Becoming a surrogate in North Dakota generally requires a healthy pregnancy history, agency and fertility-clinic screening and a willingness to complete the medical and legal steps involved in gestational surrogacy.

If you qualify, you can help intended parents have a child while receiving compensation for the time, physical demands and responsibility involved.

North Dakota also has state-specific legal and practical considerations. Its surrogacy statute defines a particular type of gestational-carrier arrangement, addresses parentage and places responsibility for pregnancy-related service costs on the intended parents.

A surrogacy agency can coordinate screening, matching, insurance review, legal work, fertility treatment and payments. Prospective surrogates can compare national surrogacy agency options that serve North Dakota even when the agency does not have a physical office in the state.

Before choosing a program, it can help to determine whether your pregnancy history and current circumstances are likely to meet basic eligibility standards.

What Are the Requirements to Be a Surrogate in North Dakota?

The requirements to become a surrogate in North Dakota are primarily set by surrogacy agencies and fertility clinics because state law does not create a detailed medical eligibility checklist.

North Dakota Century Code Chapter 14-18 focuses mainly on the legal arrangement. The statute defines a gestational carrier as an adult woman who carries an embryo created using the egg and sperm of the intended parents.

It does not establish a required BMI, specific surrogate age range or number of previous pregnancies.

Most professionals therefore use medical and psychosocial standards informed by organizations such as the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM). Current ASRM carrier recommendations include:

• Being a legal adult and preferably ages 21–45
• Having completed at least one term, uncomplicated pregnancy
• Ideally having no more than five previous deliveries
• Ideally having no more than three cesarean deliveries
• Having an adequate support system and stable home environment
• Completing medical and infectious-disease screening
• Completing psychosocial evaluation and counseling
• Receiving legal counseling before proceeding

Those standards help fertility professionals assess whether another pregnancy appears medically appropriate and whether a prospective surrogate is prepared for the demands of the process.

Individual programs may use narrower criteria.

American Surrogacy, for example, currently evaluates applicants based on age, pregnancy history, BMI, previous deliveries and C-sections, pregnancy complications, mental health history, substance use, housing, income and transportation.

Circle Surrogacy currently lists an age range of 21–42 for North Dakota applicants, requires at least one prior delivery and generally limits BMI to 33.

Requirements vary enough that one agency’s cutoff does not necessarily represent every program serving North Dakota.

How to Become a Surrogate in North Dakota

Becoming a surrogate in North Dakota usually involves seven main steps: applying, completing screening, matching with intended parents, receiving medical clearance, completing the legal agreement, undergoing embryo transfer and continuing through pregnancy and delivery.

The broader surrogate application process follows these seven steps:

1. Apply to become a surrogate. You’ll provide information about your age, pregnancy history, current health, family circumstances and other eligibility factors. After you apply, the agency typically reviews your initial information before requesting records and beginning full screening.
2. Complete surrogate screening. Screening may include medical-record review, background checks, psychological evaluation and health-insurance review. The fertility clinic will later conduct its own medical assessment.
3. Match with intended parents. You should have a meaningful role in deciding who you carry for. A mutual matching process lets you review intended-parent profiles, speak with potential matches and decide whether your expectations and communication preferences are compatible.
4. Receive medical clearance. The intended parents’ fertility clinic reviews your records and completes testing before treatment. North Dakota has an in-state option through Sanford Reproductive Medicine Institute in Fargo, which currently lists gestational carriers among its reproductive services.
5. Complete the gestational carrier agreement. An attorney reviews the arrangement before embryo transfer. This step is particularly important in North Dakota because the state’s statutory definition of a gestational carrier is narrower than the way the term is commonly used in the surrogacy field.
6. Complete the embryo transfer. After medical and legal clearance, you’ll follow the fertility clinic’s medication protocol and complete embryo transfer. If treatment takes place outside North Dakota, your agreement should specify how travel, lodging, meals, childcare and lost wages will be handled.
7. Continue through pregnancy and delivery. After the fertility clinic releases you to an obstetric provider, routine prenatal care can usually take place closer to home. National agencies serving the state commonly coordinate fertility-clinic travel while allowing local prenatal care when medically appropriate.

How Much Do Surrogates Make in North Dakota?

Surrogates in North Dakota may receive about $65,000–$100,000+ in total compensation, although actual offers vary by agency, experience and individual agreement.

There is no state-mandated surrogate pay rate or official North Dakota average. Current agency offers provide more useful evidence of what women may encounter in the market.

Experience can make a substantial difference in base pay. First-time surrogates may receive around $50,000–$65,000 in base compensation, while experienced surrogates may receive roughly $65,000–$85,000 or more.

