Surrogacy in Israel: who is eligible, how the agreement is approved, and what happens after the birth
Surrogacy in Israel is a statutory process that passes through a state approvals committee and ends with a parentage order. Since 2022 the route has been open to single men and same-sex couples as well. This page explains who may apply, what the committee examines in the agreement, and how the Israeli route differs from surrogacy abroad.
"The question in surrogacy abroad is not where the child is born, but how the child comes home. The answer is prepared before the birth."
Adv. Liat Kreskas
What the law provides
Surrogacy in Israel is governed by the Embryo Carrying Agreements Law of 1996. The law defines who may be an intended parent, who may serve as the carrying mother, and what is required for an agreement between them to take effect. Without the approval of the approvals committee, the agreement is not lawful.
The law has undergone two substantive changes. In 2018 the route was opened to single women. In January 2022 the Supreme Court's ruling took effect, holding that the exclusion of single men and same-sex couples from the arrangement was discriminatory and directing that the law be read in an equal manner.
The result is that the Israeli route, for many years reserved for heterosexual couples, is today open to anyone who meets the statutory conditions, with the necessary adjustments.
Embryo Carrying Agreements (Approval of Agreement and Status of the Newborn) Law, 5756-1996 · HCJ 781/15 Arad-Pinkas v. the Committee for the Approval of Embryo Carrying Agreements. Checked September 2026.
Who may apply for the Israeli route
Intended parents may be a married couple, an unmarried couple, a single woman or a single man. The central condition is a genetic link: the reproductive cells of at least one intended parent are used to create the embryo. An agreement in which neither parent has a genetic link does not enter the route.
Where there is an intended mother, a medical opinion is required showing that she cannot carry a pregnancy, or that pregnancy would put her at real risk. For a male couple or a single man the medical requirement does not apply, and the sperm used in a given cycle is that of one of them only.
The law also sets a minimum and a maximum age for the intended parents, and a ceiling on the number of children they already have together. The committee may depart from the age condition in special cases.
As of September 2026: at least one intended parent is under 54 at the time of approval, and both are 18 or over. Section 5 of the law. Checked September 2026.
Who may serve as the carrying mother
The law sets cumulative conditions for the carrying mother, designed to protect her and the newborn alike. She must be a woman who has already given birth, who is not a relative of the intended parents, and whose number of previous births does not exceed the set threshold. As a rule she is unmarried, unless the committee is satisfied that no unmarried carrying mother could be found.
A further condition surprises many: the carrying mother must be of the same religion as the intended mother, unless the committee decides otherwise. The provision is intended to prevent questions of personal status for the newborn.
The committee also examines her physical and mental health, and meets her separately to confirm that her consent was given freely and with full understanding.
- Has given birth before, and not more than the set number of times.
- Is not a relative of the intended parents.
- Is within the age range the law sets.
- Is, as a rule, unmarried, and of the intended mother's religion.
As of September 2026: aged 22 to 39 at the time of approval. Section 5 of the law. Checked September 2026.
The approvals committee and what it examines
The approvals committee operates under the law and is appointed by the Minister of Health. It comprises specialists in obstetrics and gynaecology, an internist, a clinical psychologist, a social worker, a public representative who is a lawyer, and a member of the clergy according to the parties' religion. Its proceedings are confidential.
The committee is not a rubber stamp. It reviews the medical and psychological documents of all parties, the financial standing of the intended parents, the absence of family ties, and the agreement itself. It may require amendments and impose conditions.
What is examined comes down to three questions: whether the intended parents meet the threshold conditions, whether the carrying mother is suitable and consents freely, and whether the agreement protects the newborn and the carrying mother.
Section 3 of the law (composition of the committee) · section 5 (the committee's powers). Checked September 2026.
The surrogacy agreement
The agreement is the heart of the process. It is signed only after the committee's approval, and it sets out the parties' obligations during the pregnancy, the handing over of the newborn, and the permitted payments. The law prohibits commercial payment and permits only reimbursement of expenses and reasonable compensation for loss of time, suffering and loss of income, in amounts the committee approved in advance.
A good agreement also anticipates situations no one wants to think about: termination of the pregnancy on medical grounds, a multiple pregnancy, a complication requiring hospitalisation, and the separation of the intended parents during the pregnancy. An agreement that did not address them leaves the parties without an answer at the hardest moment.
Life insurance is required for the carrying mother, and the intended parents bear her legal and insurance costs as part of the agreement.
Section 6 of the law (payments to the carrying mother). Checked September 2026.
After the birth: custody and the parentage order
On birth the newborn passes into the custody of the intended parents, and the duties of parents towards the child fall on them. But full legal status is established only by a parentage order of the Family Court. The application for the order must be filed within seven days of the birth.
The court grants the order unless satisfied that the child's welfare requires otherwise. A social worker accompanies the process, and by the order the intended parents become the child's parents for all purposes.
The seven days are not a recommendation. Late filing does not defeat the order, but it opens the door to questions and delays, precisely in the weeks when the new family needs quiet.
Sections 10 and 11 of the law (custody on birth; application for a parentage order). Checked September 2026.
Surrogacy abroad
Even after the law was widened, many Israelis turn to surrogacy abroad: those who do not meet the threshold conditions, those who could not find a carrying mother in Israel, and those who prefer a country where the arrangement is established and orderly. Each country has its own law, and what is permitted in one is prohibited in another.
The central legal difference lies in the way home. A child born abroad is not automatically registered as the child of the Israeli parent. A genetic test proving the link to the genetic parent is required, and only then is the child registered and issued a passport. The second parent, who is not a genetic parent, obtains status through a judicial parentage order.
The genetic test for a child born abroad is likewise carried out under an order of the Family Court, so it is worth preparing the application before the birth, so that the family is not stranded in a foreign country.
Genetic Information Law, 5761-2000, chapter E1 (genetic testing for family ties under a court order). Checked September 2026.
Where a lawyer makes the difference
The Israeli route looks like a list of documents, but it is a sequence of decisions, each of which affects the next: choosing the route, drafting the agreement, appearing before the committee, and the timetable after the birth.
A surrogacy agreement is not a form. The committee examines it clause by clause, and a missing clause can send the file back for correction and delay the medical treatment by months. In a process abroad, the advance preparation of the application for the genetic test and the parentage order is what determines how long the family stays outside Israel.
There are also questions that are not purely legal, such as fitting the process to the family's religious tradition. In such cases it is right to combine the legal advice with a religious authority the family trusts.
In summary
In summary, surrogacy in Israel is a lawful, regulated process, open today to couples and single people alike, provided there is a genetic link to one of the parents and the agreement has passed the approvals committee. After the birth, the parentage order is what turns custody into status. A process abroad is possible, but the way home passes through a genetic test and a judicial parentage order.
The process combines law, medicine and psychology, and each stage depends on the one before it. A properly drafted agreement and an application filed on time save months.
Contact us to examine the route that suits you and for information on the stages ahead of you.
What people ask us about surrogacy
Can a single man or a male couple pursue surrogacy in Israel?
Must there be a genetic link to the child?
Can the carrying mother be a relative?
How soon after the birth is the parentage order applied for?
What is the difference between surrogacy in Israel and abroad?
May the carrying mother be paid?
Is surrogacy permitted under Jewish law?
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