State Laws and Legislation

North Carolina Surrogacy Law

Summary: North Carolina has no laws directly regarding surrogacy; however, other laws appear to allow surrogacy arrangements that do not include payment beyond the surrogate’s medical and related expenses. The issue of surrogacy agreements involving lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) individuals has not yet been considered by the courts.

Explanation: North Carolina adoption law generally forbids compensation for consent to adopt or relinquishment of parental rights, but there are exceptions to this rule. For example, the law allows payments for an expecting mother’s medical and related expenses during her pregnancy. Such payments may not be contingent on the relinquishment of parental rights or the placement of the child for adoption; however, the law also states that “[a] prospective adoptive parent may seek to recover a payment if the parent or other person receives or accepts it with the fraudulent intent to prevent the proposed adoption from being completed.”

It is illegal in North Carolina for LGBT couples to jointly adopt a child; however, there is no explicit prohibition on LGBT individuals adopting the child of their same-sex partner.

Citations: N.C. GEN. STAT. § 48-2-301 (2009); N.C. GEN. STAT. §§ 48-10-102, 103 (2009).

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Updated: Wed, September 09, 2009 - 12:00:47