Is Surrogacy Legal in India? 2026 Law, Eligibility & NRI/OCI Rules

Yes, surrogacy is legal in India—but only within a tightly regulated framework that permits qualifying altruistic gestational surrogacy and prohibits commercial surrogacy. Eligibility depends on citizenship or OCI status, marital status, age, medical necessity, the proposed surrogate’s eligibility and obtaining the required approvals before treatment. [Surrogacy Act] [Rules & OCI circular]

The answer becomes more complicated when applicants live overseas, hold foreign passports, have different citizenships, already have a child or need donor eggs or sperm: these circumstances engage different statutory provisions and cannot be resolved by a clinic’s general assurance that “surrogacy is allowed.” [Surrogacy Act] [Rules & OCI circular] [2024 donor amendment]

This guide explains the legal distinctions in plain English, with links to legislation and official guidance rather than relying on promotional claims. If you are new to the topic, start with how surrogacy works in India and the types of surrogacy allowed in India.

IMPORTANT: This article provides general legal information, not an individual eligibility opinion. Obtain case-specific advice from an Indian lawyer experienced in reproductive law and, for an overseas family, a nationality or immigration lawyer in the country where the child will live.

Which Laws Govern Surrogacy?

The principal legislation is the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021, which came into force on 25 January 2022. [Surrogacy Act]

It operates alongside the Surrogacy (Regulation) Rules, 2022, subsequent amendments, the Surrogacy Regulations, 2023, and the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021, commonly called the ART Act. [Official rules portal] [2023 Regulations] [ART Act]

These instruments perform different functions: the Surrogacy Act establishes eligibility, protections and prohibitions; the Rules supply procedural requirements and forms; and the ART framework regulates associated fertility services, clinics and banks. [Surrogacy Act] [Rules & OCI circular] [ART Act]

An Act, a notified rule, an administrative circular and a court order are not interchangeable. A consultation about possible reform does not amend the law, and relief granted in a particular court case does not necessarily create eligibility for everyone in a similar situation. [Supreme Court judgment] [2026 Kerala decision]

What Is Legally Permitted?

Two separate distinctions explain India’s framework: altruistic versus commercial surrogacy, and gestational versus traditional surrogacy. [Surrogacy Act]

“Altruistic” does not mean that every associated medical service must be free; it means that the arrangement cannot purchase the surrogate’s reproductive services through prohibited remuneration or benefits. [Surrogacy Act]

Calling a payment a “gift,” “support allowance” or “thank-you amount” does not automatically make it lawful, because the commercial-surrogacy definition expressly addresses benefits in cash or kind. [Surrogacy Act]

Who Can Apply?

The law provides distinct routes for married Indian couples, qualifying couples of Indian origin and a narrowly defined category of Indian women. [Surrogacy Act] [Rules & OCI circular]

“Potentially eligible” is important: belonging to an eligible category is only the beginning, not permission to start treatment. [Surrogacy Act]

Eligibility for Indian Couples

For an intending married couple, the woman must be 23–50 years old, and the man must be 26–55 years old on the day of certification. [Surrogacy Act]

These surrogacy-specific age requirements must not be confused with the general definition of a “couple” elsewhere in the Act, which refers to a legally married Indian man and woman above different minimum ages. [Surrogacy Act]

The couple must also establish a qualifying medical indication, satisfy the surviving-child condition or its exception, and obtain the necessary certificates, court order and insurance arrangements. [Surrogacy Act]

A marriage certificate or an infertility diagnosis alone is therefore insufficient. [Surrogacy Act]

Is Five Years’ Marriage Required?

The enacted Surrogacy Act does not impose a general five-year marriage-duration requirement in its eligibility provision. Section 4 requires the couple to be married and meet the specified ages, but does not prescribe five completed years of marriage. [Surrogacy Act]

Similarly, the current statutory surrogate conditions do not require her to be a “close relative”; the Act instead refers to a willing woman who meets its eligibility conditions. [Surrogacy Act]

If a clinic presents either requirement as universal, ask it to identify the current legal provision supporting that statement.

What If There Is Already a Child?

