Summary
New York’s Child-Parent Security Act took effect on February 15, 2021, ending the state’s ban on compensated surrogacy and creating the only surrogacy program licensing regime in the United States.
Five years on, the Act has produced licensed programs regulated by the Department of Health, a statutory Surrogates’ Bill of Rights, pre-birth parentage orders for all intended parents, and a model that Michigan, Colorado and others have drawn on.
Surrogacy4All holds license GSP220903 and is a physician-led agency operating since 2006, with programs from $120,000.
| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Statute | Child-Parent Security Act, effective February 15, 2021 |
| What it created | Enforceable gestational carrier agreements; program licensing by the NYS Department of Health; Surrogates’ Bill of Rights; parentage orders |
| Residency rule | The surrogate (or an intended parent) must be a New York resident for a New York agreement |
| Surrogacy4All license | GSP220903 |
| Compensation | $70,000–$105,000 total |
| Match time | Typically 1–3 months |
| Success rates (source) | 65% first transfer, 90% cumulative — SART |
What Did the Act Change in 2021?
Until 2021 New York was among the handful of states where compensated surrogacy contracts were void and punishable.
The Act legalized compensated gestational surrogacy, set requirements for the agreement, created a judgment of parentage that can be obtained before birth, and — unusually — required any surrogacy program operating in the state to be licensed by the Department of Health.
What Does Program Licensing Actually Do?
A licensed program must meet financial and operational standards, maintain the escrow and insurance protections the Act requires, apply the Surrogates’ Bill of Rights, and submit to Department of Health oversight.
It is the difference between a state regulating the contract and a state regulating the business.
Five years in, licensing has done what it was designed to do: intended parents can check a public list, surrogates have a regulator to complain to, and agencies that could not meet the standard have not operated in New York.
What Is in the Surrogates’ Bill of Rights?
- The right to make her own health decisions, including whether to terminate or continue a pregnancy
- Independent legal counsel paid for by the intended parents
- A comprehensive health insurance policy covering the pregnancy and a period afterward
- Life insurance
- The right to walk away before becoming pregnant.
- Most reputable agencies elsewhere offered these before 2021
- New York made them statutory
What Happened to Match Times and Costs?
New York surrogates entered the market for the first time, which shortened matches for New York intended parents who had previously matched out of state, our New York matches run within the typical 1–3 months.
Costs did not fall — compensation and New York clinic fees sit in the upper part of the national range — but the predictability of the legal step improved, and legal fees for a New York pre-birth judgment are now routine rather than novel.
What Have Other States Copied?
Michigan’s Family Protection Act (2025) adopted the CPSA’s approach to naming intended parents regardless of marriage or genetics.
Colorado (2021) and Rhode Island (2020) reflect the same generation of drafting.
No state has yet copied program licensing, which remains New York’s distinctive feature and the reason a New York license is a meaningful credential outside New York.
What Is Still Unresolved?
The residency requirement — the surrogate or an intended parent must live in New York for a New York agreement — means many New York families still match with surrogates in other states, under those states’ laws.
And licensing does not itself set medical standards, that remains a matter of agency practice, which is why we describe ours as physician-led rather than relying on the license alone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. When did the Child-Parent Security Act take effect?
A. February 15, 2021.
Q. Is compensated surrogacy legal in New York?
A. Yes, under the Act, for agreements that meet its requirements.
Q. What is a licensed surrogacy program?
A. A program licensed by the NYS Department of Health to operate in New York;
Surrogacy4All’s license is GSP220903.
Q. Do I have to live in New York?
A. The surrogate or one intended parent must be a New York resident for a New York agreement;
otherwise the surrogate’s state governs.
Q. Do other states license agencies?
A. No, New York is the only state with program licensing as of 2026.
Q. Where can I verify a license?
A. On the Department of Health’s licensed program list, linked from our licenses page.
Talk to a Physician-Led Team
Free consultation, in person on Fifth Avenue or by video:
Dr. Pooja Patel
Dr. Pooja Patel is a Chief Surrogacy Coordinator at Surrogacy4all. She has 10 years of experience in Anesthesiology and critical care medicine.
She received her medical degree from Seth GS Medical College and K.E.M Hospital in India. She then completed an internship. She finished her Anesthesia residency at Grant Govt Medical College and JJ Group of Hospitals in India.
- Dr. Pooja Patel
- Dr. Pooja Patel
- Dr. Pooja Patel
- Dr. Pooja Patel
