The Cove state guide
Statutory frameworkNew Jersey's Gestational Carrier Agreement Act establishes a legal framework for qualifying arrangements. Its parentage route applies without requiring the intended parent to have a genetic connection to the child.
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.
New Jersey expressly includes single people in its definition of intended parent. A single parent can use donor gametes and the gestational-agreement process, provided the required psychological evaluation, legal representation, and agreement requirements are met. A complaint for parentage follows confirmation of pregnancy and identifies the intended parent for birth registration.
Sources 1New Jersey expressly includes couples who are not married, civil-union partners, or domestic partners. Both people need to qualify and execute the agreement to be intended parents. An unmarried partner does not become a legal parent simply by being in the relationship or helping pay for treatment.
Sources 1Two intended fathers can use New Jersey’s gestational-agreement process without both having a genetic relationship to the child. The statute expressly covers married and unmarried intended parents. Married, civil-union, or domestic partners must both qualify and sign as intended parents; unmarried fathers should likewise both execute the agreement and be covered by the order.
Sources 1Two intended mothers using a separate carrier can both be recognized through a compliant agreement and parentage order, including with donor eggs or embryos. Neither marriage nor both mothers’ genetics is required. Each must qualify and sign; when one partner carries the pregnancy herself, a different assisted-reproduction analysis applies.
Sources 1New Jersey’s intended-parent eligibility provisions do not impose a United States citizenship requirement. The parentage complaint can be filed in the county of anticipated birth or a carrier’s or intended parent’s residence, subject to jurisdiction. Parents living abroad should coordinate the order and birth certificate with separate immigration, passport, and home-country recognition advice.
Sources 1How 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.
The Act expressly includes single people and unmarried couples. If an intended parent is married, in a civil union, or in a domestic partnership, both partners must meet the eligibility requirements and sign as intended parents. Outside those relationships, a second person must independently qualify and execute the agreement.
New Jersey’s agreement-based parentage route does not require an intended-parent genetic connection. The carrier must not provide her own egg. Donor material and each intended parent’s role should be documented, and counsel should check donor agreements because the Act separately addresses the donor’s lack of parental rights.
The parentage complaint is filed after pregnancy in the county of anticipated birth, the intended parent’s residence, or the carrier’s residence. The Act does not prescribe a universal intended-parent residency period or citizenship requirement. Those facts still need review for court jurisdiction and any birth outside New Jersey.
The agreement must meet the Act's eligibility, independent-counsel and written-consent requirements before covered treatment begins. It must clearly allocate the parties' financial and parental responsibilities.
After pregnancy is achieved, intended parents file a complaint with the agreement-related affidavits, attorney representations, and medical-facility statement. A qualifying order names the intended parents. After birth, the order and birth-certificate application go to the State Registrar; arrange those final steps rather than treating the contract alone as the birth record.
The Act expressly addresses reasonable expenses, including qualifying medical, legal and living expenses. Have New Jersey counsel review the payment structure instead of assuming that every proposed fee is covered.
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.
