You’ve decided to explore surrogacy, or you’re seriously considering it. The next question is simple: what actually happens next? The process is more structured than most people expect, with medical, legal, and emotional steps that all play a role. Understanding how it works makes everything feel more manageable from day one.
This guide walks through every step of the surrogacy process, from the initial application to heartbeat confirmation and delivery including the specific timelines, what each party does, and what to expect when something does not go as planned.
What Is Gestational Surrogacy?
How Gestational Surrogacy Differs From Traditional Surrogacy
Gestational surrogacy is the only form of surrogacy reputable agencies use today. The surrogate carries a pregnancy created through IVF using the intended parents’ embryo she has no genetic connection to the baby.
Traditional surrogacy, where the surrogate also provided the egg, carries significant legal complications and is rarely practiced by professional agencies. Gestational surrogacy removes those legal risks and gives intended parents a clear path to parental rights from the start.
Who Is Involved in the Surrogacy Process?
A surrogacy journey involves several parties working in coordination: the agency, the surrogate, the intended parents, an IVF clinic, two independent attorneys, and an escrow company. Each plays a defined role at specific stages of the process.
Agency coordination covers screening, matching, communication, and support throughout the journey. Independent surrogacy attorneys draft and review the contract and handle legal parentage. Medical clearance and the embryo transfer fall to the IVF clinic, while an escrow company holds and releases funds on a defined schedule.
The Surrogacy Process Step by Step
Step 1: Surrogate Application and Intake
The process begins when a surrogate fills out the online inquiry form on the agency’s website. After review, the agency invites qualified applicants into a secure portal where they complete detailed screening questions and upload required documents: OB/GYN records, delivery records for all prior pregnancies, and their insurance card.
This step typically takes one to two weeks from submission to portal access, depending on how quickly the applicant submits her documents.
Step 2: Medical Records Review and Approval
The agency’s medical team reviews all submitted records to assess whether the surrogate’s pregnancy history supports a safe, uncomplicated surrogacy pregnancy. Delivery timing, complications, C-section history, and overall health are all evaluated at this stage.
Surrogates who meet the medical baseline move forward to the psychological evaluation. Those who do not qualify receive a clear explanation of why.
Step 3: Psychological Evaluation
A licensed psychologist specializing in surrogacy conducts the psychological evaluation via Zoom. The evaluation covers the surrogate’s motivations, emotional readiness, understanding of the process, and the stability of her support system. If the surrogate has a partner, they participate as well.
This step is not a test to pass or fail. Its purpose is to confirm that the surrogate enters the journey with full understanding and genuine readiness. Most surrogates find it far less intimidating than expected.
Step 4: Matching with Intended Parents
Once screening clears, the agency builds a surrogate profile and sends it to compatible intended parents. If the intended parents want to move forward, the agency shares both profiles and schedules a video call.
Either party can decline the match without consequences. No legal or financial obligation exists at this point. The goal is mutual comfort and alignment before anything binding happens.
Step 5: Medical Clearance at the IVF Clinic
After a match is confirmed, the surrogate travels to the intended parents’ IVF clinic for a full medical screening: drug test, sonograms, bloodwork, and a uterine evaluation. Intended parents cover all travel expenses as part of the extras package.
Results come back in approximately two weeks. Clearance from the clinic is a prerequisite for all subsequent steps: no legal work or embryo transfer preparation begins until it arrives.
Step 6: Legal Contracts
Once medical clearance arrives, both parties move into the legal phase. Each side has independent legal representation: the intended parents pay for both attorneys. The surrogacy contract defines compensation, responsibilities, medical decision-making authority, and the agreed non-termination clause.
Legal clearance at most agencies takes months. At Surrogacy by Faith, it takes two to three weeks. Both parties agree on the non-termination clause upfront, which removes the main source of delays in contract negotiations.
Step 7: Medication Protocol and Embryo Transfer
Before the embryo transfer, the surrogate follows a three-week medication protocol of estrogen and progesterone to prepare her uterus. These are the same hormones a woman’s body naturally produces during pregnancy.
The Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET) takes approximately ten minutes at the IVF clinic. Surrogacy by Faith transfers only PGT-A genetically tested embryos, a standard that produces a 92% first-transfer success rate, compared to the 40–60% national average. A two-week wait follows to confirm whether the transfer resulted in pregnancy.
