How Do Surrogacy Agreements Work in Washington?

Building a family through surrogacy is one of the most hopeful decisions a person can make, and Washington law now gives that decision a clear, protective legal framework. Understanding how a surrogacy agreement works before you sign one can save years of uncertainty and protect everyone involved. For a focused explanation, read How Does Involuntary Commitment Work for a Minor in Washington.

For related help, see family-law help, Washington parenting-plan guide, and child-support guide.

The Law That Governs Surrogacy in Washington

For a long time Washington viewed compensated surrogacy with suspicion. That changed with the Uniform Parentage Act, which took effect in 2019 and set out detailed rules for how surrogacy arrangements must be formed and enforced. The surrogacy provisions live in the Uniform Parentage Act at RCW 26.26A.700 through 26.26A.785. Those sections do something important: when the parties follow the requirements, the agreement is legally recognized, and the intended parents, not the surrogate, are treated as the child's parents. The statute defines a surrogacy agreement as an agreement between one or more intended parents and a woman who is not an intended parent, in which she agrees to become pregnant through assisted reproduction and the agreement provides that each intended parent is a parent of the resulting child, per RCW 26.26A.700.

Gestational Versus Genetic Surrogacy

Washington recognizes two kinds of surrogacy, and the difference matters. In a gestational surrogacy, the woman carrying the pregnancy uses gametes that are not her own, so she has no genetic connection to the child, as defined in RCW 26.26A.700. In a genetic surrogacy, the woman uses her own egg, which means she is genetically related to the child. Both are permitted under Washington law, but genetic surrogacy carries additional safeguards and different termination and consent rules because of that genetic link. Most surrogacy arrangements today are gestational, which tends to be the more legally straightforward path. If you are weighing the two, it helps to understand that the added protections around genetic surrogacy exist precisely because the law takes the genetic connection seriously.

Who Is Eligible to Enter a Surrogacy Agreement

Not everyone can serve as a surrogate, and the intended parents must clear a bar as well. Washington sets specific eligibility requirements in RCW 26.26A.705. A woman acting as a surrogate must be at least twenty-one years old, must have already given birth to at least one child, and cannot enter into more than two surrogacy agreements that result in the birth of children. She must complete a medical evaluation by a licensed physician and a mental health consultation by a licensed mental health professional. Critically, she must have her own independent legal representation throughout the arrangement.

Intended parents face parallel requirements under the same section. Each intended parent, whether or not genetically related to the child, must be at least twenty-one, must complete a medical evaluation and a mental health consultation, and must have independent legal representation of their own. The requirement that each side have separate lawyers is not a formality. It is one of the core protections built into the statute, and Washington goes a step further by requiring the intended parents to pay for the surrogate's independent legal representation, as set out in RCW 26.26A.710.

What a Valid Agreement Must Contain

An agreement does not become enforceable simply because everyone signs it. Washington requires the arrangement to be formed a particular way. Under RCW 26.26A.710, at least one party must be a Washington resident, or a medical or mental health step under the agreement must occur in Washington. Each intended parent, the surrogate, and the surrogate's spouse, if she has one, must all be parties and must sign the agreement in a written record. Each signature must be notarized or witnessed, and both sides must have the independent counsel described above. The agreement also has to be signed before any medical procedure related to the surrogacy takes place, other than the required evaluations.

The content of the agreement matters just as much as the process. RCW 26.26A.715 spells out what a compliant agreement must say. The surrogate agrees to attempt to become pregnant through assisted reproduction. She and her spouse, if any, give up any claim to parentage of the child. Each intended parent agrees to become the exclusive parent immediately at birth and to take financial responsibility for the child from birth, regardless of the number of children born or their health. The agreement must disclose how the intended parents will cover the surrogate's surrogacy-related expenses and the child's medical costs. It must also preserve the surrogate's right to make all health and welfare decisions about herself and her pregnancy, and any provision that tries to take that away is void. The same statute confirms that an agreement may provide for payment of consideration and reasonable expenses, which is what makes compensated surrogacy possible in Washington.

How the Agreement Establishes Parentage

The whole point of a properly formed surrogacy agreement is certainty about who the parents are. When the agreement complies with the statute, RCW 26.26A.715 provides that the intended parent or parents become the exclusive parents of the child immediately on birth and assume financial responsibility at that same moment. The surrogate and her spouse have no claim to parentage. Washington also protects the arrangement against life changes: under RCW 26.26A.720, if either the surrogate or an intended parent marries, divorces, or has a change in marital status after the agreement is signed, that change does not disturb the validity of the agreement or the parentage it establishes, unless the agreement says otherwise.

Because these matters can be sensitive, Washington keeps the court file private. Under RCW 26.26A.725, a petition and related documents filed in a surrogacy proceeding are generally not open to inspection by anyone other than the parties, the child, their attorneys, and the state registrar of vital statistics.

Bringing It Home to Snohomish County Families

For families in Snohomish County, the practical takeaway is that surrogacy in Washington is workable and protected when it is done right, but the protections only apply if the arrangement follows the statute carefully. A single missed requirement, an agreement signed after a medical procedure, or a failure to arrange independent counsel can undermine the certainty the law is designed to provide. Surrogacy sits at the crossroads of family law and reproductive planning, and small details early on shape the security of the parent-child relationship for a lifetime.

If you are considering surrogacy as an intended parent or as a surrogate, the Law Office of Chad Foster can help you understand your rights and obligations under Washington law and guide you through building an agreement that holds up. Reach out to start the conversation.