An intending couple ordinarily must not have a surviving child, whether biological, adopted or born through earlier surrogacy. [Surrogacy Act]

The Act contains an exception where the existing child falls within its specified disability or serious-illness categories, supported by a District Medical Board certificate and approval from the Appropriate Authority. [Surrogacy Act]

A preference for another child, a child of a particular sex or a genetically related child after adoption does not itself satisfy that exception. [Surrogacy Act]

For an intending woman applying alone, the drafting requires special care because the surviving-child clause expressly addresses intending couples; neither a blanket exemption nor an automatic identical application should be assumed without a written determination. [Surrogacy Act]

What Medical Need Qualifies?

Surrogacy is not generally available merely to avoid pregnancy for convenience: the law requires a medical indication necessitating gestational surrogacy. [Surrogacy Act]

Rule 14 identifies circumstances including an absent, missing, abnormal or surgically removed uterus; recurrent implantation failure following multiple IVF or ICSI attempts; repeated pregnancy losses within the rule’s description; and illness making pregnancy impossible to carry to viability or life-threatening. [Rules & OCI circular]

The relevant medical certificate must come from the District Medical Board, not simply from the treating fertility specialist. [Surrogacy Act]

The statutory board is chaired by the district’s Chief Medical Officer, Chief Civil Surgeon or Joint Director of Health Services and includes the specified obstetric/gynaecological and paediatric specialists. [Surrogacy Act]

The 2023 Regulations also provide a mechanism for the Appropriate Authority to refer eligibility conditions beyond those mentioned in the Act to the National Board for consideration before certification. [2023 Regulations]

This referral mechanism should not be represented as an unrestricted power for a private clinic to waive statutory requirements. [2023 Regulations]

NRI Does Not Mean OCI

For this discussion, the crucial distinction is citizenship, not whether someone lives overseas or has Indian ancestry. [Surrogacy Act] [Rules & OCI circular]

An Indian citizen residing abroad may describe themselves as an NRI, while an OCI cardholder is a foreign citizen registered under the OCI scheme; India does not treat OCI as dual Indian citizenship. [Government OCI guidance] [Citizenship Act]

Consequently, “NRI,” “OCI,” “Indian origin” and “foreign national” should not be used interchangeably in a surrogacy application. [Government OCI guidance] [Rules & OCI circular]

A person who previously held Indian citizenship but later acquired foreign citizenship must establish their current status rather than assume that birthplace, an old passport or family connections preserve eligibility as an Indian citizen. [Citizenship Act]

The application should identify each spouse’s present citizenship, passport and OCI status separately.

Surrogacy for NRI Couples

A couple who both remain Indian citizens should be assessed under the Indian-couple provisions, notwithstanding that they reside overseas. [Surrogacy Act]

However, overseas residence introduces practical questions about documentary authentication, the competent Indian authority, travel, the child’s passport and permission to enter the country where the family lives. [Rules & OCI circular] [UK international surrogacy guidance]

Residence abroad alone does not transform an Indian-citizen couple into the Rules’ “Couple of Indian Origin,” because that category specifically requires both spouses to be OCI cardholders. [Rules & OCI circular]

For this reason, the special National Board recommendation requirement should be linked to the applicant’s actual statutory category, rather than imposed or dismissed simply because the family lives outside India. [Surrogacy Act] [Rules & OCI circular]

Are OCI Couples Eligible?

Yes. A qualifying married couple in which both spouses are OCI cardholders has an express route under the Rules. [Rules & OCI circular]

The 8 June 2023 amendment, G.S.R. 415(E), inserted Rule 2(aa), defining “Couple of Indian Origin” by reference to a husband and wife who both hold OCI cards, subject to the remaining legal conditions and the relevant Home Ministry framework. [Rules & OCI circular]

The primary text is available in the government-hosted legislation and instructions bundle linked here. [Rules & OCI circular]

This means that both of the following statements are misleading: “all foreign-passport holders are prohibited” and “any person of Indian origin is eligible.” The law creates a particular both-OCI category, not unrestricted access for the overseas Indian diaspora. [Rules & OCI circular]

What Additional Approval Is Needed?

A couple of Indian origin must obtain the National Assisted Reproductive Technology and Surrogacy Board’s certificate of recommendation, using Form 1 under Rule 4. [Rules & OCI circular]

This is additional to the required state or Union Territory certificates and other statutory prerequisites; it is not a substitute for them. [Rules & OCI circular]

The Department of Health Research’s 13 May 2025 circular expressly confirms the eligibility of qualifying OCI couples and addresses applications where they have no residential address in India. [Rules & OCI circular]

Where Should OCI Couples Apply?

