Author: Pooja Patel, MD — MBBS (Seth G.S. Medical College & K.E.M. Hospital), Fellowship in Embryology, Manager, Surrogacy4All · Medically reviewed by Rashmi Gulati, MD — Board Certified, Internal Medicine; Medical Advisor, Surrogacy4All; privileges at Mount Sinai Hospital · dateModified: 2026-09-03
The surrogate process at Surrogacy4All runs about 4–6 months from application to embryo transfer, then a roughly 9-month pregnancy — 15–18 months total from start to delivery. It moves through nine stages: application, coordinator interview, medical records review, psychological evaluation, background check, clinic screening, matching, legal contract, and the transfer cycle itself. Surrogacy4All is a NYS-licensed (GSP220903), physician-led agency operating since 2006.
| Number of stages | 9 |
| Application to approval | 2–4 weeks |
| Approval to match | Under 4 weeks |
| Match to signed contract | 4–6 weeks |
| Contract to embryo transfer | 6–10 weeks |
| Transfer to delivery | About 9 months |
| Total journey | 15–18 months |
Once you know you meet the surrogate requirements and are ready to become a surrogate, here’s exactly what happens next — every stage, in order, with realistic timing for each. Nothing here is a black box: each stage below tells you not just what happens, but roughly how long it takes and what, if anything, you can do to help it move smoothly.
You start with a straightforward online application covering your basic health history, pregnancy history, and contact information. There’s no cost and no commitment at this stage — it’s the fastest way for our team to do an initial eligibility check and tell you quickly whether it’s worth moving forward. Most applicants hear back within a few business days.
A coordinator — typically someone who has been a surrogate herself — calls to walk through your application in more depth, answer your questions, and get a fuller picture of your situation and motivations. This is also your chance to ask anything: what a typical journey actually feels like, how matching works, what support looks like once you’re pregnant. Most applicants find this call more conversational than clinical.
Our medical team requests and reviews your prior pregnancy and delivery records to confirm the details from your application and identify anything that needs a closer look. This typically takes a couple of weeks, since it depends on how quickly your prior providers release records — you can speed this up by knowing which providers to contact ahead of time.
You’ll complete a psychological evaluation with a licensed professional, usually a single session conducted by phone or video. This step exists to confirm you feel genuinely prepared for the emotional and practical realities of the journey — not just to check a box. It also gives you space to raise any concerns of your own before moving further.
A standard background check is run as part of ensuring a safe match for everyone involved, including the intended parents’ future child. This runs in parallel with other steps rather than adding extra time on its own.
At this stage you’ll go through a physical exam, a uterine evaluation (saline sonogram or hysteroscopy), FDA-required infectious disease testing, and an insurance review. This is typically the most clinical step in the process and confirms you’re medically ready to carry a pregnancy. It usually happens at the fertility clinic that will eventually perform your transfer, which is often the one trip you’ll need to make before you’re matched.
Once you’re approved, you’re presented with a potential match — intended parents whose expectations, communication style, and program fit align with yours. Matching goes both ways: you have a say in whether it feels right before anything is finalized. Before a match is confirmed, it’s worth thinking through what you want going forward — how much contact you’d like with the intended parents during the pregnancy, what kind of relationship (if any) you’re hoping for afterward, and what would make you feel comfortable throughout. These aren’t formalities; your coordinator uses them to find a genuinely compatible match rather than the first available one.
Before any medical procedure happens, you and the intended parents each work with your own independent attorney (theirs pays for both) to finalize a legal agreement covering compensation, payment timing, medical expenses, insurance, travel, expectations during pregnancy, confidentiality, communication, and parental rights. This step exists specifically to protect you: because you have your own attorney rather than sharing one with the intended parents, someone is reviewing every clause with only your interests in mind. It’s also why this happens before, not after, any medication or procedure begins — nothing medical starts until the terms are settled and everyone has signed.
The final stage before pregnancy: a course of medications to prepare your body, ongoing monitoring, and the embryo transfer itself, performed at a fertility clinic. One embryo is transferred. From here, pregnancy confirmation typically follows within about two weeks, and your compensation schedule begins.
Every step above happens whether you go through an agency or arrange surrogacy independently — the medical and legal realities don’t change. What changes is who’s coordinating each step and how consistently it’s done.
| Physician-Led Agency (Surrogacy4All) | Independent Surrogacy | |
| Application through screening | Coordinated by our team on a consistent timeline | You and the intended parents arrange each piece separately |
| Matching | Structured, with mutual input from both sides | Often happens informally, before formal screening is complete |
| Legal contract | Standard practice, finalized before any medical procedure | Sometimes arranged late, or with less experienced counsel |
| Medical oversight during pregnancy | 24/7 in-house physician access, plus AI-based health monitoring | Whatever your own OB provides, with no additional layer |
| Coordinator support | A dedicated coordinator, often a former surrogate herself, throughout | No equivalent role unless you arrange one yourself |
Neither path skips a step — but going independently generally means more of the coordination burden sits with you and the intended parents directly, at a time when you’re also making significant medical and legal decisions.
