Surrogacy in Illinois: The Complete 2026 Guide

Illinois is unusual: in the standard compliant case, the journey here never reaches a courtroom. Under the Gestational Surrogacy Act, four sets of certifications filed before the birth make you the legal parents at birth, and the birth record is prepared in your names. Noncompliance and special situations do go to court.

Since December 12, 2025 there is a second route: an express statutory pre-birth parentage order, impounded and decided on the papers unless the court needs more, with the statute giving it 30 days — the court document international and out-of-state parents usually need.

That rewrite is recent enough that, as of our July 2026 review, guidance we checked — including the state health department's own page — still describes the rules it replaced.

Illinois has an enabling statute — the Gestational Surrogacy Act, 750 ILCS 47 — rewritten by P.A. 104-448, effective December 12, 2025; P.A. 104-403 separately amended § 25 effective January 1, 2026.

Two routes to parentage

• Certification — the standard route, no court proceeding. Four sets of signed certifications — from each intended parent, the surrogate, the transferring physician, and each side's attorney — are executed on forms prescribed by the Illinois Department of Public Health, witnessed by two competent adults, and delivered before the birth to the hospital and IDPH (§ 35). Parentage vests by operation of law upon birth (§§ 35(a), 15(b)) with "the full force and effect of a judgment" (§ 35(c)).
• A pre-birth order — new, on request. § 36 lets either side petition the circuit court for a parentage judgment before, on, or after birth. The petition attaches the executed agreement, the physician's § 35 certification, and the attorneys' certifications; so supported it "shall be sufficient," and no hearing is required unless the court needs information it cannot get without one. Judgment issues within 30 days, records are impounded, and it can direct IDPH on the birth record.

Settled

• No genetic link is required. The gamete-contribution rule was repealed December 12, 2025. Intended parents must instead be 21 or older, complete a mental health evaluation, keep Illinois counsel, and meet the infertility definition at 215 ILCS 5/356m(c) — "a person's inability to reproduce either as a single individual or with a partner without medical intervention" (§ 20(b)).
• Compensation is expressly permitted (§ 25(b-5)) and must be escrowed with an agent independent of both attorneys — bonded for at least $1,000,000 under the January 2026 § 25 text — before the surrogate begins any medical procedure beyond her eligibility evaluations (§ 25(b)(5)).
• The surrogate keeps medical decision-making. The agreement must state her right to decide all health and welfare matters for herself and the pregnancy; any waiver is "void as against public policy" (§ 25(c)(5)), and specific performance cannot compel impregnation, termination, or any medical procedure (§ 55(c)).
• Surrogate eligibility (§ 20(a)): 21 or older at signing, one prior birth, medical and mental health evaluations, her own Illinois counsel throughout, and insurance through the pregnancy plus 8 weeks postpartum — intended parents pay for her attorney (§ 25(b)(4)).
• Substantial compliance, not strict. A technical defect no longer flips parentage: § 37 sends a non-compliant agreement to a court deciding "consistent with the intent of the parties … taking into account the best interests of the child." § 70 closes challenges 12 months after birth.
• No residency, domicile, or citizenship rule. Reading the Act as of our July 2026 review, we did not identify one. But eligibility is not jurisdiction: the certification route is built around an Illinois delivery, and § 39 imports the Parentage Act's jurisdiction and venue provisions for court matters — a nonresident arrangement needs counsel's jurisdiction analysis. Both attorneys must be licensed here.

What varies in practice

• The statute is ahead of the agency. As of our July 2026 review, IDPH's surrogacy page, forms, and rule on surrogacy births (77 Ill. Adm. Code 500.25, last amended 2013) still describe the pre-2025 rules — a genetic link, an Illinois-licensed certifying physician — and we found no evidence IDPH has adopted the rules § 35(d) requires. The statute controls, but expect friction — for donor-embryo parents or an out-of-state transfer, this is where a § 36 judgment earns its keep.
• § 25 appears in two published versions, independently amended by two 2025 acts. Careful practice satisfies both — hence the bonded independent escrow above, plus witnessing by two competent adults, which both texts accept.

Needs case-specific advice

• Traditional (genetic) surrogacy falls outside the Act, which reaches only arrangements where the surrogate made no genetic contribution. Ivy does gestational surrogacy only.
• An out-of-state transfer. The certifying physician must be licensed where the embryo was transferred (§ 35(a)(3)), not where the birth occurs.

General information, not legal advice — use an Illinois assisted-reproduction attorney.

Illinois removed its biggest eligibility barrier. Since December 12, 2025 no intended parent needs a genetic connection to the child, and the medical-need affidavit gave way to an infertility definition covering single parents and same-sex couples on its face. Marriage is not required, and the Act sets no residency or citizenship requirement.

Settle early:

• Two attorneys, both licensed in Illinois. Yours and hers, you paying for hers.
• Where the transfer happens. The certifying physician must be licensed in that state — plan for it if your embryos are elsewhere.
• Whether you want the court order. International and out-of-state parents we work with often prefer a court judgment for use abroad or in another state; § 36 now provides one. Your attorney will tell you which you need.

Ivy matches across surrogacy-friendly states; if another fits better, we'll say so. Start a conversation.