For OCI couples without an Indian residential address, the May 2025 circular identifies the competent State, district or Union Territory authorities where they intend to receive treatment. [Rules & OCI circular]

It also identifies the relevant first-class-or-above Magistrate’s court in the jurisdiction associated with the essentiality certificate and provides for applying to the Department of Health Research for the National Board recommendation after obtaining the relevant local certificates. [Rules & OCI circular]

The statute and administrative processing instructions should be read together, because the essentiality requirements themselves include a parentage-and-custody order; applicants should confirm the coordinated local sequence instead of assuming every office follows an identical linear workflow. [Surrogacy Act] [Rules & OCI circular]

Mixed-Nationality Couples

Mixed-status cases require particularly careful advice because the statutory definitions do not simply say that one eligible spouse makes the entire couple eligible. [Surrogacy Act] [Rules & OCI circular]

An Indian citizen married to an OCI cardholder is not a both-OCI couple, while a couple consisting of one OCI cardholder and one foreign citizen without OCI also fails the express both-OCI definition. [Rules & OCI circular]

Likewise, being married to an Indian citizen does not automatically make a foreign spouse an Indian citizen or an OCI cardholder. [Citizenship Act]

Before paying substantial fees, such couples should obtain a written, reasoned assessment identifying the proposed legal route and seek confirmation from the competent authority; a verbal “yes” from a facilitator is not a legal determination.

Foreign Passports Without OCI

A US, UK, Canadian, Australian or other foreign passport does not itself create eligibility for surrogacy in India. [Surrogacy Act] [Rules & OCI circular]

A medical visa, tourist entry permission, property ownership or Indian ancestry is likewise not a substitute for satisfying the statutory applicant definitions. [Surrogacy Act] [Rules & OCI circular]

Conversely, a married foreign-passport-holding couple may qualify if both spouses hold valid OCI cards and satisfy the separate OCI-route requirements. [Rules & OCI circular]

The correct question is therefore not simply, “Do you hold a foreign passport?” It is, “Which legal applicant category do both spouses satisfy?” [Surrogacy Act] [Rules & OCI circular]

Older guidance concerning medical tourism must not be treated as an independent authorisation to undertake a procedure prohibited or restricted by the current legislation. [Surrogacy Act] [Rules & OCI circular]

Single Women and Men

The Act defines an “intending woman” as an Indian widow or divorcee aged 35–45 who intends to access surrogacy. [Surrogacy Act]

This category does not include every unmarried woman, and an OCI widow or divorcee does not become eligible merely by holding an OCI card, because the special OCI route is defined for a married couple. [Surrogacy Act] [Rules & OCI circular]

An eligible intending woman also requires the National Board recommendation and the applicable medical and procedural approvals. [Surrogacy Act] [Rules & OCI circular]

There is no corresponding ordinary statutory route for a single man, widower or divorced man. [Surrogacy Act]

Restrictions concerning single applicants and OCI divorcees have been challenged in court, but a challenge or a sympathetic judicial observation should not be confused with a universally available permission. [Court-challenges coverage]

Who Can Be a Surrogate?

The proposed surrogate must satisfy a separate eligibility assessment; the intended parents’ approval does not automatically approve her. [Surrogacy Act]

The Act requires an ever-married woman who has a child of her own and is aged 25–35 on the day of implantation, together with medical and psychological fitness certification. [Surrogacy Act]

“Ever-married” is broader than “currently married,” although the applicant’s actual circumstances and supporting documents still require examination. [Surrogacy Act]

The woman must be willing, must not provide her own egg, and cannot act as a surrogate more than once in her lifetime. [Surrogacy Act]

The Rules separately allow up to three attempts (embryo transfers) on the same surrogate; that is not permission for three separate lifetime surrogacy arrangements. [Rules & OCI circular]

No provision in these conditions requires the surrogate to be a close relative of the intended parents. [Surrogacy Act]

Donor Eggs and Sperm

A gamete means a reproductive cell: sperm or an egg; an embryo is formed after fertilisation. [Surrogacy Act]

