Florida
Surrogacy Laws

Serving intended parents and surrogates nationwide and internationally — with deep, founder-led expertise in Florida law. Educational information only; not legal advice.

Florida is one of the most surrogacy-friendly states in the country, and it has been for decades. Gestational surrogacy is expressly authorized by statute, contracts between intended parents and gestational carriers are enforceable when the statutory requirements are met, and Florida courts routinely enter orders confirming the intended parents' parentage. This page explains what the statutes actually say, what the process looks like from contract to birth certificate, and where the real-world pitfalls are.

The Statutory Framework

Florida's law lives in the Florida Statutes at §§ 742.13 through 742.17, known collectively as the Gestational Surrogacy Act, with the related pre-planned adoption framework at § 63.213.

• § 742.13 — definitions, including "gestational surrogacy contract," "commissioning couple," and "gestational surrogate."
• § 742.15 — the operative provision authorizing gestational surrogacy contracts and setting out what must be true for one to be valid.
• § 742.16 — the expedited affirmation of parental status: the petition, the hearing, and the order directing issuance of a new birth certificate.
• § 742.17 — disposition of eggs, sperm, and pre-embryos, including what happens on death, divorce, or other change in circumstance.
• § 63.213 — the pre-planned adoption agreement route, historically used where the arrangement falls outside § 742.15 (for example, traditional surrogacy).

What § 742.15 Requires of a Valid Contract

The statute is specific. A gestational surrogacy contract must be in writing and entered into before the pregnancy, and among other things:

• The gestational surrogate must be 18 years of age or older.
• The intended parents must be 18 or older, and the statute is framed around a legally married couple.
• A physician must certify that the intended mother cannot physically gestate a pregnancy to term, that gestation would pose a risk to her health, or that it would pose a risk to the fetus.
• The surrogate agrees to submit to reasonable medical evaluation and treatment, and to adhere to medical instructions regarding prenatal care.
• The surrogate agrees to relinquish any parental rights upon the child's birth, and the intended parents agree to accept custody of and assume full parental rights and responsibilities for the child immediately upon birth — regardless of any impairment.
• The surrogate may only be paid reasonable living, legal, medical, psychological, and psychiatric expenses directly related to prenatal, intrapartum, and postpartum periods.

That last point causes confusion. Florida's statutory language on payment is narrower than the market reality of compensated gestational surrogacy nationwide, and how a contract is structured to sit comfortably within it is exactly the kind of drafting judgment you want an experienced reproductive attorney making — not a template.

Note also what the statute does not require: it does not require the intended parents to be Florida residents, and it does not require the surrogate to be a Florida resident, though the child's place of birth drives which court issues the order.

Pre-Birth vs. Post-Birth Orders in Florida

The single most misunderstood part of Florida practice.

Unlike states that issue a mandatory pre-birth parentage order, Florida's mechanism under § 742.16 is an expedited post-birth affirmation of parental status. Within three days after the birth, the intended parents petition the circuit court; the court holds a hearing (often within days), finds that the contract satisfied § 742.15, and enters an order declaring the intended parents to be the legal parents and directing the Florida Department of Health, Office of Vital Statistics, to issue a birth certificate naming them.

Even though the statute is post-birth, competent counsel does substantial work before delivery: a hospital and birth plan letter, a pre-birth declaration or interim order where the hospital or a specific circumstance calls for it, medical decision-making authority documented in writing, and the petition drafted and ready to file the day the baby arrives. That preparation is why well-managed Florida cases feel seamless at the hospital, and why unprepared ones do not.

Birth Certificates and Timing

The final Florida birth certificate names the intended parents and does not name the gestational surrogate. Timing varies by county and by how quickly the hearing is calendared; in practice, most families have the order within days of birth and the amended certificate within a few weeks. Passports, Social Security registration, and travel home for out-of-state or international families are sequenced off that certificate, so the order date matters.

Same-Sex Couples, Single Parents, and Florida Law

The text of § 742.15 is written around a "commissioning couple" and a physician's certification regarding an intended mother. Because of that drafting, same-sex male couples and single intended parents are frequently handled through a different or supplemental legal path — a pre-planned adoption agreement under § 63.213, a parentage action, or a second-parent/stepparent adoption alongside the surrogacy order — depending on the facts, the county, and the judge.

This is settled, workable practice in Florida, and same-sex couples build families here every year. It is also precisely where a form contract fails. If you are a same-sex couple or a single intended parent, the legal strategy should be decided before you transfer an embryo, not after a baby is born. See our LGBTQ surrogacy page.

International Intended Parents

Florida works well for international families: the statute does not impose a residency requirement, South Florida has world-class fertility clinics, and Miami is one of the best-connected airports in the hemisphere. The complications are rarely Florida's — they are the parents' home country's recognition of the parentage order, citizenship and passport processing for the child, and how long the family must remain in the U.S. after birth. We coordinate that sequence with counsel in the home jurisdiction. More on our international surrogacy page.

Traditional vs. Gestational Surrogacy

Gestational surrogacy — the surrogate carries an embryo created from the intended parents' or donors' gametes and has no genetic relationship to the child — is what §§ 742.13–742.17 govern and what we exclusively do. Traditional surrogacy, where the surrogate's own egg is used, falls outside § 742.15 and is handled, if at all, through the pre-planned adoption route under § 63.213, with materially greater legal risk. We do not recommend or arrange it.

Independent Counsel Is Not Optional

Every gestational surrogate must have her own independent attorney, separate from the intended parents' counsel and separate from the agency, with fees paid by the intended parents. This is not a formality — it is what makes consent informed and the agreement defensible. Our agency does not represent either party in the contract; we manage the journey and make sure both sides are properly represented. For what actually gets negotiated, read our surrogacy contract guide.

Florida Surrogacy Law FAQ

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