The Cove state guide
Statutory frameworkIllinois has an established Gestational Surrogacy Act, with important amendments in 2025 and 2026. Current law no longer requires an intended parent’s genetic connection, and a qualifying agreement provides a statutory route to parentage at birth.
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.
Illinois’s updated Act allows an individual intended parent; marriage is not required. The intended parent must be at least 21 and satisfy the incorporated infertility definition, which includes inability to reproduce as a single person without medical intervention. Independent Illinois counsel and the Act’s screening and execution requirements still apply.
Sources 45Unmarried intended parents can use Illinois’s statutory framework. Each intended parent must satisfy eligibility and consent requirements and be included in the agreement and parentage documents. The updated Act no longer requires a genetic link, but that does not remove evaluations, independent representation, or required pre-birth certifications.
Sources 43Illinois’s statutory route includes gay intended parents, whether married or unmarried. Its incorporated infertility definition covers inability to reproduce with a partner without medical intervention, and the updated Act permits donated gametes without requiring either father’s genetic connection. Both intended fathers must complete the applicable agreement and parentage requirements.
Sources 453Lesbian intended parents can use Illinois’s gestational-surrogacy framework when statutory eligibility is met. Since the 2025 amendment, supplying an egg is not a condition of intended parentage. Both women should be included in the agreement and certifications, with the infertility definition and required evaluations addressed before medical procedures begin.
Sources 453Illinois permits parentage proceedings involving nonresidents when statutory jurisdiction exists, including specified Illinois treatment or birth connections. The reviewed eligibility provisions do not impose U.S. citizenship as a condition. Foreign families should separately verify home-country recognition, nationality, and travel documents; Illinois parentage does not decide those questions.
Sources 64How 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.
An intended parent need not be married to qualify. If an intended parent is married, the spouse is included under the Act and both must execute the agreement. Counsel should resolve all intended parents’ identities and marital circumstances before any covered medical procedures begin.
The updated Act removed the former requirement that at least one intended parent contribute a gamete. Donated eggs, sperm, or embryos can therefore fit the statutory route. The carrier must not be genetically related, and intended parents must meet all remaining eligibility and documentation requirements.
Illinois’s jurisdiction statute includes consent to assisted reproduction or related medical procedures in Illinois, an Illinois birth or anticipated birth, and specified Illinois mental-health consultation. Nonresident families need counsel to establish an applicable basis; there is no blanket rule that intended parents must live in Illinois.
The agreement must meet current execution, eligibility, independent Illinois counsel, and financial-disclosure requirements. The law protects the surrogate’s health and pregnancy decision-making.
Compliant agreements and pre-birth certifications can establish parentage without a separate lawsuit. The updated Act also provides for a parentage judgment before or after birth. Coordinate the physician and attorney certifications, hospital submission, and vital records, using current law rather than older genetic-link forms.
Compensation is permitted, subject to escrow requirements, including an independent bonded escrow agent. Counsel should use the current version of §25, including the 2026 amendments.
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.
