How long have you been arranging surrogacy journeys, and how many babies were born through your agency in the last three years?

Years in business is easy to inflate with a website; recent completed births are not. A brand-new agency or one with only a handful of deliveries per year may still be learning on your journey.

Do you screen and match your own surrogates in-house, or do you source candidates from other agencies, databases or Facebook groups?

Some agencies charge a full fee while acting as a broker for someone else's roster, which means they cannot vouch for how she was screened. It also tells you who actually supports her during the pregnancy.

Can you give me a written all-in estimate for a journey like ours, split into your fee and the pass-through costs?

Quoted totals vary wildly because agencies bundle different things. A breakdown that separates the agency fee from compensation, legal, insurance and escrow lets you compare two agencies honestly and spot which one is keeping IVF or insurance costs outside the headline number.

When is your agency fee due, is it paid in installments tied to milestones, and what portion is refundable at each stage?

An agency that wants the full fee up front has little financial incentive to keep working if your match dissolves. Milestone-based payments align their effort with your outcome.

Walk me through your screening. What is already finished before a candidate's profile reaches us?

Strong agencies complete the records request, background check, psychological evaluation, home visit and insurance review before you ever see a profile, so you are not paying for a match a clinic later rejects. Vagueness here tends to show up months on as a failed medical clearance.

Practical & Life Logistics

Questions to Ask a Surrogacy Agency

For intended parents interviewing surrogacy agencies before signing anything. The questions cover how the cost breaks down, how long matching actually takes, how surrogates are screened, who holds the escrow, insurance and legal representation, and what happens when a journey goes wrong.

20 questions, each with the reason to ask it · includes a conversation guide

Open any question to see why it works.

