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The Ultimate Guide to Surrogacy in Utah

When you first begin looking into surrogacy – whether you are a woman interested in becoming a surrogate mother in Utah or an intended parent hoping to grow your family through surrogacy – it can feel a little overwhelming. We’re here to help you navigate surrogacy in Utah, from the surrogacy process, to how to become a surrogate to, how to find a surrogate, and much more.

 Intended Parents Research Surrogacy on Computer

Table of Contents

An Overview of Surrogacy in Utah

Utah is a surrogacy-friendly state for both gestational carriers and intended parents. Couples and individuals from a variety of backgrounds, ages, and sexual orientations turn to surrogacy to build their families.

The different types of intended parents from Utah who may use surrogacy and egg donation to grow their families include:

  • Heterosexual couples who have struggled with infertility
  • Intended mothers who are unable to carry a child
  • Intended parents who have a genetic defect or health condition they don’t want to pass on to their child
  • LGBTQ+ intended parents who want to have a genetic link to their baby

No two surrogacy journeys are the same!

Why Utah is a Great State for Surrogacy

If you live in Utah and you’re ready to start a surrogacy journey, there are many benefits for you as intended parents, including:

  • Local IVF clinics. Circle works closely with the most successful IVF clinics. Working with a local clinic helps to reduce travel costs associated with your journey. If you’re already established with an IVF clinic, we’re happy to work with your clinic of choice.
  • Local surrogates. If you’re interested in working with a surrogate mother who lives close to you, Circle can help.
  • Weve got people on both coasts. Circle is based on both the East and West Coasts, and we have team members on both coasts who are parents through surrogacy and always happy to share their experiences.
  • Flexible consultation schedule. We are available for consults via Skype during the day and evenings.

Surrogacy in Utah for Intended Parents

Surrogacy and egg donation have been helping straight and LGBTQ+ singles and couples in Utah grow their families for decades. Utah is a surrogacy friendly state, and intended parents will find many top-rated IVF clinics on the west coast.

Below you'll find information about surrogacy in Utah, including what the surrogacy process looks like, how much surrogacy costs in Utah, how to find a surrogate or egg donor, and so much more. The process can feel overwhelming at first, but the more you read and research, the more familiar it will become to you. Many professionals are involved in a surrogacy journey, and it is a life-changing experience.

We're ready to help intended parents from all over Utah – from Salt Lake City to Park City, Ogden and Provo and everywhere in between – realize their dreams of having a baby.
 The Surrogacy Process in Utah

The Surrogacy Process in Utah

Circle Surrogacy has been helping singles and couples from Utah grow their families through surrogacy and egg donation for almost 25 years.

The surrogacy process can feel complex and overwhelming, as there are many moving parts. Working with an agency can help you navigate the milestones and events throughout your journey so that you can focus on the most important thing: preparing for the arrival of your baby!

You may choose to undergo your surrogacy journey independently or with the help of a surrogacy agency. With over two decades of experience, Circle Surrogacy recommends working with an agency to ensure you have the proper support to ensure you have a smooth and safe journey.

Choosing an Agency

Beginning your journey toward surrogacy is a big step, so it’s important to do your research! Not every surrogacy agency is a good fit. Finding a surrogacy agency in Utah with which you have good chemistry and who shares your views about the surrogacy process is key to a successful journey.

Also, surrogacy laws vary by state, so working with an agency that has lawyers knowledgeable in ART and surrogacy law is essential. They will help you understand the surrogacy laws in Utah.

Finding a Surrogate and Egg Donor

Before matching with your surrogate, you’ll need to match with your egg donor (if needed). You can search our egg donor database, where you’ll find bright and ambitious young women who are excited for the opportunity to help you grow your family.

Your Matching Team will help you find the perfect surrogate match and encourage you to form a strong bond with the woman who will carry your baby(ies). If you’d like to find a surrogate in Utah, you can share your preference with your Matching Team.

Pregnancy and Parenthood

During pregnancy, your agency will be supporting you through each milestone, helping you prepare for traveling for the birth and ensuring you have everything you need to return home safely and securely. This is a wonderful time to develop your relationship with your surrogate further, and if she lives close to Utah, visit her for appointments.

Starting the Surrogacy Process

Once you’ve identified surrogacy as the way you’d like to grow your family, and you’ve selected an agency with which you’d like to meet, the first step is to schedule a consultation.

A surrogacy consultation is an in-depth meeting (about 2 to 2 1/2 hours long) with a parent intake consultant and a lawyer. This private meeting will allow us to get to know you and your story, as well as talk about surrogacy and the process as it relates to your personal situation. We’ll help you understand surrogacy programs and surrogacy costs, as well.

