The Cove state guide
Statutory frameworkDelaware expressly recognizes qualifying gestational carrier agreements. Its statutory process addresses the agreement, intended parentage and safeguards for the carrier.
See the rules for your familyYour family. Your legal pathway.
Start with your situation, then read the conditions. A route can depend on marriage, a genetic connection, residence, and how the court establishes each parent’s rights. More than one row may apply to your family.
Delaware’s law in force on October 13, 2026 expressly allows one person to become an intended parent through a gestational agreement. A genetic connection is not required. The intended parent must complete the required mental-health evaluation and independent legal representation, and the court must have jurisdiction.
Sources 1The law expressly authorizes gestational agreements for unmarried couples as well as married couples. Both intended parents should sign and be covered by the parentage petition; sharing a genetic relationship with the child is not required. Revised provisions take effect December 6, 2026, so agreements spanning that date need a transition check.
Sources 12Delaware’s intended-parent definition expressly includes intended fathers, including two fathers, and the agreement framework does not require their own gametes. Married fathers must both execute the agreement. Unmarried fathers are also covered, with each person’s intended-parent status documented before transfer and confirmed through the appropriate court process.
Sources 1Delaware expressly includes intended mothers within its gestational-agreement framework, including two mothers. Neither mother has to provide an egg for the statutory route. If married, both must sign; if unmarried, both should be identified as intended parents. This guide concerns a separate carrier, rather than one partner carrying for the couple.
Sources 1The current Act provides several ways to establish jurisdiction over nonresident parties, including a Delaware carrier, embryo transfer, consent to jurisdiction, or an expected Delaware birth. It does not impose a citizenship condition in its intended-parent eligibility section. Confirm jurisdiction, applicable execution-date law, and home-country recognition before treatment.
Sources 12How to read these answers: “Recognized route” means the cited law or legal practice provides a pathway for that family situation. “Conditions apply” flags an additional eligibility or parentage issue. “Case-specific” means the answer depends on the facts or court practice. “Significant restriction” points to a legal obstacle explained in the answer.
These categories describe legal pathways, not a clinic’s medical criteria or a guaranteed outcome. For transgender or nonbinary parents, counsel should also examine any sex-specific wording and how the planned use of eggs, sperm, or embryos affects the route.
State law provides a gestational surrogacy framework. Eligibility, agreements, payments, and court requirements still differ.
This guide covers gestational surrogacy, where the surrogate does not provide the egg. Traditional surrogacy follows different rules. A state’s category does not determine whether your particular arrangement qualifies.
Current law expressly covers a single person, an unmarried couple, or a married couple. When an intended parent is married or in a civil union, both spouses must execute the gestational agreement. Counsel should confirm which rules apply when an agreement extends across the December 6, 2026 amendments.
The current eligibility provision allows intended parents whether or not genetically related to the child. The gestational carrier does not supply the egg. Document donor arrangements and intended parentage together, rather than assuming a genetic link is either mandatory or enough by itself to establish legal parentage.
Delaware has specific jurisdiction provisions for nonresidents rather than a single universal intended-parent residence period. They include consent, a resident agreement party, embryo transfer in Delaware, and an expected birth there. Counsel must establish a valid jurisdictional basis for the actual agreement and parentage proceeding.
A written agreement must satisfy the eligibility, independent-counsel and execution requirements before embryo transfer. The agreement must address the parties' responsibilities from birth.
A parentage order can be entered before birth for assisted reproduction, supported by the required affidavits and gestational agreement, with enforcement postponed until birth. The intended parents assume parental responsibilities at birth. The December 6, 2026 revisions should be checked for later agreements and proceedings.
Reasonable compensation and related expenses may be agreed. The law requires independent escrow for agreed compensation before covered procedures begin.
A state’s parentage process and your home country’s recognition of that parentage are separate questions. Before matching, have counsel in both countries confirm the legal route, the child’s citizenship and passport requirements, and the documents needed to return home.
Plan who will obtain certified court orders and birth certificates, whether translations or authentication are needed, and how much time to allow after birth. A favorable state-law answer does not settle immigration or travel requirements.
International parentage recognition: HCCH (opens in a new tab)Learn how Cove helps intended parents explore their options and keep the journey organized.
Explore Cove for parentsSources checked October 13, 2026. Check the source’s effective date as well as its publication date.
General information, not legal advice. Laws and court practices can change. A reproductive-law attorney should confirm the rules for your circumstances before you sign an agreement or begin treatment.
