How to Become a Surrogate in Minnesota
Most women who ask us about surrogacy in Minnesota have the same three questions: do I qualify, what does it pay, and how long does it take. Here are honest answers to all three — including the parts other sites leave out.
Find out if you qualify — 5 minutes, 12 questions
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Do you qualify to be a surrogate in Minnesota?
Most Minnesota programs use the same core criteria, drawn from American Society for Reproductive Medicine guidance. You need to meet essentially all of them — but several of the ones women assume are dealbreakers, aren’t.
The non-negotiables:
- You’ve given birth to at least one healthy child, full-term, and you’re raising that child. This is the one requirement no program waives. It shows your body can carry a pregnancy to term and that you understand what you’re agreeing to.
- You’re between 21 and 45. Most Minnesota programs prefer 21–40; some go to 42 with strong medical history.
- No nicotine. Cigarettes, vapes, patches, pouches — all of it. Most programs require 6–12 months clear and will test.
- No drug use, and no household drug use.
- You’re a US citizen or permanent resident.
- You’ll pass a medical screen, a psychological evaluation, and a background check — and so will your partner, if you have one.
The ones with more flexibility than you’d think:
- BMI. Most Minnesota clinics want 19–32, some up to 35. If you’re a few points over, you’re usually asked to reduce it before transfer, not turned away permanently.
- C-sections. Two is comfortably fine at most programs. Three is often still workable. What matters more than the count is how your scar healed and whether you had complications.
- Tubal ligation. Not a barrier at all. Gestational surrogacy transfers an embryo directly into your uterus, so your tubes aren’t involved.
- Endometriosis. Usually not disqualifying. Endometriosis affects conception more than it affects carrying — and you’ve already proven you can carry.
- Single, unmarried, or LGBTQ+. None of these affect your eligibility.
The ones that need a real conversation early:
- A history of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP). This recurs in a large share of subsequent pregnancies and carries real risk, so many programs decline or require maternal–fetal medicine clearance. Tell us up front rather than after screening.
- Preeclampsia or HELLP in a previous pregnancy. Depends heavily on how severe and how early. Mild, late-onset preeclampsia in a first pregnancy that didn’t recur is often acceptable. Severe or early-onset usually isn’t.
- Antidepressants or other psychotropic medication. Policies vary widely and are loosening, but many programs still want you off medication for 6–12 months, and some will accept stable use with a psychologist’s sign-off. Worth asking before you invest time in an application.
- Gestational diabetes. Diet-controlled and resolved is usually fine. Insulin-dependent, or ongoing glucose problems, usually isn’t.
- Still breastfeeding. You’ll need to be fully weaned, typically 2–3 months before starting medication.
| Requirement | Typical Minnesota standard | What actually matters |
|---|---|---|
| Age | 21–45 (many prefer 21–40) | Your obstetric history more than the number |
| Prior birth | At least one full-term, uncomplicated | Delivery records; whether you’re raising the child |
| BMI | 19–32, some to 35 | Trend and overall health, not a single reading |
| C-sections | Usually up to 2–3 | Healing, and whether there were complications |
| Nicotine | None, 6–12 months clear | Includes vaping; expect a test |
| Mental health | Stable, no active crisis | Current medication, and support at home |
| Residency | U.S. citizen or permanent resident | Minnesota residency helps logistically |
What surrogates are paid in Minnesota
The figures below come directly from our Minneapolis-based partner agency, current as of mid-2026. They aren’t estimates or industry averages, they are the real numbers.
First-time surrogates: $65,000+ total. Experienced surrogates: $75,000+ total.
That splits into two parts — your compensation, and your expenses.
Your compensation: a sample of $50,500
Applying to become a surrogate through SurroAdvisor lets you choose your fee structure rather than getting handed a fixed number, so this is a representative schedule rather than a quote. What’s unusual — and worth paying attention to — is that we publish when each payment lands, which almost no nobody else does.
| When you’re paid | Amount |
|---|---|
| At match | $1,250 |
| At medical clearance | $500 |
| At legal clearance | $1,000 |
| When you start medication | $500 |
| At embryo transfer | $1,000 |
| At hCG pregnancy confirmation | $1,000 |
| At heartbeat confirmation | $3,500 |
| Monthly during pregnancy (8 payments of $5,000) | $40,000 |
| Wellness package | $1,750 |
| Sample base total | $50,500 |
Experienced surrogates add $10,000, taking a comparable schedule to roughly $60,500.
Additional compensation applies for specific outcomes — a multiple pregnancy, a C-section, an invasive procedure. Those amounts are agreed beforehand.
Your payments are held in third-party escrow. This matters more than it sounds: it means the money for your journey is set aside by an independent company before you start, rather than depending on the intended parents paying on time.
