Surrogacy in Florida: The Complete 2026 Guide

Florida has regulated gestational surrogacy by statute since 1993 — a written framework now more than thirty years old — which means contracts here follow written law rather than court practice alone. The state has fertility clinics and gestational-carrier programs across every major metro and an active community of reproductive-law attorneys, and it is home to parts of the surrogacy industry itself, including one of the largest escrow companies.

At the same time, Florida is not an anything-goes state. Its statute comes with real conditions: the intended parents must be a legally married couple, a physician must certify the medical need for surrogacy, and parentage is confirmed after birth rather than through a pre-birth order.

And since July 1, 2026, Florida has a restriction that currently exists nowhere else in the country: under the new HB 905 law, a surrogacy contract may not be entered into in Florida if any party — intended parent or surrogate — is a citizen or resident of one of seven listed countries, including China and Russia. The details are in the laws section below; many guides written before this change have not yet caught up with it.

This guide covers both sides of the journey: what Florida offers intended parents, and what it looks like to become a surrogate here.

Gestational surrogacy in Florida is governed by statute — primarily Fla. Stat. § 742.15, in force since 1993.

What § 742.15 requires

• The intended parents (the statute calls them the "commissioning couple") must be legally married to each other, and everyone — both intended parents and the surrogate — must be 18 or older.
• A licensed physician must determine, within reasonable medical certainty, that the intended mother cannot safely carry a pregnancy or that pregnancy would put her or the fetus at risk.
• At least one intended parent must be genetically related to the child (Fla. Stat. § 742.13).
• Payments to the surrogate are limited by the statute to only reasonable living, legal, medical, psychological, and psychiatric expenses directly related to the prenatal, intrapartal, and postpartal periods.

When these requirements are satisfied, § 742.15 provides a statutory contract framework that Florida courts have applied for three decades; agreements that don't comply — including those prohibited by the 2026 amendment below — may be void or unenforceable.

Parentage: after birth, not before

Florida does not issue pre-birth parentage orders for gestational surrogacy. Instead, Fla. Stat. § 742.16 provides an expedited affirmation of parental status: the intended parents petition the circuit court within 3 days after the birth, the statute allows the hearing to be held immediately, and the court's order is transmitted to Vital Statistics within 30 days for a new birth certificate — practitioners commonly report the amended certificate arriving within about a month, and the Bureau of Vital Statistics offers rush processing once the order is in hand.

The 2026 change: HB 905

On July 1, 2026, Chapter 2026-66 (HB 905) took effect. It amended § 742.15 so that a gestational surrogacy contract may not be entered into in Florida if any party — including the surrogate — is a citizen or a resident of a "foreign country of concern": China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela (the Maduro regime), or Syria. A contract entered into in violation is void and unenforceable. Three points matter in practice, as of our July 2026 review:

• Citizenship alone triggers the bar. Holding a U.S. green card does not remove citizenship of a listed country. How courts will treat edge cases (dual nationals, asylees) has no guidance yet — affected families should consult a Florida attorney.
• There is no workaround through traditional surrogacy. The same law applies the bar to Florida's preplanned adoption route (Fla. Stat. § 63.213).
• The restriction reaches contracts entered into in Florida. Agreements formed in other states sit outside this provision's express scope — though what counts as "entered into" in Florida, and how a journey should be structured across state lines, is precisely the kind of question a reproductive-law attorney answers for your specific facts. As of our July 2026 review, no other U.S. state has enacted an equivalent law, and the federal proposal in this space remains a bill, not law — see our analysis of the SAFE KIDS Act.

Note: the official Florida Statutes website may still display the pre-amendment text of § 742.15 until the 2026 edition is published; the controlling language is in Chapter 2026-66, Laws of Florida.

Traditional surrogacy

Florida handles traditional surrogacy (where the surrogate is genetically related) through a separate preplanned adoption statute, § 63.213. It is open to unmarried intended parents, but the volunteer mother keeps a 48-hour post-birth right to change her mind — a fundamentally different risk profile from gestational surrogacy, and one reason nearly all journeys today are gestational.

This overview is general information, not legal advice. Florida surrogacy agreements should always be drafted and reviewed by a licensed Florida attorney.