1
How long have you been arranging surrogacy journeys, and how many babies were born through your agency in the last three years?
Years in business is easy to inflate with a website; recent completed births are not. A brand-new agency or one with only a handful of deliveries per year may still be learning on your journey.
2
Do you screen and match your own surrogates in-house, or do you source candidates from other agencies, databases or Facebook groups?
Some agencies charge a full fee while acting as a broker for someone else's roster, which means they cannot vouch for how she was screened. It also tells you who actually supports her during the pregnancy.
3
Can you give me a written all-in estimate for a journey like ours, split into your fee and the pass-through costs?
Quoted totals vary wildly because agencies bundle different things. A breakdown that separates the agency fee from compensation, legal, insurance and escrow lets you compare two agencies honestly and spot which one is keeping IVF or insurance costs outside the headline number.
4
When is your agency fee due, is it paid in installments tied to milestones, and what portion is refundable at each stage?
An agency that wants the full fee up front has little financial incentive to keep working if your match dissolves. Milestone-based payments align their effort with your outcome.
5
Walk me through your screening. What is already finished before a candidate's profile reaches us?
Strong agencies complete the records request, background check, psychological evaluation, home visit and insurance review before you ever see a profile, so you are not paying for a match a clinic later rejects. Vagueness here tends to show up months on as a failed medical clearance.
6
How many fully screened surrogates are available to match right now, and what has the actual time to match been for parents in our situation over the past year?
Averages hide long waits for international parents, single parents, same-sex couples and anyone needing a specific state or transfer timeline. Ask for the range, not just the marketing figure.
7
Who holds the escrow, and is it an independent licensed escrow company with its own bonding and audits, or an account your agency controls?
Escrow theft is the single most common way intended parents lose large sums in surrogacy. Independent, bonded escrow with monthly statements to both parties is the protection you want in writing.
8
How is the surrogate's health insurance handled, who reviews her policy for surrogacy exclusions, and what do you budget if she needs a separate surrogacy-friendly policy?
A missed exclusion clause can turn into tens of thousands in uncovered delivery costs. You want to hear about a professional policy review and a specific contingency line in the budget.
9
Which attorneys will represent us and which will represent the surrogate, and how do you avoid a conflict of interest if you refer both sides?
Independent counsel for the surrogate is a legal requirement in most jurisdictions and a sign the agency respects her autonomy. Agencies that funnel both parties to one friendly firm are protecting themselves, not you.
10
Who is our day-to-day case manager, how many journeys does each manager carry at once, and what happens if they go on leave or leave the company?
Caseload is the best predictor of how fast your calls get returned during a crisis. Ask about the handoff plan, because staff turnover mid-pregnancy is common and disruptive.
11
How many embryo transfers does our agreement cover, and what happens to compensation, fees and the match if the first two transfers fail?
Failed transfers are normal, but agencies differ on whether continuing costs more, whether the surrogate stays committed and whether you rematch. Clarify the number of attempts before you sign.
12
What's the base compensation range you pay now, and can I see your standard benefits schedule?
The schedule is the part that matters: allowances, lost wages, childcare, travel, invasive procedures, a cesarean, multiples. It is where a low headline compensation figure quietly becomes a much bigger number, or where a surrogate ends up underpaid and resentful.
13
How do you match on communication expectations, and what do you do when we want more contact than the surrogate does, or less?
Mismatched contact expectations cause more friction in real journeys than money does. A good agency asks both sides about texting frequency, appointment attendance and post-birth relationship before matching, not after.
14
How and when do you match on termination, selective reduction and response to a serious fetal anomaly diagnosis?
This is the hardest clause in the contract and it must be agreed before a transfer, not negotiated during a crisis. Ask specifically whether these views are discussed with candidates during screening or left for the lawyers.
15
What support does the surrogate get during pregnancy and after delivery, including mental health support, and for how many months postpartum?
Her wellbeing directly affects your journey, and postpartum support is where budget agencies quietly stop showing up. Look for a named counselor and a defined support window rather than an open-ended promise to be there.
16
In which state will the birth likely take place, and how does that state's parentage law apply to our exact family structure and citizenship?
Surrogacy law is state by state and some states are hostile or silent, which affects pre-birth orders, whose names go on the birth certificate and how easily you can take your baby home. International parents also need the exit and passport timeline mapped out.
17
If a match dissolves after contracts are signed but before pregnancy, which costs are lost and which carry over?
Match dissolutions happen for medical, family and personal reasons, and the financial fallout is decided entirely by agency policy. Ask whether you also return to the back of the waiting list, and make them point at the clause rather than describe it verbally.
18
Over the last two years, what percentage of your signed journeys ended without a baby, and what were the most common reasons?
Every agency has failed journeys; only a candid one will quantify them. Their explanation shows whether they blame clinics and surrogates or examine their own screening and matching decisions.
19
Can you connect us with two intended parents whose journeys did not go smoothly, and with a surrogate who has worked with you?
Curated five-star references tell you nothing. How an agency handles this request, and what those clients say about communication during the bad weeks, is the most useful signal in the whole interview.
20
What does your contract say about leaving you: refunds, arbitration, and any non-disparagement clause?
Non-disparagement clauses are why online reviews of some agencies look suspiciously clean, and forced arbitration limits your options if money goes missing. Read this section with your own attorney before you pay a deposit.

How to Vet a Surrogacy Agency

Practical guidance for the conversation itself.

How to run the interview

Interview at least three agencies before you pay anything

Book consultations with three agencies in the same two-week window so the answers are fresh and comparable. Ask each one the same first six questions and write the answers in a single spreadsheet. Differences in cost estimates and time to match become obvious side by side and are almost impossible to see one call at a time.

Ask for numbers, then ask where they come from

When you hear a statistic like a ninety-five percent success rate, follow up with what counts as a success, over what period and out of how many signed journeys. A confident agency will tell you the denominator. A sales-driven one will change the subject to how much they care.

Get the contract and the benefits schedule in writing before the deposit

Request the full agency agreement, the surrogate benefits schedule and a sample gestational carrier agreement to review with your own attorney. Any agency that will only share these after you pay a deposit is telling you something important.

Talk to a surrogate, not just to parents

Ask to speak with a surrogate who completed a journey with them. She will tell you how quickly the agency answered her calls, whether reimbursements arrived on time and whether she felt supported after delivery, which is the clearest picture you can get of how the agency actually operates.

