Surrogacy in Alaska: The Complete 2026 Guide

⭐ Alaska prohibits nothing, and — unusually for a state with no surrogacy statute — it has a parentage adjudication that is written in gender-neutral words.

AS 25.20.050(a): "A child born out of wedlock is legitimated and considered the heir of the putative parent when … (4) the putative parent is determined by a superior court without jury or by another tribunal, upon sufficient evidence, to be a parent of the child."

⭐ "Putative parent." "A parent." Not "father." On its face that reaches an intended mother — which is more than Mississippi, Nebraska, West Virginia or South Dakota can say. And subsection (c) supplies the paperwork: on written request the Bureau of Vital Statistics "shall prepare and place on file a substitute birth certificate."

Two things narrow it, and the first has reached the Alaska Supreme Court without being resolved. In Rubright v. Arnold (1999) the court said the argument "may or may not be correct depending on the meaning of the term 'out of wedlock' as it is used in the statute," then found it unnecessary to decide. The section opens with "a child born out of wedlock," so a married carrier is not obviously inside it. And AS 25.20.045 runs the other way: "A child, born to a married woman by means of artificial insemination performed by a licensed physician and consented to in writing by both spouses, is considered for all purposes the natural and legitimate child of both spouses."

Ivy does not arrange journeys in Alaska. This page sets out what the statute gives and what it conditions.

Alaska has no surrogacy statute — AS Title 25 contains zero references to "surrogate" — so the framework is the general parentage law, and here that law is better drafted for this purpose than in most silent states.

AS 25.20.050 — a gender-neutral parentage adjudication

Subsection (a), verbatim: "A child born out of wedlock is legitimated and considered the heir of the putative parent when (1) the putative parent subsequently marries the undisputed parent of the child; (2) for acknowledgments made before July 1, 1997, the putative parent acknowledges, in writing, being a parent of the child; (3) for acknowledgments made on or after July 1, 1997, the putative father and the mother both sign a form for acknowledging paternity under AS 18.50.165; or (4) the putative parent is determined by a superior court without jury or by another tribunal, upon sufficient evidence, to be a parent of the child."

⭐ Read the nouns: "putative parent," "a parent." Not "father." Most states in this position have a paternity-only chapter. Alaska does not, and that difference is the reason this page is written the way it is.

Subsection (d): a genetic test "that establishes a probability of parentage at 95 percent or higher creates a presumption of parentage that may be rebutted only by clear and convincing evidence."

Subsections (b) and (c): the adjudication is forwarded to the Bureau of Vital Statistics and "noted on and filed with the corresponding original certificate of birth"; on written request the Bureau "shall prepare and place on file a substitute birth certificate."

So both halves exist — the order and the certificate. Nothing in the section authorizes filing before the birth, so plan on a post-birth order.

The condition, and the provision that cuts the other way

Subsection (a) opens with "A child born out of wedlock." ⚠️ If the carrier is married, the child is not born out of wedlock on the face of the statute, and whether the route is available is an open question. We located no Alaska decision on it.

⛔ And AS 25.20.045 works against the intended parents, in full: "A child, born to a married woman by means of artificial insemination performed by a licensed physician and consented to in writing by both spouses, is considered for all purposes the natural and legitimate child of both spouses."

There is a real textual argument that it does not apply to gestational surrogacy — transferring an embryo created by IVF is not "artificial insemination," and the section requires the carrier's spouse to have consented in writing. But that is an argument, not a holding.

Vital records and case law

AS Title 18, Chapter 50 (vital statistics) returns zero hits for "surrogate," and the Department of Health's vital-records pages return none either — no surrogate-birth page, form or published fee.

We located no published Alaska decision addressing a gestational carrier arrangement. But two decisions bear directly on this statute, and a keyword search for "surrogacy" misses both.

• Rubright v. Arnold, 973 P.2d 580 (Alaska 1999): a party argued that a child "born to a married woman … was not born 'out of wedlock,' and therefore could not be legitimated under AS 25.20.050(a)." The court's answer, verbatim: "This point may or may not be correct depending on the meaning of the term 'out of wedlock' as it is used in the statute." It then found it unnecessary to resolve the question. The phrase is open at the top of the Alaska court system.
• Rosemarie P. v. Kelly B., 504 P.3d 260 (Alaska 2021): after conception by artificial insemination, the superior court applied the legitimation statute to a non-genetic woman and found her a legal parent. The supreme court affirmed on the alternative psychological-parent ground and did not adopt that statutory reading.

General information, not legal advice.

⛔ Ivy does not arrange journeys in Alaska — that is about where a journey is placed, not about where you live. An intended parent living in Alaska can pursue a journey in a state where we do work. The constraint here is local, but the reason here is narrower than in most states on this list, and it is worth being precise about.