Whether Florida's statutory route is open to you comes down to three questions:

• Are you legally married? Florida's gestational surrogacy statute is written for married couples. In practice that includes married same-sex couples: Florida recognizes same-sex marriage, and attorneys and courts apply the statute to them, provided at least one spouse is genetically related to the child. The statute's own text still says "intended mother and father," so this rests on established practice rather than amended language — your attorney will confirm how the medical-need certification and parentage steps apply to your family. Single and unmarried intended parents are not covered by § 742.15. The alternatives are genuinely different paths: Florida's preplanned adoption route is a traditional-surrogacy framework with its own genetics and protections, and fact-specific parentage strategies exist. It's a sit-down-with-a-Florida-attorney conversation, not a checkbox.
• Is there a documented medical need? A physician must certify, within reasonable medical certainty, that the intended mother cannot safely carry a pregnancy or that pregnancy would put her or the fetus at risk.
• Does the 2026 law affect you? If either intended parent — or the surrogate — is a citizen or resident of China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, or Syria, a surrogacy contract may no longer be entered into in Florida. The restriction is written to reach agreements entered into in this state; journeys built in other states are a different legal picture, one that depends on contract-formation location, governing law, and the other state's own rules. For affected families this is usually a routing question rather than a dead end — Ivy matches intended parents with surrogates across surrogacy-friendly states nationwide, and we'll tell you honestly, with your attorney, which states fit your situation. Start a conversation or begin your parent application.

If Florida works for you, it offers a mature framework: a statutory contract structure that courts have applied for thirty years, a large clinic network, and a post-birth parentage process measured in days, not months.

Understanding surrogacy costs means looking beyond a single number. What you'll spend in Florida depends on whether embryos are already available and whether egg donation is needed. Here is how Ivy quotes it:

• The surrogacy journey itself (~$140,000–$150,000). If embryos are ready for transfer, the surrogacy portion — agency fee, surrogate compensation, legal and escrow services, and health insurance — runs about $140,000–$150,000, in line with other surrogacy-friendly states. It covers everything from matching and contracts through pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum care, including the § 742.16 post-birth parentage petition as a standard legal line item.
• IVF and embryo creation (~$40,000, billed by the clinic). If embryos still need to be created, plan for about $40,000 in IVF expenses — stimulation, retrieval, embryo culture, transfer, and optional PGT-A testing. Clinic fees are separate from the surrogacy budget above.
• Egg donation (if needed, ~$30,000+). Donor coordination, compensation, legal work, and related expenses.

Putting it together: surrogacy only ≈ $140,000–$150,000; surrogacy + IVF ≈ $180,000–$190,000; surrogacy + IVF + egg donation ≈ $210,000–$220,000+. For detailed breakdowns and sample payment schedules, see our surrogacy cost guide and egg donation cost overview.

Wherever your journey lands, your funds sit with an independent escrow company or attorney trust account, never with the agency itself — we've written about why in-house escrow is a red flag.

A Florida journey follows the standard gestational surrogacy arc, with two state-specific steps at the contract and parentage stages:

1. Matching. You're matched with a surrogate — she may live in Florida or elsewhere. Her location is an important factor, but counsel determines which state's law and parentage process apply based on all the facts.
2. Screening. Medical records review, medical screening at the IVF clinic, and a psychological evaluation.
3. Physician certification and contract. For a Florida contract, a physician documents the medical need required by § 742.15, and each side's attorney negotiates the agreement before any medications begin. As of July 1, 2026, attorneys also confirm that no party is a citizen or resident of a listed foreign country of concern.
4. Cycle and transfer. The surrogate begins IVF medications; the embryo transfer happens at the clinic; pregnancy is confirmed over the following weeks.
5. Pregnancy. Monthly payments flow from escrow per the contract; the clinic hands care to an OB, typically around 8–10 weeks depending on the clinic's protocol.
6. Birth and parentage. Within 3 days after delivery, your attorney files the § 742.16 petition for expedited affirmation of parental status in circuit court. The statute allows the hearing to be held immediately, and the order goes to Vital Statistics for a new birth certificate — practitioners commonly report the amended certificate arriving in about four weeks, with rush processing available.

From application to birth, most journeys take one to two years end to end; the Florida-specific legal steps add days, not months.

Florida's written surrogacy statute gives surrogates here something many states don't: clearly defined rights on paper.

A few things are specific to carrying in Florida:

• The contract is governed by statute. Your agreement must follow § 742.15, you'll have your own independent attorney (at Ivy, paid for by the intended parents), and the statute frames your payments as pregnancy-related expenses — the full statutory list is in the laws section above.
• The parentage step happens right after delivery. The intended parents' attorney files a court petition within 3 days of the birth, and you receive notice of it. This is routine paperwork — it confirms the intended parents' status, consistent with everything your contract already says. County practice varies; the attorneys will tell you whether anything is needed from you beyond receiving that notice.
• The 2026 law applies to you too. Since July 1, 2026, a surrogacy contract may not be entered into in Florida if any party is a citizen or resident of one of seven listed countries — that includes the surrogate. If this affects you, matching with intended parents under another state's process may still be possible; it's a question for the agency and your attorney, not a door that closes by itself.