If you're not ready for a full consultation but would like more information, you can schedule a pre-consultation with our intake team by contacting [email protected] and someone will reach out to coordinate a time.

 Becoming a Parent in Utah

Becoming a Parent in Utah

Bringing a baby into your family is one of the greatest joys you can experience. Intended parents from Utah have been using surrogacy as a means to grow their families for decades. Surrogacy is a safe way to have the family you’ve always dreamed of.

Understanding Utah surrogacy laws, the surrogacy process, and surrogacy costs will help you make an informed decision to grow your family.

How Much Does Surrogacy Cost in Utah?

Circle Surrogacy offers one all-inclusive surrogacy cost program for intended parents living in Utah: the Journey Protection Guarantee Program.

This program was designed to provide the utmost protection and financial security for intended parents, with no surprise costs or fees popping up during the journey. No other surrogacy agency can promise that!

Journey Protection Guarantee Program

Surrogacy only: $157,750
Surrogacy plus egg donation: $184,750
(both prices exclude IVF)

Our Journey Protection Guarantee offers Intended Parents:

  • An all-inclusive program that covers all Surrogate fees and expenses for unlimited transfers and any complications that may arise during your journey
  • No surprise costs or invoices, even in scenarios that require a rematch with a new Surrogate

Unlike other agencies, Circle Surrogacy fixes the costs on fees associated with your surrogacy journey. With our Journey Protection Guarantee Program, intended parents can expect fixed costs on the following:

• Professional Fees
• Gestational Carrier (i.e., surrogate) and Egg Donor Fees
• Pregnancy, Labor & Delivery Insurance

Circle Surrogacy is proud to offer this all-inclusive program to help as many Intended Parents in Utah as possible bring home a baby while reducing variable costs.

The costs outlined above are for our Surrogacy Only and Surrogacy Plus Egg Donation Programs. For more information about the costs of our other programs, please email us or call us at 617.439.9900.

Some intended parents may have the opportunity to qualify for financing for their journey. Please speak with our Parent Intake Team or Consultation Team or by filling out this form.

Finding a Surrogate Mother in Utah

Finding your surrogate match is an exciting time in your journey to parenthood. Circle has worked with many surrogate mothers from Utah, as well as most of the surrounding states.

Get Started

It’s hard to imagine what it will be like finding the right woman to carry your baby(ies). In many cases, intended parents aren’t quite sure what they should look for in a gestational carrier.

The first steps in finding a surrogate mother match are considering what you’re looking for in a surrogate, your relationship with your surrogate, and your expectations for your journey.

Thinking about what’s important to you in your gestational carrier and journey will make it easier to find a surrogate on your own (if you’re making an independent journey) or to determine if your surrogacy agency has presented you with a good match.

We’ll help find your surrogate mother match.

You’ll be asked to fill out an intended parent profile that allows us to get to know you better and helps your Matching Team find your surrogate match.

This profile is filled with information about you, your relationship (if you are coupled), your family, your hobbies, your plans for parenthood, and what brought you to surrogacy. We’ll ask that you also share photos of yourself, your loved ones, and anything else that gives a good sense of who you are as people.

In addition to your profile, there are specific criteria on which you will be matched with your gestational carrier. Intended parents are matched according to their preferences on a variety of criteria, including:

  • Level of communication with their surrogate during the journey
  • City and state in which the surrogate mother lives
  • Number of embryos they want to transfer
  • Views on selective reduction and termination

If you are making an independent surrogacy journey, you can use the above as guidelines as to what you should be looking for in a suitable match.

 3 Criteria for Finding Surrogate Mothers

3 Criteria for Finding Surrogate Mothers

We recommend intended parents keep the following 3 criteria in mind when searching for a surrogate mother in Utah:

1. Is she an appropriate legal fit? In the United States, each state has its own laws regarding surrogacy. In addition, each country we assist in has different requirements and laws regarding surrogacy. Therefore, our legal team ensures that the laws of the surrogate’s home state (where the delivery will take place) complement the laws of the intended parents’ home state/country (including laws around same-sex parenting). The legal department will always approve a match from a legal standpoint before a surrogate profile is presented to the intended parents. We will never knowingly present matches that are not a safe legal fit.

2. Do her personality and surrogacy expectations match yours? At Circle, your Matching Team (which includes a lawyer) will work together to find you the best surrogate match. Surrogates and intended parents undergo phone calls or in-person meetings with the Circle team early in the process; these meetings help determine your personality as it relates to surrogacy. We also look at IPs’ and surrogates’ expectations and hopes for the journey, including the number of embryos to transfer and communication styles.

