If you’ve been thinking about becoming a surrogate and wondering whether you’d actually make it through the screening process, this post is for you. Not a checklist designed to intimidate — a straight answer to the question most women are quietly asking before they ever fill out an application.
The requirements exist for real reasons: to protect your health, to protect the pregnancy, and to make sure the experience is genuinely good for everyone involved. Understanding them upfront means you don’t waste time wondering — and if something is standing between you and eligibility, you know exactly what it is and whether it’s fixable.
Here’s what Chesapeake Surrogacy looks for.
The lower limit is about maturity and informed consent — 21 ensures you’re a legal adult who has had some real life experience before taking on something this significant. The upper limit reflects what medical research shows about pregnancy risk as age increases, and most fertility clinics have their own cutoffs in this range. Some clinics will evaluate applicants up to 45 on a case-by-case basis depending on overall health.
This is non-negotiable, and it’s one of the most important requirements. You must have carried and delivered at least one healthy baby of your own.
The reason goes beyond the medical. It means you know firsthand what pregnancy feels like — the physical demands, the emotional arc, the experience of labor and delivery. You’re not agreeing to something unknown. You’ve done this before, and you know what you’re signing up for. That firsthand knowledge is part of what makes someone genuinely ready for surrogacy, not just theoretically interested in it.
Your previous pregnancies will be reviewed in detail — not to find reasons to disqualify you, but to understand your body’s history and what a future pregnancy might look like.
We look for pregnancies that progressed without major complications. Things like severe preeclampsia, placental abruption, significant preterm birth, or gestational diabetes requiring medication don’t automatically disqualify you, but they require careful evaluation by a physician to assess whether those circumstances are likely to recur.
If you had straightforward pregnancies and uncomplicated deliveries, that history works in your favor.
BMI is a clinical screening tool — not a judgment about your body. It reflects what research shows about how weight affects fertility medication response, pregnancy risk, and delivery outcomes. The range we work with is 19 to 34.
If you’re currently outside that range, don’t immediately close the door. Chesapeake Surrogacy offers complimentary health and nutrition coaching, and for women who are close to the threshold, working with our health coach before applying is a realistic path forward.
Surrogates must be non-smokers and live in a smoke-free home — typically for at least 6 months prior to applying. This includes vaping and e-cigarettes. Secondhand smoke exposure in the home is also a consideration.
This is straightforward. Illegal drug use is a disqualifier, and drug screening is part of the medical evaluation.
This requirement sometimes surprises people, but it exists to protect surrogates. Surrogacy should be a choice made freely — not out of financial desperation. Women who are dependent on government assistance programs (ie. food stamps, cash assistance, public housing) may be in a position where the compensation feels coercive rather than supplementary. That’s not a situation that’s good for anyone.
This doesn’t mean you need to be wealthy. It means your basic financial footing is stable and surrogacy compensation is adding to a life that’s already functioning, not propping up one that isn’t. Previously receiving WIC, having Medicaid or an ACA insurance policy with premium tax credits is NOT an automatic disqualifier.
Surrogacy affects your whole household. Your partner — if you have one — will be part of the process: they’ll be interviewed as part of the psychological evaluation and will sign portions of the legal contract. Having their genuine support, not just their tolerance, matters.
More broadly, having people around you who understand what you’re doing and are behind you makes for a better experience. A supportive home environment isn’t something we can mandate, but it’s something we look for and talk through during intake.
A background check is part of the screening process, covering you and other adults in your household. We’re looking for anything that would raise concerns about stability or judgment. Minor issues from many years ago don’t necessarily disqualify you — but recent or serious criminal history does.
Beyond the specific criteria above, you’ll go through a medical evaluation and a full psychological assessment. The psychological evaluation — which includes both standardized testing and clinical sessions with a licensed psychologist — isn’t designed to be a hurdle. It’s designed to make sure you’re genuinely prepared for the emotional experience of carrying a child for someone else and that you have the coping skills and support system to navigate it well.
We want surrogates who are entering this process with clear eyes, not rose-colored ones. The evaluation helps us — and you — make sure that’s the case.
Not qualifying today doesn’t mean the answer is permanently no.
Common reasons women aren’t immediately eligible include BMI outside the range, recent tobacco use, or a medication that needs further review. Many of these are addressable with time and some targeted support. Our health coaching program is specifically available to women who want to work toward eligibility — it’s not a consolation prize, it’s a real resource.
If something is standing between you and your application, the most useful thing you can do is have a conversation with our intake team. We’ll tell you honestly where you stand and what, if anything, you can do to move forward.
Most women who have had healthy pregnancies, are in a stable place in their lives, and genuinely want to do this will find that they qualify — or are close enough that a conversation is worth having. The requirements are real, but they’re not designed to keep good candidates out. They’re designed to make sure the women who do come through our program are set up for a safe, positive experience.
If you’ve been reading this and recognizing yourself in it, that’s worth paying attention to.
Ready to find out where you stand? Reach out to our intake team — kaci@virginiasurrogates.com or go ahead and apply now!
