Do Surrogates Get Paid Monthly? | Worldwide Surrogacy

A range does not show when the money arrives, so this page is a schedule: every payment below is listed with the amount and the thing that has to happen before it is paid. The published version is on surrogate compensation and benefits.

Base compensation is $65,000 to $75,000 for a first-time surrogate, total compensation reaches up to $95,000 or more with the additional payments below, and expenses are reimbursed separately on top of both. How the three differ is on how to compare surrogate compensation offers.

The Worldwide Surrogacy payment schedule, stage by stage

The schedule runs in six groups: payments before pregnancy, the start of base compensation at a confirmed heartbeat, payments during pregnancy, payments after the birth, payments made only if a specific circumstance arises, and the costs the intended parents pay directly, which are not compensation at all.

Before pregnancy, from medical clearance to embryo transfer

$500 is paid as a medical clearance bonus once you are medically cleared at the clinic, and a further $500 contract signing bonus is paid later when the contracts are signed.
The $350 monthly allowance begins once the legal contracts are signed, and it runs until four weeks after delivery, or earlier if your contract ends for any reason.
$1,000 is paid for each embryo transfer, so a second transfer pays a second $1,000.
$500 is paid for a cycle canceled after the final lining check, and $500 for a mock cycle where one is performed.
Your lost wages are covered for required absences from work, as specified in your agreement.

At pregnancy confirmation, the month your base compensation starts

Base compensation of $65,000 to $75,000 for a first-time surrogate begins once your pregnancy is medically confirmed by heartbeat, and it is paid in monthly installments across the pregnancy.

You request your preferred base compensation before the contract phase, as long as it falls within standard industry ranges. It is worth knowing that while you still have room to ask.

During pregnancy, what arrives every month and what arrives by event

One base installment arrives each month once your pregnancy is confirmed.
The $350 monthly allowance continues throughout the pregnancy.
Your lost wages are covered for appointments, procedures and required absences, and your spouse's where your agreement provides for them. Lost time counts as well as lost pay, so a paid time off day used for the journey is reimbursed at your gross daily wage.
$150 for each 24-hour period of childcare is paid where your care provider recommends it, including during bed rest.
$150 a week for housekeeping is paid on the same basis.
$1,000 is paid if an amniocentesis is performed.
$500 is paid for any invasive procedure not otherwise listed, meaning one requiring anesthesia or an overnight stay.

After the birth, the final installment and what closes out the schedule

The final base installment is paid after the birth.
$5,000 is added if the delivery is by cesarean.
$10,000 is added if you carried more than one baby, whether that was twins or more.
$350 a week is paid for pumping breast milk where that is agreed with the intended parents, and the supplies and shipping are covered at actual cost.
Six weeks of lost wages after delivery give you time to recover before returning to work.
$1,000 covers psychological counseling and support during the pregnancy and after the birth.
The $350 monthly allowance ends with a final payment four weeks after delivery.

Paid as needed, the payments that arrive only if the circumstance arises

Most surrogates will never see most of these.

$500 is paid for a D&C or D&E.
$2,000 is paid for a selective reduction or termination.
$5,000 is paid for partial loss of reproductive organs, and $10,000 for full loss.

You have complete bodily autonomy throughout your pregnancy, you choose your own medical providers, and the decision to end or continue a pregnancy is yours. The $2,000 line above is compensation for an additional invasive procedure and the recovery that follows it. It is not a payment attached to a decision. Every amount above is taken from Worldwide Surrogacy's own published schedule.

What the intended parents pay separately, on top of your compensation

These costs are not compensation, and they are never inside the base figure. The intended parents carry these costs, so that you do not pay them and then wait.

Medical expenses are covered in full, including everything related to the pregnancy and the IVF treatment, and all medical expenses for the newborn.
Health insurance is a surrogacy-friendly policy paid for in full by the intended parents. If your current policy does not cover surrogacy, one is provided at no cost to you.
A life insurance policy worth $750,000 is procured with Worldwide Surrogacy's help.
Your own independent attorney's fees are paid by the intended parents, and you choose the attorney.
Travel is covered as economy airfare for you and a companion, a hotel, and car service or an economy rental.
$75 per person per day covers food while you travel.
Mileage is reimbursed at the federal reimbursement rate for round-trip travel.

Everything else is reimbursed as it is incurred, on top of your compensation rather than out of it. Our guide to expenses that are covered during surrogacy covers what to submit and how.

What is paid monthly and what is not

Base compensation is paid in monthly installments across the pregnancy from the point your pregnancy is confirmed, and the $350 allowance is monthly from contract signing. What is not monthly is anything that depends on a circumstance: a transfer fee is paid per transfer, a cesarean payment if there is a cesarean, lost wages for the hours you missed.

The installments are the agreed base divided evenly, so $65,000 to $75,000 works out to roughly $6,500 to $7,500 a month alongside the $350 allowance. How many installments there are is set in your own agreement.

Why base compensation starts at the pregnancy test rather than at the transfer

Base compensation starts once a pregnancy is confirmed, because compensation in surrogacy is earned in stages and reaching a stage is what makes the next portion of it yours. The first installment is usually split across two of those stages: half when a blood test confirms the pregnancy, half a couple of weeks later when an ultrasound finds a heartbeat. From there the payments run monthly, in the same way that signing the agreement starts the allowance.

The law and professional guidance describe what this compensation is for. New York allows it "based on medical risks, physical discomfort, inconvenience and the responsibilities they are undertaking," and requires that it "must be reasonable and negotiated in good faith between the parties" (N.Y. Fam. Ct. Act § 581-502). The American Society for Reproductive Medicine, whose standards Worldwide Surrogacy follows in screening, adds that compensation "should not be contingent on the birth of a healthy child" (ASRM Ethics Committee, 2023). How each stage vests, and what is owed if a journey ends at one, is on do surrogates get paid if they miscarry.

Who holds the money, and how surrogacy escrow works

Worldwide Surrogacy does not hold escrow funds. Intended parents are referred to reputable escrow agencies whose job it is to protect the funds and to make sure payments are made according to the Gestational Surrogacy Agreement. The escrow agency holds the funds and releases payments under the agreement, so your payment does not depend on anyone remembering to send it that month.

In Connecticut, escrow is required by statute: compensation "shall be placed in an escrow account prior to the commencement of any medical procedure," other than the medical and mental health evaluations (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-523(9)). In states without such a statute, the protection comes from your agreement. We have written more on how surrogacy escrow protects your money.

Does the payment schedule change from state to state?

Your base compensation is not set by state law. It is set in your Gestational Surrogacy Agreement, and the amount can vary with the state you live in, along with your experience and your circumstances.

The law around the money also changes by state. New York provides that base compensation "shall not exceed the duration of the pregnancy and recuperative period of eight weeks after the birth," while supplemental compensation for complications and lost wages may be paid "after the recuperative period and until twelve months after the birth" (N.Y. Fam. Ct. Act § 581-502). In states with no statute on any of this, every protection on this page comes from your agreement.