Alaska gives you more than most silent states do. AS 25.20.050(a)(4) lets "the putative parent" be "determined by a superior court … to be a parent of the child" — gender-neutral words, so on its face it reaches an intended mother. Subsection (d) makes a genetic test at 95% or higher a presumption of parentage "rebutted only by clear and convincing evidence," and subsection (c) directs the Bureau of Vital Statistics to "prepare and place on file a substitute birth certificate."

What narrows it is the opening phrase: "A child born out of wedlock." If your carrier is married, the statute does not obviously reach your case. Rubright v. Arnold (Alaska 1999) laid out both readings of that phrase and expressly declined to choose, so the question is open rather than unasked. And AS 18.50.160(d) puts her husband on the certificate as father unless a tribunal determines paternity otherwise or the statutory affidavits are executed — within a five-day filing window.

And AS 25.20.045 is a live risk with a married carrier: a child "born to a married woman by means of artificial insemination … and consented to in writing by both spouses" is "the natural and legitimate child of both spouses." ⭐ The argument against applying it is that an IVF embryo transfer is not artificial insemination — a good argument, and an untested one.

Plan on a post-birth order. Nothing in AS 25.20.050 authorizes filing before the birth.

Ask an Alaska attorney how your carrier's marital status changes the plan, and get that in writing before you match. Contact us.

⛔ There is no Ivy price for Alaska, because Ivy does not place journeys here.

The usual cost drivers are not prohibited. We located no Alaska statute capping compensation, requiring escrow, licensing agencies or penalizing payment.

And the legal work is narrower than in most silent states, because the parentage route already exists in words that include an intended mother: AS 25.20.050(a)(4), with a 95% genetic-test presumption under (d) and a substitute birth certificate under (c).

⛔ The cost that is unpredictable is the one created by the carrier's marital status. If she is married, your attorney has to argue past the phrase "a child born out of wedlock" and past AS 25.20.045 — and neither question has been litigated in Alaska.

Budget more attorney hours for a married carrier than an unmarried one, and ask for that difference to be priced explicitly before anything medical begins.

Budget for travel realistically too. Alaska is a long way from most fertility programs, and an arrangement here typically means multiple long trips rather than a drive.

For what a journey costs where Ivy works, see intended parents or contact us.

⛔ There is no Ivy process to describe in Alaska, because Ivy does not match here. What follows is the order an Alaska attorney would work in.

1. Confirm what is not in the way. No Alaska statute prohibits surrogacy, voids the agreement, caps compensation or penalizes anyone. Title 25 has zero references to a surrogate.
2. ⛔ Establish the carrier's marital status before anything else. AS 25.20.050 opens with "a child born out of wedlock," and AS 25.20.045 assigns a married carrier's artificially-inseminated child to her and her spouse.
3. If the carrier is unmarried, the route is comparatively clean. AS 25.20.050(a)(4): a "putative parent" is "determined by a superior court … to be a parent of the child" — words that include an intended mother.
4. Line up the genetic evidence early. Subsection (d): a test at 95% or higher creates a presumption of parentage "rebutted only by clear and convincing evidence."
5. Plan for a post-birth order. Nothing in the section authorizes filing before the birth.
6. Then the certificate follows the order. Subsection (b) has the adjudication "noted on and filed with the corresponding original certificate of birth," and (c) has the Bureau "prepare and place on file a substitute birth certificate" on written request.
7. Confirm the mechanics with the Bureau in advance. Title 18, Chapter 50 contains zero surrogacy references, and the vital-records pages publish no form or fee.

Contact us and we will be straight with you about where we work.

⛔ Ivy does not accept surrogate applications from Alaska residents. Here is what Alaska law says about your position — and it says more than most silent states do.

Nothing makes you a criminal, and nothing makes the arrangement unlawful. We located no Alaska statute prohibiting surrogacy, voiding an agreement, capping compensation or penalizing anyone. Title 25 contains zero references to a surrogate.

⭐ And there is a real parentage route, written in words that include a mother. AS 25.20.050(a)(4): a "putative parent" may be "determined by a superior court … to be a parent of the child," with a genetic test at 95% or higher creating a presumption of parentage. Subsection (c): the Bureau of Vital Statistics "shall prepare and place on file a substitute birth certificate."

But your marital status may decide whether any of that applies to you. The section opens with "a child born out of wedlock." If you are married, your case is not obviously inside it. In Rubright v. Arnold the Alaska Supreme Court set out both readings and expressly declined to resolve the question. Separately, AS 18.50.160(d) enters your husband as the father unless a tribunal determines paternity otherwise or the statutory affidavits are executed.

