How to Become a Surrogate in Colorado

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Do you qualify to be a surrogate in Colorado?

Colorado is one of only a handful of states where some eligibility requirements are written into law. Under the Colorado Surrogacy Agreement Act (C.R.S. § 19-4.5-104), to sign a surrogacy agreement you must:

• Be at least 21 years old
• Have previously given birth to at least one child
• Complete a medical evaluation by a licensed physician
• Complete a mental health consultation with a licensed mental health professional
• Have independent legal representation of your choice, by a Colorado-licensed attorney, throughout the arrangement — not just at signing

Because those are statutory, no agency can waive them. Everything else below is agency and clinic policy, following ASRM guidance.

Set by the agency and clinic on top of the statute:

• An upper age limit, usually around 40–45
• You’re raising the child you gave birth to
• No nicotine — cigarettes, vapes, pouches, patches. Typically 6–12 months clear, and expect a test
• No drug use, in your household as well as by you
• A background check, for you and your partner
• U.S. citizenship or permanent residency

More flexible than you’d expect:

• BMI. Most clinics want 19–32, some to 35. A few points over usually means “let’s get you there,” not “no.”
• C-sections. Two is standard, three often workable. How you healed matters more than the count.
• Tubal ligation. Irrelevant — embryo transfer bypasses your tubes.
• Endometriosis. Usually fine. It affects conceiving, not carrying.
• HSV-2. Not disqualifying at most programmes.
• Hypothyroidism or Hashimoto’s. Usually fine if well controlled with TSH in range.
• Not being employed. Being a stay-at-home mother doesn’t affect eligibility.
• Single, unmarried, or LGBTQ+. Doesn’t affect eligibility. If you’re married, your spouse is a party to the agreement — but Colorado law states plainly that your spouse is not a presumed parent of the child.

Raise these early:

• A history of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP). Recurs often and carries real risk; most programmes decline or require maternal–fetal medicine clearance.
• Preeclampsia or HELLP previously. Depends on severity and timing.
• Antidepressants or other psychotropic medication. Policies vary. Colorado requires a mental health consultation regardless. Ask before applying; don’t stop medication to qualify.
• Gestational diabetes. Diet-controlled and resolved, usually fine.
• Still breastfeeding. Fully weaned, typically 2–3 months before medication.

Requirement	Colorado standard	Set by
Minimum age 21	Hard requirement	State law
Prior birth	At least one	State law
Medical evaluation	Before signing	State law
Mental health consultation	Before signing	State law
Your own Colorado attorney	Throughout the arrangement	State law
Upper age limit	Usually 40–45	Agency / clinic
BMI	19–32, some to 35	Clinic
C-sections	Usually up to 2–3	Clinic
Nicotine	None, 6–12 months	Agency / clinic
Colorado residency	Not required — see below	Connection rule

Full requirements, including what disqualifies you →

Unsure whether a past complication, your BMI, or a third C-section rules you out? The questionnaire covers all of it.
Check my eligibility →

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What surrogates are paid in Colorado

[STATE-SPECIFIC INTRO — above the shared block]

Colorado places no cap on surrogate compensation, and your payment terms are enforceable under state statute. Colorado’s clear legal framework also makes it a state intended parents actively choose — including from outside the US — which tends to keep demand for Colorado surrogates high.

First-time surrogates: $65,000+ total. Experienced surrogates: $75,000+ total.

That splits into two parts — your surrogate compensation, and your expenses.

Your compensation: a sample of $50,500

Applying to become a surrogate through SurroAdvisor lets you choose your fee structure rather than getting handed a fixed number, so this is a representative schedule rather than a quote. What’s unusual — and worth paying attention to — is that we publish when each payment lands, which almost no nobody else does.

When you’re paid	Amount
At match	$1,250
At medical clearance	$500
At legal clearance	$1,000
When you start medication	$500
At embryo transfer	$1,000
At hCG pregnancy confirmation	$1,000
At heartbeat confirmation	$3,500
Monthly during pregnancy (8 payments of $5,000)	$40,000
Wellness package	$1,750
Sample base total	$50,500

Experienced surrogates add $10,000, taking a comparable schedule to roughly $60,500.

Your expenses: $15,000–$20,000+ on top

Separate from your fee and not deducted from it: $300 monthly allowance with no receipts; all lost wages, yours and your partner’s; travel and a travel companion; family allowance for overnights away; weekly bed rest allowance; post-birth medical leave, 6–8 weeks; maternity clothing; medical insurance and all medical costs; life insurance; your own attorney’s fees; mental health support.

Your payments are held in third-party escrow, and in Colorado you also have a statute behind your agreement.