Red flags to walk away from

Escrow held in an account the agency controls, or refusal to name an independent bonded escrow company.
Pressure to sign or pay a large non-refundable fee during the first consultation, often framed as locking in a surrogate.
A guaranteed match date or a promised baby by a specific month, which no agency can honestly control.
Refusing to let the surrogate choose her own independent attorney, or referring both parties to the same firm.
No written all-in cost estimate, or an estimate that omits insurance, legal fees and IVF clinic costs.
Vague or shifting answers about how many journeys they completed last year and how many ended without a birth.
A non-disparagement clause in the agency agreement, especially combined with mandatory arbitration.
One case manager juggling twenty or more active journeys, or an inability to tell you the caseload at all.

What a strong answer sounds like

On cost

A good answer is a written itemized range, for example a fixed agency fee, a compensation range, a defined insurance contingency and named third-party legal and escrow costs, with the note that clinic and medication costs are billed separately. Precision plus honesty about what can vary beats a single tidy number.

On screening

A good answer names a sequence: application, records request from prior pregnancies, criminal background check on her and her partner, a psychological evaluation by a licensed mental health professional using an accepted protocol, a home visit and an insurance policy review, all completed before her profile reaches you.

On failed journeys

A good answer includes a real percentage and specific causes such as failed medical clearance at the clinic, repeated failed transfers or a match dissolution, plus what they changed as a result. An agency claiming it has never had a journey fail is either new or not telling the truth.

Checklist before you sign

Independent escrow company named in the agreement, with statements sent to you monthly.
Agency fee split into milestone payments with a written refund schedule at each stage.
Number of covered embryo transfers stated, and what happens after the last one.
Match dissolution policy in writing, including which costs carry over to the next match.
Surrogate benefits schedule attached as an exhibit, not described verbally.
Named case manager and a written escalation path for after-hours emergencies.
Birth state and parentage strategy reviewed by your own reproductive law attorney.
Termination and anomaly expectations discussed and aligned before any embryo transfer.

The questions

How long have you been arranging surrogacy journeys, and how many babies were born through your agency in the last three years?

Do you screen and match your own surrogates in-house, or do you source candidates from other agencies, databases or Facebook groups?

Can you give me a written all-in estimate for a journey like ours, split into your fee and the pass-through costs?

When is your agency fee due, is it paid in installments tied to milestones, and what portion is refundable at each stage?

Walk me through your screening. What is already finished before a candidate's profile reaches us?

How many fully screened surrogates are available to match right now, and what has the actual time to match been for parents in our situation over the past year?

Who holds the escrow, and is it an independent licensed escrow company with its own bonding and audits, or an account your agency controls?

How is the surrogate's health insurance handled, who reviews her policy for surrogacy exclusions, and what do you budget if she needs a separate surrogacy-friendly policy?

Which attorneys will represent us and which will represent the surrogate, and how do you avoid a conflict of interest if you refer both sides?

Who is our day-to-day case manager, how many journeys does each manager carry at once, and what happens if they go on leave or leave the company?

How many embryo transfers does our agreement cover, and what happens to compensation, fees and the match if the first two transfers fail?

What's the base compensation range you pay now, and can I see your standard benefits schedule?

How do you match on communication expectations, and what do you do when we want more contact than the surrogate does, or less?

How and when do you match on termination, selective reduction and response to a serious fetal anomaly diagnosis?

What support does the surrogate get during pregnancy and after delivery, including mental health support, and for how many months postpartum?

In which state will the birth likely take place, and how does that state's parentage law apply to our exact family structure and citizenship?

If a match dissolves after contracts are signed but before pregnancy, which costs are lost and which carry over?

Over the last two years, what percentage of your signed journeys ended without a baby, and what were the most common reasons?

Can you connect us with two intended parents whose journeys did not go smoothly, and with a surrogate who has worked with you?

What does your contract say about leaving you: refunds, arbitration, and any non-disparagement clause?