A compensation package generally includes:

• Base compensation paid for carrying the pregnancy
• Additional payments tied to specified medical or pregnancy events
• Allowances for agreed pregnancy-related needs
• Reimbursement for eligible travel, childcare, lost wages and other expenses

Where you live in North Dakota can affect the practical value of a compensation package.

A surrogate who needs repeated travel to Fargo, Minneapolis or another out-of-state fertility clinic may incur substantially more mileage, lodging and childcare costs than someone who can complete most appointments nearby.

For North Dakota residents, a lower base-pay offer with comprehensive travel, childcare and lost-wage coverage may provide more financial protection than a higher base amount with narrower expense reimbursement.

Surrogacy Laws in North Dakota

North Dakota recognizes certain gestational-carrier arrangements, but state law does not treat every type of surrogacy agreement the same way.

North Dakota Century Code §14-18-01 defines a gestational carrier as an adult woman carrying an embryo created using the egg and sperm of the intended parents.

Section 14-18-08 states that a child born to a qualifying gestational carrier is the child of the intended parents for all purposes rather than the child of the gestational carrier or her spouse.

North Dakota law treats what it calls a “surrogate agreement” differently.

Section 14-18-05 says an agreement in which a woman agrees to become a surrogate or relinquish parental rights to a child conceived through assisted conception is void.

North Dakota’s surrogacy statutes therefore makes the genetic circumstances of the intended parents legally significant. The direct statutory parentage protection in §14-18-08 is written around an embryo created with both intended parents’ genetic material.

Modern surrogacy frequently involves donor eggs, donor sperm, single intended parents or LGBT intended parents.

In those circumstances, an assisted-reproduction attorney may need to determine which parentage procedure applies rather than assuming §14-18-08 resolves the issue automatically.

The ASRM Legal Professional Group reports that pre-birth parentage orders may generally be available in North Dakota when at least one intended parent has a genetic relationship to the child. When neither intended parent has a genetic relationship, the legal path may differ.

North Dakota also gives prospective surrogates a particularly important financial protection.

Section 14-18-09 states that pregnancy-related service costs, including labor and delivery, are the responsibility of the intended parents.

That statutory responsibility should still be reflected clearly in your contract and insurance plan so medical bills do not become an unresolved issue during pregnancy.

Gestational Carrier Agreements in North Dakota

A North Dakota gestational carrier agreement should explain your compensation, expense coverage, insurance, medical expectations and parentage plan before embryo transfer takes place.

North Dakota does not provide the detailed statutory contract checklist found in some other states.

Chapter 14-18 does not expressly require a particular notarization procedure, a fixed number of days between signing and embryo transfer or separate attorneys for each party.

Even so, independent legal representation is particularly useful in North Dakota because the state’s statutory treatment depends partly on how the embryo was created and which intended parents have a genetic relationship to the child.

Current North Dakota carrier law establishes the state’s parentage framework and assigns pregnancy-related service costs to intended parents. Your individual agreement can then address the details that state law does not spell out.

A gestational carrier agreement commonly covers:

• Base compensation and payment timing
• Additional payments and allowances
• Escrow funding
• Health-insurance coverage and uncovered medical bills
• Travel, childcare and lost wages
• Number of embryo-transfer attempts
• Prenatal testing and pregnancy care
• Medical decision-making
• Termination or selective-reduction provisions
• Bed-rest or work-restriction expenses
• Delivery arrangements
• Postpartum expenses
• Parentage proceedings and hospital documentation

North Dakota attorneys who practice assisted reproduction also report using pre-birth orders.

These orders can establish the intended parents’ legal status before delivery and provide direction to the hospital and vital-record authorities.

The exact parentage strategy should be determined from the facts of the intended parents’ case rather than treated as a standard formality.

Surrogacy Attorneys in North Dakota

North Dakota has attorneys who currently advertise assisted-reproduction and gestational-carrier services, particularly in Fargo.

• Nilson Brand Law (Fargo): Handles gestational-carrier agreements, assisted-reproduction contracts and pre-birth parentage matters for North Dakota clients.
• Gjesdahl Law (Fargo): Handles gestational-carrier agreements and pre-birth orders and discusses North Dakota arrangements involving donor genetic material.
• William Harrie at Nilles (Fargo): His practice includes assisted reproduction and gestational-carrier matters.

When comparing attorneys, ask how frequently they handle North Dakota gestational-carrier agreements and parentage orders rather than relying only on general family-law experience.

How to Choose a Surrogacy Agency in North Dakota

Choosing a surrogacy agency in North Dakota means comparing how each program handles compensation, legal work, insurance, matching and travel for women who live in the state.