Three things about the money nobody else will tell you

It is very likely taxable. The “non-taxable reimbursement” argument circulating online is unsettled and the IRS has not endorsed it. Most tax professionals treat surrogate compensation as taxable income, and some agencies issue a 1099. Budget as though it’s taxable and speak to a CPA before you sign.

It can affect your state benefits. If your household receives Health First Colorado (Medicaid), CHP+, SNAP, Colorado Works or the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program, surrogate compensation counts as income and could take you over an eligibility threshold. Health First Colorado also generally won’t cover a surrogate pregnancy — appropriate coverage is arranged for you, and Colorado’s statute requires the agreement to disclose how your medical expenses will be covered. Get advice on timing before you match.

Ask for a schedule, not a range. A quoted range tells you very little. What you want is a list of payments with the milestone attached to each, as above. Full pay breakdown, including what happens if a transfer doesn’t work →

The questionnaire tells you which fee structure you’d qualify for and what your schedule would look like.
See what I’d be paid →

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Is surrogacy legal in Colorado?

Yes — and Colorado’s law is among the most protective for surrogates anywhere in the country.

Governor Polis signed the Colorado Surrogacy Agreement Act (HB21-1022) on 6 May 2021. It’s codified at C.R.S. § 19-4.5-101 and following, and it’s modelled on the Uniform Parentage Act of 2017 — the framework the best surrogacy states use. Colorado courts had already been granting pre-birth parentage orders for years; the Act wrote that established best practice into law and added safeguards for everyone involved.

What the statute guarantees you

Most surrogacy coverage of Colorado is written for intended parents. Here’s the part written for you. Under the Act:

• Every decision about your health and your pregnancy is yours. The statute requires every Colorado surrogacy agreement to permit the surrogate to make all health and welfare decisions regarding herself and the pregnancy (§ 19-4.5-106). In most states that’s a clause you negotiate. In Colorado, an agreement without it doesn’t comply with the law.
• You have no parental claim to the child — and neither does your husband. The statute says the surrogate and her spouse or former spouse have no claim to parentage, and that a spouse is not a presumed parent. In many other states, a married surrogate’s husband is presumptively the father and that has to be dealt with. Colorado deals with it in the statute.
• You must have your own Colorado attorney throughout — not just to sign, but for the whole arrangement.
• The agreement must spell out how your expenses and medical costs will be covered, including the child’s. It can’t be left vague.
• Your compensation terms are enforceable.

The rules a valid agreement must follow

A Colorado surrogacy agreement must be in writing, signed by you, each intended parent and your spouse if you have one, with every signature notarised. It must be signed before any medical procedure other than the required medical evaluation and mental health consultation. And there must be a Colorado connection: at least one party lives in Colorado, or the birth will happen in Colorado, or the fertility treatment happens here.

Parentage and the birth certificate

Colorado courts grant pre-birth parentage orders, typically filed during the second trimester, and a hearing generally isn’t required. Both intended parents can be named — and unusually, that’s true even where neither intended parent is genetically related to the child. Married and unmarried couples, single parents and LGBTQ+ intended parents are all covered.

The result: the intended parents’ names go directly on the birth certificate. Your name doesn’t appear on it. Compare Tennessee, where a gestational carrier is often named as mother until an adoption completes.

Traditional surrogacy — using your own egg — is unusual in that Colorado’s Act covers it too, with additional protections for the surrogate. Agencies don’t do it, and a genetic connection to the child changes your position completely, so we at SurroAdvisor always advise against it.

What happens if something serious is found during the pregnancy?

Every surrogacy contract contains clauses about termination and selective reduction: what happens if a serious fetal anomaly is diagnosed, if your health is at risk, or if a multiple pregnancy needs reducing. In states such as Arkansas, Tennessee and North Dakota, state criminal law now limits what’s actually possible regardless of what the contract says.

In Colorado, those clauses mean what they say. Colorado’s Reproductive Health Equity Act (2022) protects access to abortion in state law, and in November 2024 Colorado voters added that protection to the state constitution. Combined with the Surrogacy Agreement Act’s guarantee that health and pregnancy decisions are yours, the decisions set out in your contract are ones that can actually be carried out here.

That doesn’t make the conversation unnecessary. Before you sign, talk through with the intended parents how each of you would want to handle a difficult prenatal diagnosis, and check that you’re genuinely aligned. In Colorado the law won’t get in the way of whatever you decide together — which makes agreeing in advance more important, not less.

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What the process looks like in Colorado

Twelve to eighteen months from application to birth.