Step 8: Heartbeat Confirmation and Monthly Payments
Pregnancy confirmation happens at approximately week seven, when a heartbeat is detected by ultrasound. From this point, monthly payments of approximately $5,000 begin and continue for roughly ten months through delivery.
Funds move through an escrow account managed by a third party. Three installments fund the escrow: the first after the match, the second after contract notarization, and the third after heartbeat confirmation. Any unused funds from the extras package return to the intended parents.
Step 9: Pregnancy, Appointments, and Delivery
From heartbeat confirmation through delivery, the surrogate attends routine OB appointments and ultrasounds. Intended parents stay informed throughout many attend appointments and are present at birth.
The agency provides support at every stage, including 24/7 access to real team members. Before birth, attorneys prepare the Pre-Birth Order so the intended parents’ names go directly on the birth certificate. State law determines the exact legal process, but in every state where Surrogacy by Faith operates, the Pre-Birth Order is honored.
How Long Does the Surrogacy Process Take?
Surrogacy Timeline From Application to Birth
Screening phase: two to four weeks. Matching to signed contract: approximately two to two and a half months. Legal clearance: two to three weeks. Medication protocol before transfer: three weeks. Pregnancy from confirmed heartbeat: approximately nine months.
Total: most surrogacy journeys run twelve to eighteen months from first application to birth. Timelines vary based on how quickly surrogates submit documents, IVF clinic scheduling, and whether the first embryo transfer results in pregnancy.
What Happens If the First Transfer Fails?
A failed transfer does not mean the journey ends. The surrogate receives $2,500 in compensation even if pregnancy does not result $500 for the psychological evaluation, $500 for medications, and $1,500 for the transfer itself. From there, the team restarts the medication protocol and schedules another transfer.
The 92% first-transfer success rate at Surrogacy by Faith achieved through PGT-A tested embryos makes this scenario far less likely than at agencies without this standard.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Surrogacy Process
Does a Surrogate Travel to the IVF Clinic?
Yes. Medical screening and the embryo transfer both take place at the intended parents’ IVF clinic. The intended parents cover all travel costs as part of the extras package.
Is the Surrogacy Process the Same in Every State?
The screening, matching, medical, and legal steps follow the same structure in every state where Surrogacy by Faith operates. What varies is the Pre-Birth Order process, which depends on state surrogacy laws. All states in the SBF network honor the Pre-Birth Order.
Who Manages the Escrow Account?
A third-party escrow company holds all funds and releases them on the schedule defined in the surrogacy contract. Neither the agency, the surrogate, nor the intended parents control the account directly. This structure protects everyone and ensures payments happen on time and transparently.
Can a Friend or Family Member Be a Surrogate?
Yes. Known surrogates (friends or relatives of the intended parents) go through the same full screening process as matched surrogates. The medical, psychological, and legal steps apply equally. How to become a surrogate covers the complete qualification process for anyone considering it.
How Surrogacy by Faith Guides the Process
Surrogacy by Faith supports surrogates and intended parents who want a surrogacy experience grounded in care, transparency, and ethical values. Children and family are a gift, and every decision in the process reflects that.
The team brings direct lived experience to this work. Most team members have been surrogates themselves, with eight babies between them. That knowledge shapes how the team manages every journey, from the first conversation to delivery.
Surrogacy by Faith does not support pregnancy termination unless the mother’s life is at risk. Only PGT-A tested embryos transfer to the surrogate’s uterus, which protects surrogates and supports a 92% first-transfer success rate compared to the 40–60% national average. Legal clearance takes two to three weeks, far faster than the months most agencies require.
Surrogates benefit from one of the most generous compensation packages available: a $50,000 base for first-time surrogates, up to $13,000 in extras covering gym membership, maternity clothing, travel, housekeeping, and medications, and monthly payments of approximately $5,000 beginning after heartbeat confirmation. Women who want to find out whether they qualify can review the surrogate requirements or check the surrogate mother requirements in Californiafor state-specific details.
Anyone wondering can anyone be a surrogate will find a clear breakdown of who qualifies and what the process involves.
Ready to Take the Next Step?
Surrogates ready to start can complete the surrogate application in just a few minutes. Intended parents who want to learn more about how the process works for their family can fill out the intended parent application to get started. Any questions about the surrogacy process are welcome. The team at Surrogacy by Faith is available to help.