Surrogacy laws by country

The vast majority of the world's countries do not have legal frameworks regulating surrogacy. For countries with legal frameworks, some ban commercial (i.e. for profit) surrogacy and regulate the legal contract in altruistic (e.g. reimbursement of expenses) surrogacy. Other countries legalize, or ban, both forms.

Often, there are age requirements and medical evaluations for the surrogate to be eligible for surrogacy. Some countries have different legal statuses between gestational, where the surrogate is not an intended parent, and traditional, where the biological mother carries the child. Most jurisdictions in the world give full legal rights for the surrogate to keep the child after birth, with notable exceptions being Georgia, Greece, Kyrgyzstan, and Ukraine. Fertile partners, LGBT partners, recently married partners, unmarried partners, or single people may be ineligible to use surrogacy services, despite being legal in their country otherwise. Artificial methods of conception may be excluded or restricted as well.

Of the countries which allow surrogacy, many have residency or citizenship requirements for the intended parent(s) and/or the surrogate. Countries without such requirements often attract persons from abroad, being destinations for fertility tourism. Some countries, like Italy, have banned their citizens from traveling abroad for surrogacy, with punishment of fines, jail time, and/or denying the child from obtaining legal citizenship in the parents' country of origin.

Notable countries that have legally banned surrogacy in both forms include: China, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, and Türkiye.

Notable countries with legal frameworks for altruistic surrogacy include: Canada, Cuba, Greece, India, Israel, Portugal, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam.

Notable countries that have all (including commercial) forms of surrogacy legal include: Georgia, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Thailand, and Ukraine.

Within Australia, Canada, Mexico, and the United States, there are varying views of surrogacy between the states/provinces/territories.