Your expenses: $15,000–$20,000+ on top
Separate from your fee, and not deducted from it:
- $300 monthly allowance — incidentals, no receipts needed
- All lost wages, yours and your partner’s
- Travel costs, plus a travel companion
- Family allowance for every overnight you’re away
- Weekly bed rest allowance, if it comes to that
- Post-birth medical leave, 6–8 weeks
- Maternity clothing
- Medical insurance and all medical expenses
- Life insurance
- Your attorney’s fees — your own lawyer, chosen by you
- Mental health support
The bed rest allowance, the partner’s lost wages and the overnight family allowance are the ones women tend not to think to ask about, and they’re the ones that matter if a pregnancy gets complicated.
Three things about the money nobody else will tell you
It is very likely taxable. You’ll see claims online that surrogate base pay is a non-taxable “reimbursement for pain and suffering.” That theory exists, but the IRS has not endorsed it, most tax professionals treat surrogate compensation as taxable income, and how your contract is drafted matters a great deal. Some agencies issue a 1099. Budget as though it’s taxable and talk to a CPA before you sign anything. Getting this wrong can cost you thousands.
It can affect income-based benefits. If you or your household receive Minnesota Medical Assistance, MinnesotaCare, SNAP, housing assistance, or childcare assistance, surrogate compensation counts as income and may push you over an eligibility threshold. This catches people out, and almost nobody warns about it. Note too that Medical Assistance generally won’t cover a surrogate pregnancy — an appropriate policy is arranged for you as part of the journey. Sort this out before you match, not after.
Watch out for inflated numbers elsewhere. You will find Minnesota pages quoting base compensation of $70,000–$85,000 and total packages “up to $100,000.” Those figures don’t reflect what Minnesota agencies actually pay. We’d rather show you a real payment schedule you can hold us to than a range that makes us look generous and disappoints you in month three.
Is surrogacy legal in Minnesota?
Yes, gestational surrogacy is practised in Minnesota and has been for decades. But the honest answer is more nuanced than most pages admit, and the nuance matters.
Minnesota has no surrogacy statute. There is no law that legalises surrogacy and no law that prohibits it. It operates in the space in between, governed by contract law and by the Minnesota Parentage Act (Minn. Stat. §§ 257.51–.74), which was not written with surrogacy in mind. Minnesota’s Court of Appeals has explicitly declined to settle the question, treating surrogacy as a matter of public policy for the legislature to decide (A.L.S. v. E.A.G., Minn. Ct. App. 2010, unpublished).
In practice, this works. Properly drafted gestational surrogacy contracts, with independent legal counsel for every party, are generally enforced. Minnesota courts have extensive experience with these cases.
But county matters more than it should. Many Minnesota courts grant pre-birth parentage orders, which put the intended parents on the birth certificate from day one. Not all of them do. Where a pre-birth order isn’t available, parentage is established after birth under the Parentage Act, and non-genetic intended parents may need a second-parent or stepparent adoption. Your attorney will choose the venue for the proceedings, and that choice genuinely affects how smooth the paperwork is.
What this means for you specifically:
- You get your own lawyer. Independent counsel for the surrogate is standard practice and paid for by the intended parents. Do not sign a contract you haven’t had your own attorney review, and do not use theirs.
- Your medical autonomy is contractual, not statutory. You’ll see other Minnesota pages say surrogates “retain rights over their body and health decisions.” That protection comes from your contract, not from Minnesota law — which is exactly why the contract and your attorney matter. Read the clauses on termination, selective reduction, bed rest, and delivery method carefully, and negotiate anything you’re not comfortable with before signing.
- Uncompensated (“altruistic”) arrangements carry more legal risk, not less. Many Minnesota attorneys advise against them.
The legislation you should know about
This is the part almost no other Minnesota surrogacy page will tell you, and you’d rather hear it from us than find it yourself.
HF 2219 was introduced in the Minnesota House in March 2025. If it became law it would substantially change surrogacy in this state. It would:
- make operating a for-profit surrogacy agency a felony, punishable by up to $25,000 and two years
- require agencies to be licensed nonprofits
- declare traditional surrogacy contracts invalid
- require intended parents to have been married at least two years
- mandate single-embryo transfer — which would eliminate multiples in surrogacy, and with it the twins bonus in the table above
- require the Minnesota Department of Health to collect data on every arrangement
Where it actually stands: it was referred to the House Children and Families Finance and Policy committee in March 2025 and has not moved out of committee. An additional author was added in March 2026. It has not passed, it has had no hearing, and RESOLVE currently tracks it as inactive. An earlier and quite different bill, HF 3567, died with the 2023–24 legislature.
What we’d tell you if you asked us directly: nothing here stops you starting a journey in Minnesota today, and nothing in the bill would retroactively unwind a contract you’ve already signed — its provisions were written to apply to contracts entered into after its effective date. But surrogacy in Minnesota rests on the absence of legislation rather than the presence of it, which is a less stable foundation than a state like Illinois or Nevada. If that unsettles you, it’s a legitimate reason to ask more questions, and we’d rather you asked them now.