If you live in Florida and are thinking about carrying, our surrogate FAQ covers the questions applicants ask most, and the application takes about ten minutes.

Florida law itself sets only a few requirements — you must be at least 18 (and the July 2026 citizenship restriction described above applies to surrogates too).

The requirements that actually determine whether you can carry come from IVF clinics and agencies. Ivy's current guidelines are:

• Age 20–36. You can apply at 20 — screening and matching take months, so you'll typically be 21 or older by the time the medical process begins. The upper limit reflects both pregnancy safety and the reality of what clinics and intended parents accept.
• At least one healthy, full-term pregnancy of your own, currently raising your child.
• BMI of 32 or below.
• No more than 2 C-sections, and no more than 5 total deliveries. These mirror what IVF physicians typically require — records outside them rarely clear a clinic's medical review.
• No smoking, vaping, or THC use — at least 6 months clean, verified by clinic testing.
• Financially stable and not relying on public assistance.
• U.S. citizen or permanent resident (green card) with a stable living situation.

Vaginal delivery? At Ivy you can apply as early as 3 months postpartum — the embryo transfer itself comes months later, and the medical timing is always the clinic's call. C-section recovery takes longer. If you're unsure whether something in your history disqualifies you, ask before you self-reject — the surrogate FAQ covers the common edge cases, and the application is the fastest way to get a real answer.

At Ivy, first-time base compensation is $40,000–$55,000 depending on location, with experienced surrogates at $60,000+, inside total packages of $50,000–$100,000+. Payments are held by an independent escrow company or attorney trust account — funded before you start medications, disbursed on your contract's schedule. The full structure, including the monthly allowance and milestone payments, is on our compensation page, and your personalized estimate comes before you commit to anything — start your application to get it.

One Florida-specific note, stated honestly: the statute limits what intended parents may pay a gestational surrogate to reasonable living, legal, medical, psychological, and psychiatric expenses directly related to the pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum period — and the word "compensation" appears in Florida's traditional-surrogacy statute, but not the gestational one. Agencies publish payment schedules for Florida all the same; how your specific agreement is structured under the statute is exactly the kind of question your own independent attorney evaluates and explains before you sign. At Ivy, every surrogate has separate, independent counsel, paid for by the intended parents — in Florida that's not a formality, it's the part of the process that makes the paperwork match the law.

Florida's clinic infrastructure spans every major metro, with established gestational-carrier programs throughout the state:

• South Florida / Miami: IVFMD (six South Florida offices, including Miami and Naples) and IVF Florida Reproductive Associates (part of the US Fertility network; Margate, Pembroke Pines, Boca Raton, Palm Beach Gardens).
• Tampa / Orlando / Central Florida: Shady Grove Fertility operates seven Florida offices across Tampa, Wesley Chapel, Brandon, St. Petersburg, Orlando, Davenport, and Sarasota.
• Jacksonville / North Florida: Florida Institute for Reproductive Medicine and Brown Fertility, which runs 15+ offices across North and Central Florida.

Which clinic you use is usually decided by where your embryos are — or will be — created, not by where the surrogate lives; surrogates routinely travel within the state (or from out of state) for screening and transfer. If you already have embryos stored elsewhere, they can be shipped to a Florida clinic, or the transfer can happen at your existing clinic with a Florida surrogate traveling there.

Primary sources worth bookmarking:

• The statutes themselves: Fla. Stat. § 742.15 (gestational surrogacy contracts) and § 742.16 (post-birth parentage) on Online Sunshine — note the 2026 amendments are published in Chapter 2026-66 until the statute pages catch up.
• Birth certificates: the Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics issues the amended certificate after the court order; amended-record processing time varies, and rush service is available.
• Finding a lawyer: because these agreements turn on specialized Florida law, parties work with attorneys experienced in assisted reproduction — at Ivy this is how every journey is set up. The Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Attorneys directory lists Florida fellows.

For comparison shopping across states — legal frameworks, pre-birth vs post-birth orders, typical costs — our Surrogacy by State hub covers every state we've profiled, including California, a pre-birth-order state that makes a useful contrast with Florida's post-birth process.