Yes, Michigan allows surrogacy through the 2024 law that took effect on April 2, 20251. I’m Vivi at LittleBee Surrogacy. If you’re considering another pregnancy around school mornings, your job and the help available at home, you can start by telling me about your pregnancies and your biggest question. You don’t need to have childcare for every appointment worked out before we talk. The 1988 law has been repealed2; the current conditions for you, your match and the contract matter now.
What do I need before I apply from Michigan?
To enter a Michigan surrogacy agreement, you must be at least 21 and have previously given birth to a child; medical evaluation, mental health consultation and your own independent Michigan-licensed lawyer are also required3. Our public age range is 21–36, and you can ask about your situation outside that range.
Use the table to see which question belongs where. Being old enough under the law answers one question; your health and pregnancy history still need their own attention.
| What I want to know | Michigan’s legal starting point | Our public starting point | What the clinic considers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Am I in the age range? | At least 21 | Usually 21–36 | Age alongside your health and pregnancy history |
| What counts as a past pregnancy? | You have given birth to at least one child | Tell us about your births and any complications | The records from those pregnancies and deliveries |
| What about my BMI or a health condition? | A medical evaluation is required | Tell us what is happening now | BMI, medicines and other findings from your assessment |
| What will the emotional assessment involve? | A mental health consultation is required | Bring questions about your family and support | Your preparation for carrying and the support available |
| Will I have someone advising me? | Your own independent Michigan-licensed lawyer | We coordinate with your legal team | The legal preparation needed before treatment |
Ideally, you have had at least one full-term pregnancy without complications4. If a past pregnancy was difficult, describe what happened. You don’t have to make it sound simpler to ask about applying.
Bring up medicines or birth control you use now, including an IUD; the medical screening guide explains how health history enters that assessment. For what you may discuss about feelings and family support, see the mental health screening guide.
How do I plan around the payments?
Our combined base-compensation range for first-time and experienced surrogates is $45,000–$85,000. If you’ve completed at least one surrogacy, the usual difference is $15,000–$30,000 more than for a first-time surrogate, within that combined range. These are LittleBee’s overall figures, not a Michigan average or your personal quote.
Michigan allows compensation, support and reasonable expenses in the contract, and requires disclosure of agreed expenses and medical costs the intended parents will cover5. The amount for you and the events that start payments belong in your written quote and payment plan.
Think about the bills already on your calendar. If a visit takes you away from a shift or you need childcare before money arrives, a total alone won’t tell you how to manage that week. Read the plan with your ordinary household budget beside it.
| What I’m planning for | What my quote needs to say | Who I ask | What I can then plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular household bills | Which event starts base payments and the installment schedule | My lawyer | When I can include those payments in my budget |
| A clinic trip | Which travel costs are approved and what receipts are needed | My coordinator; my lawyer for the payment terms | Transport and childcare before booking |
| Hours away from work | Which missed hours count and what wage evidence is needed | My lawyer | A conversation with my employer about those shifts |
| Help with children or housework | What starts that support and what needs approval | My lawyer and coordinator | Who can help and what I need to keep |
| A changed or cancelled plan | How costs already incurred and pending payments are handled | My lawyer | Who follows up on outstanding expenses |
Ask about a particular week: “If I miss this shift for an appointment, what happens next?” The fuller payment timing guide explains why signing and receiving base payments are different milestones. Our compensation overview separates base pay from the other parts of a quote.
What will I do, and what will I be waiting for?
You’ll start by sharing your pregnancy history, then work through screening, a match, your lawyer’s review and the clinic’s schedule before treatment. Each stage changes what you can arrange at home. The surrogacy timeline covers the overall journey; here, focus on what you’re doing and whose answer you’re waiting for.
- Tell us about yourself. Share your past pregnancies, current health and the part of your schedule that is hardest to move. Ask which records to request first; bring what you already have.
- Attend screening. Complete the medical evaluation and mental health consultation. Find out which appointments can be local and which require a longer trip, then arrange cover for those hours.
- Consider the match. Meet the intended parents and talk about communication, visits and the clinic. Before accepting, check whether the travel would work for your household.
- Work with your lawyer. Read the proposed contract and raise anything that would be hard for you or your family. Wait for your lawyer to confirm that the legal preparation is complete; the treatment requirements are below.
- Follow your treatment and prenatal appointments. Use the dates your clinic gives you, and leave room for changes. Tell the coordinator when a new appointment affects a shift or school pickup.
- Plan for birth and your own recovery. Decide who can help at home and who is handling questions after you leave the hospital. Your follow-up care belongs on the calendar too.
How many times would I have to fly? Ask that before accepting a match, while you can still think through who would be with your children.
Briana was considering a match with a fertility clinic in another state. She first pictured flying in for the transfer, staying a night or two and coming home. She had two school-aged children who couldn’t miss two days of school. Her mother could manage school pickup and bedtime for one night. Before accepting the match, Briana went through which appointments could happen near home, which trips meant flying, how long each stay might be and whether an approved companion needed to travel with her.
For your family, the useful answer is the actual set of trips and stays, rather than a fixed number. The surrogacy travel guide helps you ask those questions. With the treating IVF clinic’s approval, we can coordinate nearby checks.
For visits that affect your job, the appointment guide covers scheduling and time away. A short visit may still take much of your day once the drive and school run are included.