What the process actually looks like
Twelve to eighteen months from application to birth is realistic. Here’s how that time is actually spent.
Month 1 — Application and matching conversations. You apply, we review your history, and you talk to the agency. If your medical records raise questions, this is when they surface. Matching with intended parents typically takes one to three months, and you have a say — you are not assigned to anyone without your agreement.
Months 2–3 — Screening. Bloodwork, an infectious disease panel, a saline sonogram or hysteroscopy to check your uterus, and a psychological evaluation with a mental health professional experienced in third-party reproduction. Your travel costs and your time are reimbursed.
Month 4 — Contracts. Your attorney and theirs negotiate the agreement. Do not rush this stage. It is the stage that protects you.
Months 5–6 — Medication and transfer. Estrogen and progesterone to prepare your uterine lining, monitored by ultrasound and bloodwork. Then the transfer itself, which takes minutes and requires no anaesthesia. A pregnancy test about ten days later. Not every transfer works first time — this is normal and your contract covers repeat attempts.
Months 6–15 — Pregnancy. Care with your own OB or a practice the clinic refers you to. The intended parents may attend appointments; how much contact you have is something you agree in advance and can be anything from monthly texts to being at every scan.
Birth and after. You deliver at a Minnesota hospital of your choosing. The intended parents’ parentage is established by the order your attorney obtained. You recover for six to eight weeks with support and, if you want it, contact with the family you helped build.
The first step is 12 questions about your pregnancy history. If you’re not a fit, we’ll tell you straight away rather than putting you through screening.
The risks, honestly
Any page that lists only the rewards is selling you something. Here is the real picture.
Physical. You’re taking on every risk of pregnancy again: gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, hyperemesis, preterm labour, haemorrhage, and the possibility of a C-section you didn’t plan. IVF pregnancies carry a modestly elevated rate of some complications. If you had a difficult pregnancy before, it can happen again. Maternal mortality in the U.S. is low but not zero, and you deserve to have that said plainly rather than skipped.
The medication is not nothing. Hormone injections cause bruising, mood swings, headaches and bloating for weeks. Most surrogates describe it as manageable and irritating rather than awful. Some find it harder than that.
Emotional. Most gestational surrogates report they don’t experience the grief people expect, largely because the child isn’t genetically theirs and the framing is clear from the start. But postpartum depression is as possible for you as for any birth, and there’s a particular kind of flatness some women describe after a journey ends and the intensity stops. A good agency provides counselling; use it.
Relational. This affects your partner and your children. Your kids will have questions. Your partner is signing paperwork too. Families that talk it through in advance do much better than families that don’t.
Failed transfers and loss. Not every transfer takes. Miscarriage happens in surrogacy at roughly the rate it happens generally. It is a hard thing to carry when it wasn’t your pregnancy to lose, and it’s the most under-discussed part of this.
Time. Appointments, travel, medication schedules, and a recovery you’ll be managing alongside your own children. Twelve to eighteen months is a long commitment.
The relationship may not be what you hoped. Some surrogates stay close to the families they carried for. Some drift. Some find the intended parents distant or the match awkward. This is normal and worth knowing in advance so you don’t read it as failure.
How we make money
Plain version: SurroAdvisor is free for you and always will be. When we match you with an agency and you’re accepted into their programme, they pay us a fee. You are never charged, and your compensation is not reduced because you came through us.
We think you should know that, and we think it should change how you read this page. It’s also why we only work with just one, trusted, Minneapolis-based, all-female agency partner. Rather than listing everyone who’ll pay us: we’d rather send you somewhere we’d send a friend, in fact we worked with them ourselves for our own surrogacy journeys.
What we do that contacting an agency directly doesn’t:
- We tell you if you don’t qualify before you spend six weeks on an application
- We know which programmes will look at a third C-section, a BMI of 34, or a history of preeclampsia — the questions where a blanket “no” online isn’t the real answer
- We don’t put you into a screening funnel to see if you stick
Common questions from Minnesota surrogates
Can I be a surrogate if I’ve had a C-section?
Yes. Two prior C-sections is standard at most Minnesota programmes and three is often still workable. What the clinic is really assessing is how your uterus healed, whether you had complications like a placental abnormality or heavy bleeding, and how much scar tissue is visible on imaging. They’ll want your operative reports, so start gathering them now — they take longer to get from hospital records than people expect.
Can I be a surrogate if I had cholestasis of pregnancy?
Usually not, and you should know that early rather than after screening. Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy recurs in a large proportion of subsequent pregnancies and is associated with increased risk to the baby, so most programmes either decline candidates with an ICP history or require sign-off from a maternal–fetal medicine specialist first. It isn’t an automatic no everywhere, but treat it as a serious hurdle and raise it in your first conversation.
