Surrogacy in the UK
UK surrogacy legal information, advice and news from expert surrogacy lawyers
Learn more about UK surrogacy law from expert surrogacy solicitors. Find legal guidance, advice and the latest news of UK surrogacy law.
Surrogacy in the UK – from the UK’s leading surrogacy lawyers
Surrogacy is both legal and possible in the UK, even if the laws are outdated and fail to reccognise the right people as the legal parents when a child is born.
Our UK surrogacy content hub gives free information and resources on UK legal issues for UK surrogates and for parents conceiving children through surrogacy in the UK.
Expert UK law guides from our Knowledge Centre
How the law regulates UK surrogacy
UK law makes surrogacy agreements unenforceable, and restricts the ways in which intended parents and surrogates can find each other. Find out more about what the law says and how it affects UK surrogacy on the ground.
Parental orders
UK parents who have a child through surrogacy are expected to apply for a UK parental order after their child is born. Find out why you need one, what the court is assessing and how the process works
Legal rights in the post-birth period
What really happens on the ground if parents are caring for their child without being the legal parents? Find out more about how UK law works in practice, and what rights everyone has
Surrogacy disputes in UK law
What if a surrogate changes her mind? It happens very rarely, but read more about how such cases have played out on the ground, and how the UK family court has managed them.
UK law and surrogacy law reform
Where did UK surrogacy law come from, and why does it need to change? Read more about how UK surrogacy law got written, and the reasons why it needs to be modernised.
Latest news about UK surrogacy
Read our most recent updates about what’s going on with UK surrogacy
Top 5 UK surrogacy myths – Article published in Fertility Road
We were asked to write an article for Fertility Road magazine about surrogacy law in the UK. It corrects our top 5 surrogacy myths: 1. Your surrogate might keep the baby 2. Going overseas for surrogacy is better because you will be the legal parents from birth 3. It's...
NGA quoted in the Evening Standard – Why surrogate pregnancies are on the rise
The Evening Standard has featured an article about the rise of surrogacy, looking at the options in the UK and overseas and the costs for intended parents. Our director Helen Prosser is quoted extensively throughout the article: According to Helen Prosser, co-owner...
UK Court of Appeal rules that baby should live with surrogate after ‘Facebook’ arrangement ends in dispute
The UK Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by a same-sex couple against a High Court ruling last year that their gestational surrogate could keep the baby she carried for them. The couple met the surrogate on a Facebook group and, after a brief meeting at Burger...
UK surrogate vetoes legal parenthood for biological parents despite having no wish to be involved in children’s lives
The High Court has ruled that it cannot award legal parenthood to the biological parents of twins born through a UK surrogacy arrangement, because the surrogate who carried them has refused to give her permission. Under UK law, surrogacy agreements are unenforceable...
NGA quoted in the Independent – NHS hospitals forcing surrogate families to hand over newborn babies in car parks
Today's Independent has featured a news piece about problems experienced by parents through UK surrogacy caused by the lack of at-birth legal parenthood, resulting in NHS hospitals forcing surrogates to hand over babies to their parents in hospital car parks rather...
High Court rules baby should stay with surrogate after ‘Facebook’ surrogacy arrangement ends in bitter dispute
High Court judge Ms Justice Russell has ruled that a baby boy should remain living with the gestational surrogate who carried him, after a UK surrogacy arrangement went badly wrong. The case is a cautionary tale of the risks for all sides where informal surrogacy...
NGA case reported in the Telegraph – Gay couple who paid surrogate mothers declared legal parents
The decision of the High Court in the leading NGA case of Re A, B and C (2016) has been reported in today's Daily Telegraph. The case involved a gay couple who engaged in three different surrogacy arrangements via a UK surrogacy Facebook group, and misled the family...
Are contracts and pre-birth orders the way forward for UK surrogacy? – Article published in International Family Law
Natalie and NGA paralegal Melissa Elsworth have written an article for International Family Law about the future of UK surrogacy law. They consider the proposals recently put to Parliament by Jessica Lee MP for a new legal structure for UK surrogacy, arguing that a...
High Court awards care of baby girl to gay couple – NGA leading case and media coverage
NGA has been in the news this week, having represented a same-sex couple awarded main care of their baby daughter after a 15 month High Court battle. In H v S (Surrogacy Agreement) 2015, Ms Justice Russell decided that it was in the girl’s best interests to live with...
NGA quoted in today’s Telegraph – how to have a baby by surrogate in the UK
Today's Telegraph includes a feature about surrogacy in the UK entitled 'How to have a baby by surrogate in the UK' following an interview with Natalie to answer various questions, including: Is surrogacy right for you? There are lots of reasons why a couple would use...
How we can help you with UK surrogacy
Top tier legal advice and representation
NGA Law has more experience of surrogacy law than any other UK lawyers. With everything you need in one place, we can help with early UK legal advice (including support with clinics), parental order applications, British passports, wills, and more.
Practical help through Brilliant Beginnings
Our directors founded non-profit Brilliant Beginnings in 2013, and we work closely alongside the BB team to support surrogates and intended parents who want experienced, thorough professional support for a safe, ethical surrogacy journey.
The Brilliant Beginnings Knowledge Centre
Our sibling organisation, Brilliant Beginnings, is a non-profit surrogacy agency, founded by the NGA Law directors in 2013 to support safe ethical surrogacy.
It has a free online Knowledge Centre with a wealth of information and resources about the practicalities of surrogacy in the UK.
Still have questions?
If you need legal advice or want to make an appointment, feel free to get in touch. We offer meetings in-person in London or in the New Forest, as well as online.
We are here to help however we can.