The donor rules changed after the restrictive March 2023 amendment, so a statement that donor material is “always banned” is no longer an accurate description of the ordinary rules for couples. [2024 donor amendment]

Under the 21 February 2024 amendment, G.S.R. 119(E), donor eggs or sperm may be used where the District Medical Board certifies that either spouse has a medical condition necessitating a donor gamete. [2024 donor amendment]

However, at least one gamete must come from the intending couple: the exception does not ordinarily permit both donor eggs and donor sperm to create an embryo with no genetic contribution from either intended parent. [2024 donor amendment]

The 2024 amendment explanation and reproduced provision is useful for checking the distinction between a medical exception for couples and the narrower rule for an intending woman. [2024 donor amendment]

Required Certificates and Orders

Several documents serve different legal purposes, and using the word “approval” for all of them can hide missing requirements. [Surrogacy Act] [Rules & OCI circular]

The District Medical Board, Appropriate Authority, State Board and National Board are different bodies: the District Medical Board certifies medical indication, while the Appropriate Authority issues the relevant statutory certificates. [Surrogacy Act]

A private agreement, notarised affidavit or lawyer’s opinion does not replace these statutory approvals. To see where each certificate fits in treatment, read our step-by-step surrogacy procedure guide. [Surrogacy Act]

Insurance and Surrogate Consent

The intending couple or woman must arrange 36 months of insurance coverage for the surrogate, including the relevant pregnancy and postpartum complications. [Surrogacy Act] [Rules & OCI circular]

Rule 5 requires coverage sufficient to meet expenses for the complications described in the rule, purchased through an insurer or agent recognised by the insurance regulator; it should not be reduced to a supposedly universal token premium or cover amount. [Rules & OCI circular]

The surrogate must receive an explanation of known side effects and after-effects and give written informed consent in a language she understands. [Surrogacy Act]

She has an express statutory right to withdraw consent before implantation of the embryo. [Surrogacy Act]

The Act prohibits forcing her to undergo an abortion, and termination during a surrogacy pregnancy must be addressed through the surrogate-consent, Appropriate Authority and Medical Termination of Pregnancy requirements. [Surrogacy Act]

Consent to carry a pregnancy is not unlimited consent to every medical intervention, and family approval cannot replace the surrogate’s own legally required consent. [Surrogacy Act]

Embryo Transfer and Storage

Under the Rules, the usual approach is to transfer one embryo per treatment cycle, with up to three permitted only in special circumstances. [Rules & OCI circular]

This legal ceiling is not a recommendation to transfer the maximum number or a promise of a successful pregnancy.

The Act also regulates embryo and gamete storage and expressly prohibits importation of human embryos or gametes for surrogacy under Section 38. [Surrogacy Act]

It preserves specified lawful storage purposes, including IVF and sperm banking, but that does not create unrestricted permission to import overseas embryos for an Indian surrogacy arrangement. [Surrogacy Act]

Families who already have frozen embryos abroad should obtain advice on the intended use, storage and transfer restrictions before arranging shipment; permission under another ART-related process should not be assumed to override the Surrogacy Act’s prohibitions. [Surrogacy Act] [ART Act]

Parentage and the Child’s Rights

Section 8 treats a child born through surrogacy as the biological child of the intending couple or intending woman, with the rights and privileges available to a natural child under applicable law. [Surrogacy Act]

The parentage-and-custody order is a separate statutory safeguard and should not be replaced by an informal agreement promising that the intended parents will receive the child. [Surrogacy Act]

Section 7 prohibits abandonment for reasons including disability, genetic or birth defects, the child’s sex or the conception of more than one baby. [Surrogacy Act]

A breakdown in the parents’ relationship or disappointment about the pregnancy does not turn the child into an optional outcome of a private contract. [Surrogacy Act]

Birth registration, the parentage order and citizenship documentation should be coordinated, particularly for families who intend to leave India after delivery. [Surrogacy Act] [UK international surrogacy guidance]

Citizenship and International Travel

Indian legal parentage, a birth certificate, citizenship and a passport are separate matters. Recognition under the Surrogacy Act does not automatically settle another country’s nationality or immigration rules. [Surrogacy Act] [UK international surrogacy guidance] [US State Department guidance]

