Every family dreams of the moment they hold their baby for the first time. But for many intended parents, a long wait can make that dream feel out of reach. And that’s why it is so discouraging to hear about how most surrogacy process timelines involve long waits.
Despite what you’ve heard, a long wait does not have to be a part of your process. We're committed to your success, and our short, 1 - 4 months wait times for matching helps you become a parent faster.
Ready to take the next step? Let us help you start your surrogacy journey today. Get started now.
In this article, we’ll break down what to expect at every stage and how our team fast-tracks your path to parenthood by prioritizing your time.
How Long Does the Surrogacy Process Take?
On average, the surrogacy process takes 14 to 17 months from start to finish with our agency. How long your surrogacy process takes can vary depending on the agency you work with. Of all the steps of the process, there are two that surrogacy agencies can significantly influence:
- Matching: Most agencies take 6-18 months or longer to match. But our intended parents match in 1 - 4 months .
- Screening: Only 2% of potential surrogates pass the screening process, and most agencies do not perform adequate surrogate screening before matching, which causes failures and significant delays. Our surrogates are fully screened before matching to give you the best chance of success.
Here’s a comprehensive surrogacy process timeline with our agency:
Consultation to Activation: As Soon as Possible
From the moment you contact our agency, you’re one step closer to parenthood.
During your consultation, we will answer your questions, outline the surrogacy process, and explain our different programs. From here, we can move at your speed. If you need some time, that’s okay. And if you are ready to get going right away, so are we.
Before you can go active, we’ll help you create your intended parent profile. This is what we will show prospective surrogate matches during the matching phase.
Once we have everything we need from you, you can go active immediately. Unlike other agencies that may take weeks to return your call or months to finalize this step, our streamlined surrogacy process ensures you're ready for matching as quickly as possible.
Matching with a Surrogate: 1 - 4 months
With our agency, you can expect to match with a surrogate in just 1 - 4 months, which is far faster than many agencies that require six months to a year or more.
Finding the right surrogate is a pivotal step in your journey and one that significantly impacts your overall surrogacy process timeline.
What Makes Our Matching Process Faster?
Unlike other agencies that start screening after matching, we pre-screen all surrogates before they are even presented to intended parents.
Many agencies match intended parents before screening is complete, which leads to failed matches and months—if not years—of additional delays.
Along with thorough screening, we invest heavily in extensive surrogate outreach. Our approach ensures you move forward with confidence, knowing your surrogate is fully qualified and ready for your clinic’s final clearance.
Surrogacy Contracts: 1-2 Months
Once the match has been finalized, you and your surrogate will work with your surrogacy specialist and respective attorneys to draft a surrogacy agreement.
This legal agreement outlines key aspects like surrogate compensation, medical care and parental rights, making sure everyone is on the same page and protected.
Once signed, your surrogate can move forward with the surrogacy medical process.
Medical Process: 1-2 Months
The surrogacy medical process includes steps to prepare your surrogate for a successful embryo transfer and pregnancy.
-
Medical screening: In addition to the initial clearance from your fertility clinic, your surrogate will undergo medical screening to ensure she is capable of safely conceiving and carrying a pregnancy.
-
Prepare for embryo transfer: Your surrogate will take hormone medications to prepare her uterus for the embryo transfer.
-
Mock cycle: Some clinics will do a mock cycle to test how the surrogate’s body responds to the medication protocol before the actual embryo transfer.
-
Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET): During this simple procedure, your highest-quality embryo is thawed and transferred to your surrogate’s uterus.
-
Confirmation of Pregnancy: About 10-14 days after the transfer, a beta hCG blood test will confirm if the transfer was successful. If it’s positive, additional appointments will be scheduled to monitor early pregnancy.
Your surrogacy specialist will be with you at every step, communicating with you and your surrogate to ensure a smooth process and providing guidance and support along the way.
Surrogate Pregnancy: 9 Months
During your surrogate’s pregnancy, she will continue to receive regular prenatal care, attend routine check-ups and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
You can be as involved as you feel comfortable, whether it’s attending medical appointments, maintaining communication or sending your surrogate care packages.
We will actively communicate with you and your surrogate throughout the pregnancy, lending practical and emotional support to both.
Deliver Day: Completing Your Journey!
This is the moment everything has led up to. Our team will help coordinate hospital planning and the necessary documentation to ensure a smooth transition for you, the surrogate and your baby.
The biggest factor in your surrogacy wait time that could be the difference between celebrating your baby’s arrival sooner rather than later is the length of time to match with a surrogate.
By prioritizing your time and pre-screening all surrogates, we can help you start your path to parenthood sooner, ensuring that this incredible moment arrives as quickly and smoothly as possible.
Why Does Surrogacy Take Longer With Some Agencies?
If you look around at other surrogacy process timelines, you will likely find longer estimates. The primary reason for this is long match times and incomplete screening.
Step Our Agency Other Agencies Consultation and Activation ASAP Weeks to Months Matching with a Surrogate 1-4 Months 6-18 Months or Longer Surrogacy Screening After Match Already Complete 1-3 Months Medical Process and Surrogate Pregnancy 10-11 Months 10-11 Months Average Surrogacy Timeline 14-17 Months 18-36+ Months
With regard to matching, many agencies struggle in three key areas:
- Matching too early: Matching with a surrogate before they’ve completed the screening process results in a failed match and repaying expensive fees. This would cause you to “re-match.” In other terms, you are back to square facing the same long wait.
- Unbalanced list: Many agencies sign up too many intended parents at once. One of the best questions you can ask any agency is how many families are waiting on their list. Signing up too many families at once can create long wait times because…
- Limited outreach: Not finding enough qualified surrogates causes significant delays. Many agencies do not have extensive surrogate outreach, which is why their families can wait years to match.
These three key time delays result in longer surrogacy timelines for intended parents. Our programs are built to overcome them all.
You Can Become a Parent Faster
Choosing a surrogacy agency will have the largest impact on how long your surrogacy process takes. We want you to become a parent faster, and our streamlined surrogacy process can help you match with a surrogate in as little as 1 - 4 months .