Can I be a surrogate with Hashimoto’s or a thyroid condition?
Very often yes. If your hypothyroidism is well controlled on levothyroxine and your TSH sits in the target range, most clinics will proceed — thyroid function is monitored closely in any pregnancy and especially in an IVF cycle. Bring recent labs. Poorly controlled or newly diagnosed thyroid disease will need to be stabilised first.
Can I be a surrogate with endometriosis?
Usually yes, and this surprises people. Endometriosis primarily affects getting pregnant, not carrying a pregnancy, and you’ve already demonstrated you can carry to term. The clinic will check your uterine cavity as part of standard screening. Severe endometriosis with significant uterine involvement is a different conversation.
Can I be a surrogate if I’m on antidepressants?
It depends on the programme, and this is genuinely worth asking before you apply. Some Minnesota programmes require you to be off psychotropic medication for six to twelve months. Others will accept stable, long-term SSRI use with clearance from the psychologist who evaluates you. Do not stop taking your medication in order to qualify — talk to your prescriber and to us first.
I’ve had my tubes tied. Does that disqualify me?
No. Gestational surrogacy places an embryo directly into your uterus through IVF, so your fallopian tubes play no part. The same goes for most forms of long-term contraception, though an IUD will need removing and a Depo-Provera injection needs a wash-out period before your cycle can be tracked.
What if my BMI is a bit over the limit?
Most Minnesota clinics want under 32, with some flexibility to 35. If you’re at 34 or 36, the usual outcome is not rejection but a conversation about reaching the threshold before transfer, with the rest of your screening proceeding meanwhile. It’s worth applying rather than assuming you’ll be turned down.
Will surrogate pay affect my Medical Assistance, MinnesotaCare, or SNAP?
It can, and this is the question we most wish women asked earlier. Surrogate compensation is income, and receiving it may take your household over the eligibility threshold for income-based Minnesota benefits. Separately, Medical Assistance generally won’t cover a surrogate pregnancy — the intended parents arrange an appropriate health policy for you. If your family relies on any of these programmes, get advice on the timing and structure before you match.
Do I have to pay tax on it?
Assume yes and plan accordingly. The “non-taxable reimbursement” argument you’ll find online is unsettled and the IRS has not blessed it; most tax professionals treat surrogate compensation as taxable income, and some agencies issue a 1099. Set money aside and speak to a CPA before your first payment, not after.
Does being a surrogate affect my own fertility?
There’s no evidence that carrying a gestational surrogacy pregnancy reduces your future fertility, and plenty of surrogates go on to have more children of their own. The risks are the risks of any pregnancy: a C-section adds scar tissue, and a serious complication like a haemorrhage could have lasting consequences. That’s the honest framing.
Can I choose the intended parents?
Yes. Matching goes both ways and you can decline a match that doesn’t feel right, including after a first conversation. Think in advance about what matters to you — how much contact you want during pregnancy, whether you want an ongoing relationship afterwards, and how you’d both handle a difficult prenatal diagnosis. Mismatches on that last question cause more trouble than anything else.
What if I change my mind?
Before embryo transfer you can withdraw, and your contract will set out how. After you’re pregnant, you cannot be compelled to hand over a child you’re carrying — but you would be in breach of contract, with financial consequences your agreement specifies. This is precisely why you have your own attorney and why the contract stage shouldn’t be rushed.
How long until I’m actually pregnant?
Realistically six to eight months from applying: one to three months to match, six to eight weeks of screening, four to six weeks for contracts, then a medicated cycle. Some journeys move faster. Some take a second or third transfer.
How much contact do surrogates have with the family afterwards?
It varies enormously and you should decide what you want rather than defaulting. Some surrogates exchange birthday photos for years. Some see the family regularly. Some conclude the journey warmly and move on. Agree the expectation before matching so nobody is disappointed.
Ready to find out where you stand?
If you’ve carried a healthy pregnancy, you’re between 21 and 45, you don’t use nicotine, and you’re raising your own child, you’re likely eligible — and the questionnaire will tell you in about five minutes.
If there’s something in your history you’re unsure about, that’s exactly what the questions are for. We’d rather tell you no early than waste six weeks of your time.
Check your eligibility
12 questions · about 5 minutes · free · no obligation
We won’t call you unless you ask us to. Your answers go to our team and to the agency you’re matched with, and nowhere else.
More on surrogacy:
What is a surrogate mother? · Gestational vs traditional surrogacy · Surrogate disqualifications
Nearby states: Wisconsin · Iowa · North Dakota
This page is general information, not medical, legal, or tax advice. Eligibility is determined by the fertility clinic and physician overseeing your care. Speak to a Minnesota reproductive attorney before signing any agreement, and to a CPA before receiving compensation.