthood a reality for so many loving New Yorkers who previously had to go out-of-state to find a surrogate.
Lastly, of course, surrogates are well compensated for their commitment toward family-building. As explained above, surrogates can make between $55,000 and $60,000 per surrogacy journey.
How to Become a Surrogate in New York
The surrogacy process can start as soon as today! The first step is to complete a surrogate application and submit it to Reproductive Possibilities which we will closely review. If we determine that your application meets our criteria, we will reach out directly to have a conversation about your background and go over all important details such as your medical history, personal history, and if existing, criminal history. These interviews with our team are standard and are simply one-on-one conversations that help us to get to know you better as a potential surrogate.
Of course, should you have any questions along the way, we will be happy to address them for you. Surrogacy is a wonderful, rewarding process, and we want to ensure that everyone interested feels as supported as possible.