Learn how to find a surrogate and plan local next steps in San Francisco, with California resources organized for intended parents.
A practical San Francisco guide to the legal framework, reproductive-care options, independent verification, and the decisions that shape timing and cost.
Reviewed September 3, 2026The city does not create a separate surrogacy law. California law, clinic policy, and the actual parties determine the available path. Obtain independent advice before an agreement, payment, medication, or embryo transfer.
Read the complete California surrogacy guide →A Bay Area journey may cross San Francisco, the Peninsula, and the East Bay. The strongest plan decides early whether the carrier will monitor locally, which laboratory controls the embryo record, and which county will handle delivery and parentage work.
Cal. Fam. Code § 7960 — DefinitionsA gestational-carrier agreement is presumptively valid when it identifies the parties, gamete sources, disclosure and payment terms, and insurance; each side has separate independent counsel; signatures are notarized or witnessed; and the agreement is fully executed before medications or procedures begin. California also regulates how client funds are held by non-attorney facilitators.
An intended parent may be an individual, married or unmarried, and the statute does not require a genetic connection or California residency. The agreement must identify each intended parent and disclose the source of the eggs and sperm.
An intended parent, carrier, or carrier's counsel may file a parentage action before birth in a county authorized by § 7962. For a compliant agreement, the court must issue a judgment establishing the intended parent or parents as the child's legal parent or parents, and California Rule of Court 5.78 and form SUR-100(J) govern the judgment process beginning July 1, 2026.
General educational information, not legal advice. Laws, clinic policies, and court practices change; licensed counsel must review the parties, agreement, and expected place of birth.
These official resources and provider pages create a practical shortlist. Inclusion is not an endorsement or confirmation that a program will accept your case; verify services, clinicians, location, licensing, and fees directly.
UCSF lists IVF, genetic counseling, psychological support, donor services, and gestational surrogacy in its Bay Area program.
Review this source ↗Stanford describes third-party reproduction, IVF with a gestational carrier, donor options, and mental-health support; confirm where each visit would occur.
Review this source ↗Use the CDC directory to confirm reported services and compare clinic profiles before relying on a marketing claim or starting a carrier cycle.
Review this source ↗Will you accept our family structure, embryo plan, and proposed carrier?
Which medical, infectious-disease, genetic, and psychological screenings are required?
Where do laboratory work, monitoring, transfer, and after-hours care occur?
Will you provide stage-by-stage pricing and cancellation or repeat-cycle policies in writing?
Do not delegate every diligence step to a clinic or agency. Independently verify counsel, the medical facility, fund handling, and the parentage route.
Read ASRM gestational-carrier guidance ↗Confirm active licensure and ask specifically about assisted-reproduction agreements, parentage work, and experience in the expected delivery county.
Open resource ↗Review the state pathway, eligibility, agreement rules, parentage, and cited authorities before interviewing counsel.
Open resource ↗ASRM addresses medical and psychological evaluation, independent legal counsel, informed consent, and clinical coordination before transfer.
Open resource ↗These are neutral verification starting points, not recommendations. Confirm licensing, relevant experience, conflicts, fees, and whom each professional represents.
State Bar of California attorney search ↗A responsible estimate starts with the people, legal route, embryo plan, clinic, coverage, and place of birth. Account for bridge traffic, clinic-specific weekend monitoring, and the distance between the transfer clinic and the selected obstetric hospital; these details affect the carrier’s schedule more than a city label suggests.
Share family structure, nationalities, residence, genetics, embryo history, and expected place of birth with independent counsel and the clinic before matching.
Confirm screening, laboratory work, monitoring, transfer, obstetrics, mental-health support, urgent care, and delivery—with named people and exact locations.
Each side needs independent advice. Align consent, coverage, expenses, funds, privacy, medical decisions, and contingencies before transfer.
Keep one shared calendar for medical and legal milestones in San Francisco, including the hospital, parentage, civil record, and any consular process.
Screening, IVF, medication, donor services, selected genetic testing, storage, transport, monitoring, transfer, and possible repeat cycles.
Independent counsel, agreements, parentage, registration, insurance review, safeguarded funds, background checks, counseling, and coordination.
Compensation where permitted, medical care, travel, clothing, childcare, lost income, and other agreement-defined expenses.
Rematching, cancellation, repeat transfer, coverage exclusions, complications, bed rest, multiples, and consular requirements.
Prices and policies change. Obtain current quotes from the people who would actually provide each service, then have counsel reconcile them with the agreement and funding schedule.
Explore local planning details and questions to ask before your next step.