Who decides about my treatment and pregnancy?
You give consent for your own medical care through aftercare, including decisions about a C-section, the number of embryos transferred and your choice of practitioner6. Michigan law does not allow the contract to take those decisions away from you5.
That matters when a conversation moves from what everyone hopes for to a test or procedure being proposed for you. You can ask what it involves, why it is being suggested and what the alternatives are. You don’t have to give an answer in a group chat before you’ve had that conversation with your clinician.
The clinic decides which treatment it can offer. Your lawyer explains the contract terms. Our coordinators pass medical questions to your care team and relay the instructions those clinicians give; they don’t choose treatment or interpret a medical finding for you.
The intended parents may hope to join important appointments, while you may want routine visits to stay private. Talking through those expectations early helps everyone understand what you’re comfortable sharing. The matching guide covers those conversations and how to raise a concern before moving forward.
If a conversation leaves you uneasy, you can ask to talk privately before continuing it with everyone else. You can care about the intended parents’ hopes and still need space to explain what worries you about your own body.
What must my lawyer settle before treatment?
You’ll have your own independent Michigan-licensed lawyer, and the intended parents must pay for that legal representation7. You can bring up the part of a proposal that doesn’t fit your family without having to work out the legal wording yourself.
Your lawyer will check the people you’re matched with. Each intended parent must be at least 21, complete a mental health consultation and have independent Michigan counsel, whether or not genetically related to the child3. The law allows one or more intended parents, and an intended parent can be married or unmarried8.
Before treatment, ask your lawyer to check these points:
- The Michigan connection: a party lives in Michigan, the birth is expected there or an assisted reproduction procedure will happen there.
- Everyone who must sign: each intended parent, you and your current spouse if you’re married, with the signatures notarized.
- The timing: the contract must be completed before surrogacy-related medical procedures; the required medical evaluation and mental health consultation are the exceptions. Signing alone doesn’t cover every requirement7.
You can stop before transfer, or after a transfer hasn’t led to pregnancy and before another transfer, by notifying every other party in writing; unless fraud is involved, using that right carries no penalty9. Ask your lawyer how to give the notice. Also ask about already incurred reimbursable expenses and anything the contract says about them9.
As a remedy for a contract dispute, a court cannot force you to undergo an embryo transfer, end a pregnancy or have any medical procedure10.
With a compliant contract, the intended parents are recognized as parents at birth, subject to the law’s exceptions11. For your part, check the names, sign the statement that you entered the contract knowingly and voluntarily, and ask your lawyer whether you need to attend court and what the hospital will receive12. The legal clearance guide explains the preparation in more detail.
Who helps when my plans at home change?
Tell your coordinator what has changed in your day: a visit that runs past dismissal, a shift you can’t cover or medical instructions that mean you need help with the children. When clinicians limit your activity, we help arrange childcare and household help. You don’t have to describe your family as able to handle everything to explain where you need another pair of hands.
Reasonable expenses are reimbursed under your agreement, with receipts, through escrow; your coordinator follows up on progress. Ask which costs need receipts and what to send for missed work. The base pay and additional expenses guide explains the different parts, so a lost shift and a regular payment don’t get mixed together.
For surrogates in our program, a voluntary, confidential peer group offers a place to talk and isn’t recorded. It isn’t therapy. When professional support is needed, we can arrange a referral to a qualified professional, and that cost doesn’t fall to the surrogate in our program. You decide what you want to share. While you’re applying or going through screening, ask me what support is available at that stage.
During delivery and newborn observation, we coordinate your recovery separately from the intended parents’ matters, so you don’t have to carry messages between everyone. For night-time or urgent coordination, contact the on-call coordinator; a medical emergency needs medical help immediately.
Before birth, name the person who could take over dinner and bedtime if a visit takes longer than expected. Then ask who you would contact after coming home, including if your mood or recovery is worrying you. The postpartum support guide helps you plan that next part.
Start your LittleBee surrogate application, or email support@littlebeesurrogacy.com with your Michigan city and first question. I’ll explain what to gather next. You can also browse our For Surrogates guides.
References
- Assisted Reproduction and Surrogacy Parentage Act (Act 24 of 2024) — legislature.mi.gov
- Surrogate Parenting Act (Act 199 of 1988): Repealed — legislature.mi.gov
- 722.1901 Execution of surrogacy agreements; individual requirements. — legislature.mi.gov
- Recommendations for practices using gestational carriers: a committee opinion (2022) — asrm.org
- 722.1903 Surrogacy agreement; compliance requirements; permissible provisions. — legislature.mi.gov
- Consideration of the gestational carrier: an Ethics Committee opinion — asrm.org
- 722.1902 Surrogacy agreement; process requirements. — legislature.mi.gov
- 722.1703 Definitions. — legislature.mi.gov
- 722.1905 Termination of surrogacy agreement. — legislature.mi.gov
- 722.1909 Effect and enforceability of surrogacy agreement. — legislature.mi.gov
- 722.1906 Establishment of parent-child relationship under surrogacy agreement. — legislature.mi.gov
- 722.1908 Court judgment of parentage under surrogacy agreement. — legislature.mi.gov
About the author: I’m Vivi, a Client Manager at LittleBee Surrogacy. I’ve worked in surrogacy for 13 years and with more than 720 families. I handle initial application questions and explain what to gather next.