3. Do you agree on expectations surrounding termination and selective reduction? We ask IPs and surrogates their views on termination of a pregnancy as we want to create a match of IPs and surrogates who share similar views. We want to ensure that the views of the surrogate and the views of the intended parents align in the event a situation arises where a reduction or termination is considered. In our experience, many intended parents prefer the option to make the choice of termination.

Circle Surrogacy performs a thorough surrogate screening to match intended parents with surrogates who are strong, healthy, and the most likely to be successful.

Finding an Egg Donor in Utah

Some intended parents require an egg donor in order to grow their family. This young woman will provide half of your child’s biology, so it’s important to choose carefully. As you start your search, it’s a good idea to think about what’s important to you in an egg donor match

Here are some things to consider that can help you find your perfect egg donor match:

  • Do you want her personality, appearance, and other qualities to be similar to yours or complement them?
  • Are there any qualities that you definitely want her to have?
  • What are you looking for in education? Appearance? Ethnicity? Personality?

Our Egg Donor Database

The first place most intended parents search is an egg donor database. Most egg donor databases can be searched by certain criteria. Circle’s egg donor database makes it easy to search on a variety of qualities, including:

  • Physical attributes (hair/eye color)
  • Race/ethnicity
  • Education
  • Previous fertility
  • Geography

It’s okay if you do not know what you’re looking for in a donor. We are here to help.

Surrogacy Laws in Utah

Is surrogacy legal in Utah? The state allows gestational surrogacy, and a surrogacy agreement is legally binding as long as the legal requirements have been met. Below are some of the required terms of a surrogacy arrangement in Utah.

  • Surrogacy agreement must be validated in court.
  • Surrogate must have had one prior pregnancy and delivery.
  • One of the intended parents must be genetically linked to the offspring.
  • The intended parents must be married.
  • All parties must be at least 21 years old and attend counseling.
  • At least one person in the arrangement must be a Utah resident for at least 90 days before entering a surrogacy contract.
  • The intended mother must show she is unable to carry a pregnancy or give birth.

Determining Parentage in Utah

While the intended parents have full parental rights after the birth, a surrogate has full control over her healthcare decisions during the pregnancy. Moreover, compensation to the surrogate is permitted as long as it’s reasonable. Although the statute speaks of heterosexual couples, based on recent federal court decisions, local counsel has stated that same-sex couples can utilize the statute, as well.

Surrogacy for Surrogates in Utah

There is so much to learn about becoming a surrogate. We're here to help you navigate surrogacy in Utah, from understanding what a surrogate is, what to expect, how being a surrogate can affect your life, to how to apply become a surrogate mother.

Utah is a surrogacy-friendly state, with many IVF clinics. We work with many surrogates from Utah – from Salt Lake City to Park City, Ogden and Provo and everywhere in between. In fact, Circle has a strong network of experienced surrogates in the Utah area and surrounding states.

Read on to see how rewarding being a surrogate can be when you help those who aren't able to have a baby on their own experience the joys of parenthood.

What Is a Surrogate

Surrogates carry babies for those who are unable to have a baby on their own (they are often referred to as "Intended Parents" or "IPs").

Other terms for a surrogate include:
• Surrogate Mother
• Gestational Carrier
• Gestational Surrogate

Most surrogate mothers are gestational surrogates, meaning the surrogate mother does not use her own eggs and doesn't share any genetics with the baby. Surrogates are compensated and protected legally by a contract signed by all parties.

Circle Surrogacy only works with gestational carriers – women who do not share biology with the baby they are carrying.


Surrogates are kind, giving and selfless. They love being parents, and want others to be able to experience that same joy.

 Surrogacy announcement on letterboard

5 Things To Know About Being a Surrogate

There is a lot of information out there about becoming a surrogate, but here are 5 quick things for you to know before you begin!

  1. Surrogates do NOT use their own DNA (eggs) for the babies they carry
  2. Surrogates are paid throughout the entirety of their journey (not at the end) and start before pregnancy
  3. Surrogates have a say in with whom they match; all matches are mutual
  4. Surrogates DO need to give themselves injections as part of the IVF process; most surrogates say these needles are no big deal
  5. Surrogates will have to say goodbye to the baby; they look forward to "giving the baby back" to their intended parents; because they are not genetically related to the baby, surrogates do not feel an "attachment" to the babies they carry

Ready to learn more? Read on!