And AS 25.20.045 is aimed squarely at a married carrier: a child "born to a married woman by means of artificial insemination … and consented to in writing by both spouses" is "the natural and legitimate child of both spouses" — meaning you and your husband. There is a strong argument it does not apply to an IVF embryo transfer, but it is untested.

The same silence means nothing protects you contractually — no escrow rule, no independent-counsel rule, no medical-decision provision.

Take the agreement to an Alaska attorney before you sign, and ask about your spouse first.

⛔ Ivy does not accept applications from Alaska residents, so Ivy's criteria do not apply here.

And no Alaska statute sets any. We located no minimum age, no prior-birth requirement, no BMI limit, no screening protocol, no counseling requirement, no independent-counsel rule and no residency rule for a surrogate. Title 25 contains zero references to a surrogate.

⛔ The one fact about you that Alaska law does care about is whether you are married. AS 25.20.050 applies to "a child born out of wedlock," and AS 25.20.045 provides that a child "born to a married woman by means of artificial insemination performed by a licensed physician and consented to in writing by both spouses, is considered for all purposes the natural and legitimate child of both spouses."

If you are unmarried, the route is comparatively clean: a court may determine a "putative parent" to be "a parent of the child," with a 95% genetic test creating a presumption of parentage, and the Bureau of Vital Statistics preparing a substitute birth certificate.

Ask an Alaska attorney what your marital status does to the plan — before anything medical begins, and before you sign.

⛔ There is no Ivy compensation package for Alaska, because Ivy does not match here.

Alaska does not regulate surrogate compensation. We located no cap, no ban, no escrow rule and no published decision on payment to a carrier. Payment is not what creates the problem in Alaska.

The problem is that the agreement carrying the payment schedule has never been tested here. No Alaska statute says a surrogacy agreement is enforceable, and no Alaska appellate decision has considered one.

Nothing requires your money to be held safely. Several states require compensation to sit with an independent escrow agent before medication begins. We located no such rule in Alaska. Ivy uses an independently administered escrow account everywhere it works, because it protects the surrogate — not because a statute demands it.

⭐ What Alaska does give you is a clearer endgame than most silent states, at least if you are unmarried: AS 25.20.050(a)(4) lets a court determine a "putative parent" to be "a parent of the child," and (c) directs a substitute birth certificate.

Two more gaps your agreement would have to fill: we located no Alaska provision requiring intended parents to maintain or pay for your health coverage, and none addressing complications or postpartum care.

Before you rely on any Alaska payment schedule, have an Alaska attorney tell you in writing what happens if the other side stops paying. For what compensation looks like where Ivy works, see the compensation page.

⚠️ Ivy does not match in Alaska, so nothing here is a recommendation for a surrogacy journey. A reader in the state may still be looking for fertility care.

We have not verified an Alaska fertility practice for this page. Rather than repeat a directory listing, this section says so. When we list a clinic we check its own website, including the state it is in — a check this page has not completed for Alaska.

Alaska is a long way from most programs, and it is common for embryos to stay with the clinic that created them. Ask any practice directly which parts of an IVF or carrier cycle it performs, where its laboratory is, and whether it takes carrier cycles at all.

And keep the legal question separate. A clinic's willingness to perform a transfer says nothing about whether AS 25.20.050 reaches your case — and if the carrier is married, that is precisely the question.

Parentage: AS 25.20.050(a)(4) — "the putative parent is determined by a superior court … to be a parent of the child." ⭐ Gender-neutral on its face. (d) — a genetic test at 95% or higher creates a presumption of parentage "rebutted only by clear and convincing evidence." (b)–(c) — the adjudication is noted on the original certificate, and the Bureau of Vital Statistics "shall prepare and place on file a substitute birth certificate." ⛔ The section applies to "a child born out of wedlock."

Assisted reproduction: AS 25.20.045 — "A child, born to a married woman by means of artificial insemination performed by a licensed physician and consented to in writing by both spouses, is considered for all purposes the natural and legitimate child of both spouses." In a surrogacy this runs against the intended parents.

No surrogacy statute: AS Title 25 returns zero references to a surrogate, and Title 18, ch. 50 (vital statistics) returns zero as well.

Vital records: the Department of Health publishes no surrogate-birth page or form, but it does publish fees: an amended birth certificate (post-paternity adjudication) and a substitute birth certificate (post-adoption) are $60 each, as is a record amendment.

Case law: We located no published Alaska decision addressing a gestational carrier arrangement.

For Chinese intended parents: Alaska is in the Chinese Consulate-General in San Francisco's district.

Ivy: Ivy does not arrange journeys in Alaska. Contact us. Nearby: California · Idaho · Colorado.