Tennessee's statutory 'surrogate birth' description is narrow and does not itself broadly authorize surrogacy. The clearest gestational route described by statute uses the wife's egg and husband's sperm and contemplates relinquishment to those biological parents; Tennessee cases caution that a contract cannot bypass the parental rights of a genetic carrier.
State law makes some surrogacy agreements void, prohibited, or available only through a narrow pathway that requires specialized review.
Tennessee's Supreme Court has said surrogacy agreements are not automatically void as against public policy, but enforceability is limited by parentage, consent, and public-policy rules. Compensation is not comprehensively regulated by the cited statute or cases, and contract language cannot accomplish an invalid pre-birth termination of parental rights.
The statute's gestational example is a married husband and wife who are both genetic parents. Configurations outside that description—including a non-genetic intended parent—require separate analysis and may require adoption or another post-birth parentage route; the cases should not be treated as a broad marriage-neutral eligibility code.
For the narrow gestational arrangement described in § 36-1-102, no surrender or adoption is required by the biological intended parents. Outside that route, Tennessee appellate decisions require the person who gives birth to appear on the original live-birth certificate; the certificate itself does not adjudicate parentage. A non-genetic intended parent may need a post-birth adoption or other parentage proceeding, and a genetic carrier's rights cannot be terminated by a pre-birth contract alone.
Before selecting embryos or a carrier, identify whose egg and sperm will be used because Tennessee's clearest statutory route is tied to a married biological mother and father.
A non-genetic intended parent may need a post-birth adoption or other parentage proceeding rather than relying on the agreement alone.
In re Baby held that a genetic carrier was the legal mother and that pre-birth contractual termination of her rights was ineffective.
Sequence matters. Use these steps to prepare for a conversation with qualified assisted-reproduction professionals.
Engage Tennessee reproductive and adoption counsel before embryo creation or matching to determine whether the statutory biological-parent route fits and to plan any necessary post-birth proceeding.
The statute's gestational example is a married husband and wife who are both genetic parents. Configurations outside that description—including a non-genetic intended parent—require separate analysis and may require adoption or another post-birth parentage route; the cases should not be treated as a broad marriage-neutral eligibility code.
Coordinate the clinic, surrogate screening, insurance review, independent attorneys, and all required signatures before medication or embryo transfer. Tennessee's Supreme Court has said surrogacy agreements are not automatically void as against public policy, but enforceability is limited by parentage, consent, and public-policy rules. Compensation is not comprehensively regulated by the cited statute or cases, and contract language cannot accomplish an invalid pre-birth termination of parental rights.
For the narrow gestational arrangement described in § 36-1-102, no surrender or adoption is required by the biological intended parents. Outside that route, Tennessee appellate decisions require the person who gives birth to appear on the original live-birth certificate; the certificate itself does not adjudicate parentage. A non-genetic intended parent may need a post-birth adoption or other parentage proceeding, and a genetic carrier's rights cannot be terminated by a pre-birth contract alone.
Review the linked statutes, court materials, public guidance, and clearly identified practice sources as a starting point for current legal review.
Laws, court practices, and local filing procedures can change. This page provides general educational information, not legal advice. Consult independent assisted-reproduction counsel licensed in the relevant state before relying on it.
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