The Process for Surrogates in Utah

At Circle, our Utah surrogates receive the support and guidance of our experienced social workers and program coordinators, many who have been surrogates themselves. We support women wherever they are in the process whether they are ready to apply now or are interested but want to talk with experienced surrogates or Surrogate Advisors. Here is an overview of the process:

  • Pre-screening
  • Consultation
  • Matching with intended parents
  • Medical screening and legal contracts
  • Monitoring appointments and embryo transfer
  • Pregnancy
  • Delivery

Learn more about the surrogacy process at Circle.

Getting Started as a Surrogate

Wherever you are in your journey, we suggest completing our online surrogacy application. It takes only about 10 minutes to complete and there is no obligation to proceed if you aren’t ready.

 Becoming a Surrogate Mother in Utah

Becoming a Surrogate Mother in Utah

Women who become surrogates are generous, adventurous, and kind. They are teachers, nurses, and stay-at-home moms. They are passionate about their families. They are spirited, caring, and selfless.

They are just like you.

Requirements for Becoming a Surrogate in Utah

You must meet the following requirements to qualify as a surrogate in Utah:

  • Have delivered a child of your own and be currently parenting at least one child.
  • Have had uncomplicated pregnancies and deliveries, as documented by medical records.
  • Be between the ages of 21 and 44.
  • Have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of no higher than 33. Calculate my BMI.
  • Be a citizen, legal resident, or legal immigrant of the United States. If you are a legal resident or legal immigrant of the United States, you must be able to provide documentation that is valid for at least 2 years.
  • Do not participate in the following government aid programs: cash assistance, welfare, public housing, and Section 8. All other forms of government assistance will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Review all surrogate requirements

Benefits of Being a Surrogate in Utah

  • Gain an incredible sense of self-fulfillment from giving the greatest gift humanly possible to another family
  • Earn up to $60K+ with a customized benefits package
  • Build a life-long relationship with forever-grateful intended parents
  • Work with a personal journey coordination team and licensed social worker
  • Consult with your legal representation to guide you through the legal process

How Much Do Surrogates Make in Utah?

Women who live in Utah and apply to become surrogate mothers do so because they have the desire to help others experience the joy of parenthood. While there is a monetary incentive to be a surrogate, the indescribable sense of fulfillment our surrogates get from helping intended families bring a child into the world cannot be found doing anything else.

As a surrogate mother in Utah, you have the opportunity to earn between $55,000 and $60,000 in payments and benefits. Surrogate mothers are paid a base fee of between $35,000 to $40,000, plus additional compensation and benefits for milestones along their journey.

How much you will make as a surrogate will depend on a few criteria: the state you live in, if you have insurance, and if you’re an experienced gestational carrier.

Calculate your surrogate pay in Utah with our surrogate compensation calculator.

Surrogate payments are made monthly, and surrogate mothers start earning compensation and benefits even before they are pregnant.

How Circle Surrogacy Supports Surrogates

Circle provides best-in-class surrogate support because so many of our staff are experienced surrogates – and they have shared with us the type of support surrogates need on their journey. Our surrogates receive top-notch prescreening, social work, and legal and journey support from the moment they fill out their application until months after they deliver. Our team is ready to answer any question you can dream of (and then some).

You’ll also be connected with other surrogate mothers through private social groups, and you’ll experience exclusive events with the Circle team.

We can also connect you with skilled, trustworthy experts. For example, when it’s time for you to review legal contracts, we’ll recommend an attorney local to you with whom we’ve worked previously and who has a strong working knowledge of assisted reproduction technology law. It’s just one more way we can clear the path for you and make the entire surrogacy program as seamless as possible. Read our blog post about the 10 steps to becoming to a surrogate.

Finding a Perfect Intended Parent Match

As a Utah gestational surrogate, the question of who you help is almost as important as your decision to help. After all, you and the prospective parents will embark on a monumental journey together. You want to be sure that you connect with and trust them fully. That’s why Circle Surrogacy built an extensive and thorough matching process.

As a first step, your Surrogate Support Team will try to find the perfect intended parent(s) for you based on personality fit and legal circumstances. You’ll get to review each other’s profiles, ask questions, and generally feel each other out. There will also be an initial Skype call and, possibly, an in-person meeting. It’s all about making sure both you and the intended parent(s) feel entirely comfortable with the match. And of course, the surrogacy agreement only moves forward if you do.

Circle works with single parents, LGBTQ+ and heterosexual couples, domestic and international couples, and more. We’re confident you’ll be able to find a great match.

Getting Started

Whether you are intended parents or interested in becoming a surrogate or egg donor, the surrogacy process can be one of the most rewarding experiences of your life. Learning more about surrogacy is the first step of your journey.