Mass. General Laws c.209C § 28B

Enforceability of surrogacy agreements; requirements

This is an unofficial version of a Massachusetts General Law. For more information on this topic, please see:

• Law about parentage
• Law about surrogate parenting

Updates

Added by St. 2024, c. 166, § 65, effective January 1, 2025

Section 28B

A surrogacy agreement shall be enforceable if it meets the following requirements:

• (i) the prospective surrogate, their spouse, if any, and each intended parent are parties to the agreement;
• (ii) the prospective surrogate and each intended parent meet the eligibility requirements of section 28A;
• (iii) at least 1 party is a resident of the commonwealth or, if no party is a resident of the commonwealth, at least 1 medical evaluation, medical procedure or mental health consultation under the agreement occurs in the commonwealth;
• (iv) the agreement is in writing and signed by all parties;
• (v) the agreement is executed prior to a medical procedure attempting to cause a pregnancy in the prospective surrogate, other than the medical evaluation and mental health consultation required by section 28A and, in every instance, before transfer of embryos or gametes;
• (vi) the signature of each party to the agreement is attested by a notary;
• (vii) each party to the agreement signs a written acknowledgment of having received a copy of the agreement;
• (viii) the prospective surrogate, the surrogate’s spouse, if any, and each intended parent have independent legal representation regarding the terms and potential legal consequences of the surrogacy agreement, paid for by the intended parent or parents, and each legal representative shall be identified in the surrogacy agreement; provided, however, that a single attorney for the prospective surrogate and their spouse and a single attorney for the intended parents shall be sufficient to meet this requirement; and
• (ix) records related to the medical evaluation and mental health consultations conducted pursuant to section 28A shall be made available to the surrogate, the surrogate’s spouse, if any, and each intended parent; provided, however, that all such records shall remain otherwise confidential absent a court order.

Last updated:	August 8, 2024