If you live in New Hampshire and are quietly looking into gestational surrogacy, the short answer is that the path exists. Many national agencies accept applicants from the state. Whether it works for you depends on three things: medical screening by a fertility clinic, the criteria of the programme you apply to, and a legal arrangement that an independent New Hampshire attorney confirms for your situation.
This page walks through each of those from your side: whether you are likely to meet common criteria, how pay is structured, what the process asks of your time and body, and how to choose a programme. It also covers where in New Hampshire you live and how that shapes travel.
Surrogate Compass is an independent platform, not an agency. We help you understand your options and connect you with agencies. Agencies screen, match, contract and pay. Nothing here is legal or medical advice.
How New Hampshire Treats Surrogacy Legally
Surrogacy law is set state by state, and it differs a great deal. Some states have detailed statutes, some rely on courts, and some are hostile to compensated arrangements. You can see how different the picture looks by reading about becoming a surrogate in Illinois or surrogacy in Pennsylvania.
For New Hampshire, the specific legal questions belong with an independent attorney licensed in the state. Those questions include:
- How New Hampshire law treats your gestational surrogacy agreement, and whether and how it is enforceable.
- Whether a parentage order can be obtained before birth, which court handles it, and in which county it is filed.
- Whether your residence, the intended parents' residence or the place of birth affects which state's law applies.
Some points hold regardless of state. Gestational surrogacy means the embryo is created from the intended parents' or donors' genetic material, so you have no genetic connection to the baby. Traditional surrogacy, where the surrogate's own egg is used, is treated very differently, and agencies generally work with gestational arrangements only.
Independent legal counsel for you is the other constant. Your attorney should represent you alone, separate from the agency and from the intended parents' lawyer. Without a clearly settled framework you can read for yourself, that attorney is how you learn what your agreement means in New Hampshire. Ask any programme who pays for your attorney before you go further.
The New Hampshire Judicial Branch publishes court locations and county information, which is useful once your attorney explains which court your case involves.
Basic Eligibility Requirements for New Hampshire Surrogates
What would a programme look at first? Mostly the same things it looks at anywhere in the country. New Hampshire does not, as far as this page can confirm, add its own medical criteria. Every programme and clinic sets its own, and a medical team makes the final call.
Commonly used criteria include:
- Age. Often roughly 21 to 40. The upper limit varies by agency and clinic protocol.
- Pregnancy history. At least one prior pregnancy carried to delivery without serious complications, and usually raising at least one child.
- BMI. Many clinics set a ceiling, with figures around 32 to 33 commonly cited. This is a medical protocol, and some clinics differ.
- Health habits. Non-smoking, no recreational drug use, and no medications that conflict with IVF protocols.
- Financial stability. Many programmes ask that you are not currently receiving means-tested public assistance. This is a screening practice, not a judgment.
- Status. Many programmes ask for U.S. citizenship or permanent residency.
- Background. No significant criminal history.
- Psychological readiness. Willingness to complete a mental health evaluation.
If one item does not fit, it does not mean you are ruled out everywhere. Standards differ, and a clinic reviewing your records decides. Meeting these criteria is not approval or a match. Agency, medical and psychological screening determine that.
The Surrogacy Process in New Hampshire, Step by Step
The process runs in roughly this order, and a realistic general estimate is 12 to 18 months from application to delivery. Some journeys are shorter, some longer.
- Application. You apply to an agency, or in some cases enter an independent arrangement coordinated through attorneys.
- Records review. Your obstetric records are reviewed for a preliminary eligibility decision.
- Psychological evaluation. Usually with a licensed mental health professional experienced in reproduction.
- Matching. The agency introduces you to intended parents whose expectations fit yours. This can take weeks or months.
- Legal phase. The gestational surrogacy agreement is drafted, negotiated by your own attorney and signed before medical steps begin.
- Medical clearance. The fertility clinic may run a mock cycle, a uterine evaluation and infectious disease screening.
- Embryo transfer and the two-week wait. A pregnancy test follows roughly two weeks after transfer.
- Prenatal care. Once pregnancy is confirmed and you are released from the clinic, care usually moves to your own OB in New Hampshire.
- Parentage steps. Your attorney handles any court process to establish the intended parents' parentage.
- Delivery and after. Birth, any remaining legal steps and postpartum recovery.
Where you deliver depends on where you live and your OB's hospital privileges. Hospitals with obstetric services across the state include Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, Elliot Hospital in Manchester, Concord Hospital, Portsmouth Regional Hospital, Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover and Southern New Hampshire Medical Center in Nashua. Confirm the birth plan with your OB and the agency.
Compensation and Expenses: What New Hampshire Surrogates Receive
Pay in a surrogacy arrangement usually has two parts, and they are set out separately in the contract.
Base compensation. A set amount, usually paid in monthly installments once pregnancy is confirmed. It varies by agency, by the intended parents' budget and by whether you have carried before. First-time and experienced surrogates are typically offered different amounts. This page gives no dollar figure because none has been verified for New Hampshire, and an advertised top rate is not what a first-time surrogate is paid.
Expense reimbursements. These are separate from base pay. Categories often included are a maternity clothing allowance, travel to medical appointments, lost wages for missed work, childcare during appointments, and housekeeping help during recovery. Which categories are included, and how much each covers, is negotiated.
The bigger costs are worth asking about directly:
- Who pays the fertility clinic, prenatal care and delivery, and through which insurance?
- Who pays for your independent attorney?
- Does the arrangement include life insurance or disability cover for you, who pays, and how long does it run?
- How are lost wages calculated and documented?
All of it should be written into the gestational surrogacy agreement before any medical procedure begins. Your attorney reviews those terms on your behalf. Informal payment is a warning sign.