Month 1 — Application and matching. You apply, we review your history, and you speak to the agency. Matching typically takes one to three months and you have a say — you’re not assigned to anyone. Colorado’s strong legal framework attracts a steady flow of intended parents, so matching here is often quicker than in smaller markets.

Months 2–3 — Screening, which Colorado law requires anyway. Bloodwork, an infectious disease panel, a saline sonogram or hysteroscopy, a medical evaluation by a licensed physician and a mental health consultation — the last two are statutory. Your partner is screened too.

Month 4 — Contracts. You choose your own Colorado attorney and the intended parents pay for them — confirm that in writing. Your spouse signs too, if you have one. Everything is notarised, and nothing medical happens until it’s executed.

Months 5–6 — Medication and transfer. Estrogen and progesterone to prepare your lining, monitored by ultrasound and bloodwork. The transfer takes minutes and needs no anaesthetic. A pregnancy test around ten days later. Not every transfer works first time; that’s normal and covered.

Months 6–15 — Pregnancy. Care with your own OB or a practice the clinic refers you to. Your health decisions remain yours throughout, by law. Your attorney files for the pre-birth parentage order during the second trimester, usually without a hearing.

Birth and after. You deliver in Colorado. The intended parents are named on the birth certificate; you and your spouse are not. You recover for six to eight weeks with support.

The first step is 12 questions about your pregnancy history. If you’re not a fit, we’ll say so straight away.
Start the questionnaire →

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The risks, honestly

Colorado removes almost all of the legal risk. It removes none of the rest.

Physical. Every risk of pregnancy again: gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, hyperemesis, preterm labour, haemorrhage, an unplanned C-section. IVF pregnancies carry a modestly elevated rate of some complications. If a previous pregnancy was difficult, it can be again. Maternal mortality in the US is low but not zero, and that deserves saying plainly.

The medication is not nothing. Weeks of injections, with bruising, mood swings, headaches and bloating. Most describe it as irritating rather than awful. Some find it harder.

Emotional. Most gestational surrogates don’t experience the grief people expect. But postpartum depression is as possible for you as for any birth, and there’s a flatness some women describe when the intensity ends. Use the counselling.

Relational. Your spouse is a party to the agreement. Your children will have questions. Families who talk it through in advance do much better.

Failed transfers and loss. Not every transfer takes, and miscarriage happens at roughly the general rate. It’s hard to carry when it wasn’t your pregnancy to lose, and it’s the least-discussed part of this.

The relationship may not be what you hoped. Some surrogates stay close to the families they carried for; some drift. Knowing that in advance stops it reading as failure.

Read the full, honest list of downsides →

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How we make money

[REVIEW WITH COUNSEL — FTC 16 CFR Part 255.]

SurroAdvisor is free for you and always will be. When we match you with an agency and you’re accepted into their programme, they pay us a fee. You are never charged, and your compensation isn’t reduced because you came through us.

We think you should know that, and that it should shape how you read this page. It’s also why we only work with just one, trusted, agency partner. We’d rather send you somewhere we’d send a friend, in fact we worked with them ourselves for our own surrogacy journeys.

What we do that contacting an agency directly doesn’t:

• We tell you if you don’t qualify before you spend six weeks on an application
• We know which programmes will look at a third C-section, a BMI of 34, HSV-2 or a history of preeclampsia
• We’ll make sure your agreement says explicitly that the intended parents pay for your attorney — the one place Colorado’s otherwise excellent statute leaves room for doubt

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Common questions from Colorado surrogates

Is surrogacy legal in Colorado?
Yes. The Colorado Surrogacy Agreement Act, signed in May 2021, expressly permits gestational surrogacy, makes the agreements enforceable, and allows pre-birth parentage orders — usually without a hearing, and even where neither intended parent is genetically related. It’s one of the most protective surrogacy laws in the United States.

How much do surrogates make in Colorado?
Total packages start around $65,000 for first-time surrogates and $75,000 for experienced ones, made up of base compensation plus expenses reimbursed separately and not deducted from your fee. Colorado places no cap on compensation and your payment terms are enforceable under the statute. See the schedule above for exactly when each payment lands.

Do surrogates get paid monthly?
Partly, and it’s the biggest part. Eight monthly instalments of $5,000 during the pregnancy make up most of your base compensation. The rest arrives at milestones — match, clearances, medication start, transfer, pregnancy confirmation and heartbeat — plus a separate $300 monthly allowance with no receipts required.

Is there a high demand for surrogates?
Yes. Nationally there are considerably more intended parents looking for a surrogate than there are qualified women available, and that gap is one reason compensation has risen over the past decade. Colorado’s clear law makes it a state intended parents actively choose, including from overseas, so Colorado surrogates rarely wait long to match.