Cost depends on whether embryos already exist and whether egg donation is needed. The figures below are Ivy's own quoted ranges as of July 2026, not statewide averages for Illinois — no agency's numbers are, and we found no published Illinois average.

• The surrogacy journey itself (~$140,000–$150,000). Agency fee, surrogate compensation, legal and escrow services, and health insurance — from matching and contracts through pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum care, including the Illinois certification work as a standard legal line item.
• IVF and embryo creation (~$40,000, billed by the clinic). Stimulation, retrieval, embryo culture, transfer, and optional PGT-A testing. Separate from the surrogacy budget above.
• Egg donation (if needed, ~$30,000+). Donor coordination, compensation, legal work, and related expenses.

Together: surrogacy only ≈ $140,000–$150,000; + IVF ≈ $180,000–$190,000; + egg donation ≈ $210,000–$220,000+. See our surrogacy cost guide and egg donation cost overview.

Illinois requires compensation to sit with an escrow agent independent of both sides' attorneys. Ivy goes further: your funds never sit with the agency itself — why in-house escrow is a red flag.

The Illinois-specific work sits at the contract and certification stages.

1. Matching. The Act sets no residency rule, but the certification route is built around an Illinois delivery.
2. Screening. Records review, medical and mental health evaluations on both sides.
3. Contract. Independent Illinois attorneys, signed before any medical procedure beyond eligibility evaluations; escrow funded first.
4. Cycle and transfer. The transferring physician's certification comes from here.
5. Certifications. Each intended parent, the surrogate, the physician, and both attorneys sign before two witnesses.
6. Two pre-birth filings. Originals to the hospital's medical records director, copies to IDPH Vital Records.
7. Optional court order. A § 36 petition, decided within 30 days and on the papers unless the court needs more.
8. Birth. Under a compliant agreement, parentage vests at delivery and the birth record is prepared in your names.

Most journeys run one to two years; every certification must be signed and filed before the birth.

Illinois puts several of your protections in statute.

• Your attorney is required, not optional. The Act requires ongoing representation by independent Illinois counsel you choose, paid by the intended parents.
• Your medical decisions stay yours. The agreement must say you make all health and welfare decisions about yourself and the pregnancy; any clause waiving that is void. No contract can compel a procedure.
• You can stop before a transfer. Any party may terminate before an embryo transfer by written notice, with no penalty absent fraud.
• Insurance is part of the deal. You need coverage through the pregnancy and 8 weeks postpartum, which the intended parents may buy.

Surrogate FAQ · application.

Illinois law sets its own floor: at least 21 when the agreement is signed, at least one prior birth, a medical evaluation and a mental health evaluation, your own Illinois attorney throughout, and health insurance through the pregnancy and 8 weeks after. The rest comes from clinics and agencies. Ivy's guidelines:

• Age 20–36. You can apply at 20 — screening and matching take months — but you must be at least 21 when the agreement is signed.
• 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.
• 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.

After a vaginal delivery you can apply as early as 3 months postpartum; medical timing is always the clinic's call, and C-section recovery takes longer. Unsure? Ask before you self-reject: surrogate FAQ, application.

At Ivy, first-time base compensation in Illinois is $40,000, with $45,000–$50,000 for a second journey and $55,000–$60,000 for a third or more — for proven surrogates, we're open to discussing beyond that. Total packages, with allowances and milestone payments, run $50,000–$100,000+. The full structure, itemized allowance by allowance, is on our compensation page; your personalized estimate comes before you commit — start your application.

Compensation is expressly permitted by Illinois statute, it must sit with an escrow agent independent of both sides' attorneys, and it has to be funded before you begin any medical procedure beyond the eligibility evaluations. The agreement must also disclose every financial obligation the intended parents are taking on toward you. Your own attorney still reads the payment schedule and the escrow terms with you before you sign.

Illinois clinics whose own sites describe gestational-carrier services include:

• Chicago, Glenview, Hinsdale, Hoffman Estates, Mokena, Vernon Hills, Warrenville: Fertility Centers of Illinois
• Chicago, Geneva, Highland Park, Oakbrook Terrace: Northwestern Medicine
• Arlington Heights, Chicago, Crystal Lake, Hoffman Estates, Northbrook, Rockford: InVia Fertility
• Chicago, Naperville, Oak Brook, Skokie: Reproductive Medicine Institute
• Orland Park, St. Charles, Downers Grove: Chicago IVF

This list is not exhaustive and clinic services change — confirm gestational-carrier programs with the clinic directly. What we verified clusters in the Chicago metro; Rockford is the one location we confirmed outside it.

• Statute and acts: 750 ILCS 47, P.A. 104-448 (eff. Dec. 12, 2025), P.A. 104-403.
• Birth records: IDPH's surrogacy page publishes the certification forms and filing addresses; its guidance predates the current statute.
• Insurance: 215 ILCS 5/356m governs infertility coverage in Illinois-regulated group plans.
• International: the Chinese Consulate-General in Chicago covers Illinois and ten other Midwestern states; apply to the mission for your own district. Mexico's consulate general is also in Chicago.
• Compare: Surrogacy by State, Michigan, Ohio.