Once pregnancy is confirmed, your care shifts to routine prenatal visits with your own local OB, supplemented by our team’s ongoing support. This is where our process differs most from a typical agency handoff: you’re paired with a coordinator — often a former surrogate herself — who stays involved throughout, and you get 24/7 access to our in-house physicians, including by cell phone outside normal hours. You also receive a free smart watch and blood pressure monitor once you’re pregnant; the readings feed into our AI-based monitoring system, so if anything looks off between your monthly OB checkups, you and our monitoring physicians are alerted right away rather than waiting for your next scheduled appointment.
Most surrogates only need to travel once or twice total for the entire pregnancy, for screening and the transfer itself; day-to-day prenatal care stays local to wherever you live. The pregnancy itself runs the typical course, about 9 months, for a total journey of roughly 15–18 months from your very first application.
After delivery, the intended parents take custody of the baby according to your legal agreement’s parental-rights terms, and your care continues through the immediate postpartum period. Any final compensation and postpartum support outlined in your agreement is provided during this stage. Our team stays engaged during this window too, checking in on your physical recovery and making sure the transition back to normal life feels supported rather than abrupt.
Since matching is mutual, it’s worth going in with a clear sense of what matters to you: How much contact do you want with the intended parents during the pregnancy — regular updates, occasional check-ins, or something in between? Are you hoping for an ongoing relationship after the birth, or is this a one-time journey for you? Are there specific medical or lifestyle preferences you want the intended parents to understand upfront? Your coordinator can help you think through these before a match is presented, so the conversation happens early rather than after you’re already emotionally invested in a specific match.
Not every embryo transfer results in a pregnancy. If the first attempt doesn’t succeed, the next steps depend on your medical team’s recommendation and the intended parents’ plan — this possibility is addressed in your legal agreement, not left open-ended.
Nine main stages, from the initial online application through the embryo transfer cycle.
About 4–6 months from application to embryo transfer, then a roughly 9-month pregnancy — 15–18 months total.
Usually just once or twice, for clinic screening and the embryo transfer. Ongoing prenatal care stays with your own local OB.
A physical exam, a uterine evaluation (saline sonogram or hysteroscopy), FDA-required infectious disease testing, and an insurance review.
Yes — matching considers mutual fit, and you have a say before anything is finalized.
Before. Your legal agreement is finalized, with your own independent attorney, prior to any transfer procedure.
Next steps depend on your medical team’s recommendation and the intended parents’ plan, as addressed in your legal agreement.
A dedicated coordinator (often a former surrogate herself), 24/7 access to our in-house physicians, and a free smart watch and blood pressure kit that feeds into our AI-based monitoring system between your OB checkups.
The medical and legal steps are the same either way. Going through a physician-led agency means each step is coordinated on a consistent timeline, with a dedicated coordinator and 24/7 physician access — rather than you and the intended parents arranging every piece separately.
The stage-by-stage timeline earlier in this guide gives you the typical ranges, but it’s worth knowing what actually drives the variation within them. Application-to-approval mostly depends on how quickly your prior medical records arrive — applicants who know which providers to contact upfront tend to land at the faster end. Approval-to-match depends partly on which intended parents are actively looking at the time you’re approved; this isn’t something you can speed up directly, but it’s rarely the longest step. Match-to-contract depends on how quickly both sides’ attorneys move, which is one reason working with attorneys experienced specifically in surrogacy law (rather than general family law) tends to keep this stage efficient. And contract-to-transfer is largely set by your body’s own cycle and the fertility clinic’s scheduling, which is the least flexible part of the whole timeline.
For eligibility requirements and compensation details alongside this process breakdown, see our main become-a-surrogate guide, or the full requirements checklist if you’re not yet sure whether you qualify. Check your eligibility → or call (212) 661-7673.
Our job is to listen, to connect the dots between your needs, and to determine how we can best help you have your baby. If you’re asking how much does it cost for a surrogate, we’ll walk you through every step of the process to ensure there are no surprises.
To make an appointment with one of our counselors or physicians, please call (212) 661-7673 or email info@surrogacy4all.com. We look forward to hearing from you.
Surrogacy4All is a unique international surrogacy service targeted at providing state of the art IVF and surrogacy services to Intended Parents irrespective of age, sex or color, at the lowest possible cost in the world.
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