What will disqualify you from being a surrogate?
In Colorado, being under 21 or never having given birth are absolute bars, because the statute requires both. Beyond that the common disqualifiers are agency and clinic criteria: current nicotine use, household drug use, a BMI well outside roughly 19–35, more than two or three prior C-sections, serious prior pregnancy complications such as severe preeclampsia or cholestasis, an unstable mental health condition, and certain medications. Full list, including what doesn’t disqualify you →

Will my name be on the birth certificate?
No. With a pre-birth parentage order — standard in Colorado — the intended parents are named directly on the birth certificate. You and your spouse do not appear on it.

Does my husband have to be involved?
He’s a party to the agreement and signs it, but Colorado’s statute states expressly that a surrogate’s spouse is not a presumed parent of the child and has no claim to parentage. That removes the marital-presumption complication that surrogates face in several other states.

Do I need my own lawyer?
Yes — it’s a legal requirement in Colorado. You must have independent legal representation by a Colorado-licensed attorney of your choice throughout the arrangement. The statute says intended parents may pay for it; in practice they always do, but make sure your agreement says so.

Who makes medical decisions during the pregnancy?
You do. Colorado law requires every surrogacy agreement to permit the surrogate to make all health and welfare decisions about herself and the pregnancy. That’s a statutory protection, not just a contract term — an agreement without it doesn’t comply with the Act.

Do I have to live in Colorado?
Not necessarily. The statute requires a Colorado connection: at least one party lives in Colorado, or the birth will happen here, or the fertility treatment happens here. If you live in a neighbouring state but plan to deliver in Colorado or use a Colorado clinic, the Act can still apply — worth raising with an attorney, particularly if your own state’s law is weaker.

How do I choose a surrogacy agency in Colorado?
Look for four things before anything else: a published payment schedule with dates attached rather than a range; confirmation that your compensation is held in independent third-party escrow; a commitment in writing that the intended parents pay for your own Colorado attorney; and a programme that will tell you plainly if you don’t qualify. Then ask how long their surrogates typically wait to match and what support is available during and after the pregnancy. We work with a single vetted partner rather than listing every agency — see how we make money above.

Can I be a surrogate if I’ve had a C-section?
Yes. Two prior C-sections is standard at most programmes and three is often workable. The clinic assesses how your uterus healed, whether you had complications, and what imaging shows. Start requesting your operative reports now.

Can I be a surrogate if I had cholestasis of pregnancy?
Usually not, and it’s better to know now. Intrahepatic cholestasis recurs in a large proportion of subsequent pregnancies and is associated with increased risk to the baby, so most programmes decline or require maternal–fetal medicine sign-off.

Can you be a surrogate with endometriosis, HSV-2 or Hashimoto’s?
Usually yes to all three. Endometriosis affects conceiving rather than carrying. HSV-2 is managed with antiviral medication from around 36 weeks. Well-controlled Hashimoto’s with TSH in range is generally fine. Disclose each at application.

Can a stay-at-home mom be a surrogate?
Yes, and it’s common. Not being employed doesn’t affect eligibility. Lost-wage reimbursement won’t apply if you have no wages, but base compensation and every other benefit are unaffected, and childcare for appointments is reimbursable — get it written in.

Will surrogate pay affect Health First Colorado or SNAP?
It can. Surrogate compensation is income and may take your household over an eligibility threshold. Health First Colorado also generally won’t cover a surrogate pregnancy — appropriate coverage is arranged separately. Get advice on the timing before you match.

Do I have to pay tax on it?
Assume yes. The “non-taxable reimbursement” theory is unsettled and unendorsed by the IRS. Set money aside and talk to a CPA before your first payment.

Can I choose the intended parents?
Yes. Matching runs both ways and you can decline a match, including after a first conversation. Think in advance about contact during pregnancy, any relationship afterwards, and how you’d each handle a difficult prenatal diagnosis.

Does being a surrogate affect my own fertility?
There’s no evidence that carrying a gestational surrogacy pregnancy reduces future fertility. The risks are those of any pregnancy: a C-section adds scar tissue, and a serious complication could have lasting effects.

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Ready to find out where you stand?

If you’ve carried a healthy pregnancy, you’re 21 or over, you don’t use nicotine and you’re raising your own child, you’re likely eligible — and the questionnaire will tell you in about five minutes.

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More on becoming a surrogate:
How to become a surrogate · Surrogate requirements · How much surrogates get paid · Surrogacy laws by state

Nearby states: Kansas · Iowa · Missouri · Illinois

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This page is general information, not medical, legal, or tax advice. Speak to a Colorado reproductive attorney before signing any agreement, and to a CPA before receiving compensation.