A national agency does not need a North Dakota office to serve you effectively, but it should have an established process for coordinating with North Dakota attorneys, fertility clinics and local medical providers.

When comparing agencies, look closely at:

• Compensation: Ask for your proposed base pay, estimated total compensation and all additional payments.
• Expense coverage: Find out how mileage, flights, hotels, meals, childcare, lost wages and medical expenses are handled.
• Escrow: Ask when intended-parent funds are deposited and who administers payments.
• Insurance: Find out who reviews your current policy and what happens if it excludes surrogate pregnancy.
• Intended-parent screening: Ask whether screening includes criminal or FBI background checks, psychological review and financial preparation.
• Mutual matching: Confirm that you can review potential intended parents and decline a match.
• Independent legal representation: Ask who selects your attorney and confirm that the attorney represents your interests.
• North Dakota legal coordination: Ask how the agency handles arrangements involving donor eggs, donor sperm or other circumstances that may fall outside §14-18-08’s narrow wording.
• Travel planning: Ask where screening and embryo transfer would happen and which appointments can be completed closer to home.
• Mental health resources: Find out what counseling remains available after initial screening.

Insurance deserves particular attention. North Dakota law makes intended parents responsible for pregnancy-related service costs, but that does not mean your personal health insurer will automatically cover a surrogate pregnancy.

A program should review your actual policy before transfer for exclusions, deductibles, coinsurance and other limitations. The contract should also specify who is responsible if a claim is denied or a separate policy must be purchased.

Agency support for surrogates can include insurance review, escrow coordination, travel arrangements and legal coordination in addition to matching.

For a North Dakota surrogate, those administrative details can matter as much as the advertised compensation because they determine how much of the financial and logistical burden you are expected to manage yourself.

Questions to Ask a North Dakota Surrogacy Agency Before You Apply

The best questions to ask before applying are the ones that show exactly what you would be paid, what expenses you could incur and how the agency handles North Dakota-specific legal and travel issues.

• What would my base compensation and estimated total compensation be?
• Does living in North Dakota affect my compensation offer?
• Which North Dakota attorney would represent me?
• How does the legal plan change if the intended parents use donor eggs or sperm?
• Where would I complete medical screening and embryo transfer?
• Which medical appointments can I complete near home?
• How are winter-weather travel disruptions handled?
• Who pays mileage, hotels, flights, meals and childcare?
• Who reviews my health-insurance policy?
• What happens if my insurer denies a pregnancy-related claim?
• When is escrow funded?
• Can I decline a proposed intended-parent match?
• What happens if a match ends before embryo transfer or pregnancy?

These questions can also show whether an agency has meaningful experience working with North Dakota residents or simply accepts applications from the state.

For example, a prospective surrogate in Williston should receive a clear answer about whether fertility treatment requires travel to Fargo or another state and how those costs are paid.

A vague promise that “travel is covered” is less useful than a written explanation of mileage rates, hotel arrangements, airfare, childcare and reimbursement timing.

Surrogacy Agencies in North Dakota

Several national agencies currently serve prospective surrogates who live in North Dakota, even though they do not maintain physical offices in the state.

• American Surrogacy (National): Serves prospective North Dakota surrogates and publishes state-specific information about requirements, compensation and legal considerations.
• Circle Surrogacy (National): Accepts North Dakota surrogates and provides matching, compensation coordination, insurance review and process support.
• Hatch Fertility (National): Serves women in communities including Fargo, Bismarck, Grand Forks, Minot, Dickinson and Jamestown and coordinates fertility-clinic travel when needed.
• Accel Conceptions (National): Accepts applicants throughout North Dakota and describes using local monitoring when possible while coordinating travel for certain fertility-clinic appointments.

You generally do not need to work with an agency headquartered in North Dakota. Many national agencies serve women in the state and coordinate screening, legal services, fertility-clinic care and travel across state lines.

Agency requirements and availability can change, so prospective surrogates should compare current eligibility, compensation and service details rather than assuming every national program works the same way.

Take the Next Step Toward Becoming a Surrogate in North Dakota

If you’re considering becoming a surrogate in North Dakota, the next useful step is to find out how a specific program would evaluate your pregnancy history, health and current circumstances.

North Dakota residents should also ask where medical screening and embryo transfer would happen, how the intended parents’ genetic circumstances affect the parentage plan and who pays for insurance gaps and required travel.

A program’s answers to those questions can tell you much more than its advertised compensation alone. They show what the process would actually ask of you and how much professional coordination you would receive.

Comparing those details before committing can help you choose a program that fits your financial expectations, travel needs and preferred level of professional support.

Find out whether you qualify and what you could earn as a surrogate in North Dakota by connecting with a surrogacy professional.