Change surrogacy law to recognise intended parents from birth

The law must change so intended parents in surrogacy arrangements are recognised as their child’s legal parents from birth. Families should not have to go through months of court proceedings and social worker visits to be recognised as the parents of a child they planned and love.

When our daughter was born through surrogacy, we became dads the moment we held her. But under current law, the surrogate is automatically recognised as the legal mother (and if she is married, her spouse is recorded as the legal father) even with no biological connection or intention to parent the child. Intended parents must then go through a lengthy court process to become their child’s legal parents. In 2026 we believe this is outdated. The law needs to recognise intended parents from birth.

The Government supports surrogacy as a part of assisted conception options, and recognises the important part it can play in supporting people seeking to start a family. Parliament has decided that altruistic surrogacy arrangements are legally allowed to take place under the Surrogacy Arrangements Act 1985.

We recognise that surrogacy is a complex and sensitive policy issue, where detail matters to all those involved in a surrogacy arrangement, in particular the important issue of legal parenthood. We know that surrogacy is a crucial route to family formation for many LGBTQ+ people, particularly male same-sex couples, and that the current pathway and delay to legal parenthood can cause uncertainty.

Legal parenthood at birth rests with the surrogate (and their spouse/partner, if applicable). The intended parent(s) must apply to the court for a parental order after birth to become the child’s legal parents, under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Acts 1990 and 2008. This framework applies equally to heterosexual couples, same‑sex couples, and single intended parents.

The Department of Health and Social Care supported a multi-year joint project of the Law Commission for England and Wales and the Scottish Law Commission to review the current surrogacy laws. The Law Commissions consulted widely on this topic, which generated a wide diversity of views, and we welcome their comprehensive report. The Government does not intend to put forward the Law Commissions’ legislative proposals at this time, owing to the limited time available to introduce new legislation. We will publish a Government response as time and capacity allows and will look to consider this issue in the future.