Under Section 3 of the Citizenship Act, 1955, the present citizenship-by-birth framework generally requires both parents to be Indian citizens, or one parent to be Indian and the other not an illegal migrant, subject to the Act’s provisions. [Citizenship Act]

A child born in India to two foreign-citizen OCI parents should therefore not be promised an Indian passport merely because the birth occurred in India. [Citizenship Act]

The Indian surrogate’s nationality should not be treated as automatically resolving the child’s nationality either; the legal parentage structure and the relevant citizenship law must be analysed together. [Surrogacy Act] [Citizenship Act]

Before treatment, an overseas family should obtain advice covering:

• Which country’s citizenship the child may acquire

• Whether legal parentage will be recognised abroad

• Whether a genetic connection must be demonstrated

• Which birth, clinic and court records will be required

• Whether a foreign parental order or other recognition process is necessary

• Which passport, visa or Indian exit documentation will be needed

These questions arise because foreign authorities may apply their own rules on parentage and nationality rather than simply accept an Indian birth certificate as conclusive for every purpose. [UK international surrogacy guidance] [US State Department guidance]

US-Citizen Parents

The US Department of State assesses citizenship transmission using requirements that can include genetic or gestational connections, legal parentage, citizenship and the transmitting parent’s prior US residence or physical presence. [US State Department guidance]

An intended parent’s US passport alone therefore does not mean that a surrogate-born child will automatically receive US citizenship or a passport. [US State Department guidance]

Its ART and surrogacy guidance identifies relevant evidence and warns about arrangements that fail to comply with local law. [US State Department guidance]

UK-Connected Families

UK guidance explains that being named on a foreign birth certificate does not always establish legal parenthood under UK law and that a UK parental-order process may be necessary. [UK international surrogacy guidance]

The UK child-passport guidance for surrogacy also requires evidence of the child’s claim to British nationality and supporting surrogacy documentation. [UK child-passport guidance]

The practical lesson applies beyond these examples: obtain destination-country advice before conception, not only when applying for the baby’s passport.

Choosing a Registered Clinic

A clinic must be registered under the Surrogacy Act to conduct or assist with surrogacy procedures, and its registration certificate must be displayed prominently. [Surrogacy Act]

An ordinary hospital licence or ART registration alone should not be treated as proof of the separate surrogacy registration required by the Act. [Surrogacy Act] [ART Act]

The National ART and Surrogacy Registry is the government’s public-record system for ART clinics, banks and surrogacy clinics. [National Registry]

Check the registration category, clinic address, validity and the competent authority rather than relying only on a website badge. Our list of licensed surrogacy centres in India shows government registration numbers you can verify.

The 17 June 2026 amendment, G.S.R. 492(E), introduced clinic-registration renewal procedures, including an application at least 60 days before expiry and a prescribed renewal fee; it did not create a general new eligibility route for foreign applicants. [2026 renewal amendment]

These are clinic regulatory fees, not a government-approved package price that intended parents must pay for treatment. [2026 renewal amendment]

Costs, Advertising and Brokers

The Act does not create a lawful “surrogate fee” simply because a clinic places it inside a larger package. [Surrogacy Act]

Medical expenses, insurance and other legally permitted expenses must be distinguished from prohibited remuneration, benefits and commercial intermediary arrangements. For typical lawful medical and legal expense ranges, see surrogacy cost in India. [Surrogacy Act]

Section 38 addresses commercial-surrogacy rackets, brokers and intermediaries, while Section 3 also restricts advertising that seeks, recruits or induces women to act as surrogates. [Surrogacy Act]

Consequently, a public “surrogate wanted” advertisement can raise issues even where the advertiser describes the arrangement as altruistic. [Surrogacy Act]

Treat the following promises as warning signs requiring independent legal scrutiny (and see common myths about surrogacy):

• “No government certificates needed”

• “We can promise approval”

• “Both donor eggs and donor sperm are always allowed”

• “One OCI card is sufficient for every couple”

• “Pay the surrogate privately after delivery”

• “Your baby’s foreign passport is certain”

Each claim conflicts with, or ignores, requirements discussed in the legislation and official nationality guidance. [Surrogacy Act] [Rules & OCI circular] [2024 donor amendment] [US State Department guidance]

Penalties for Illegal Surrogacy

The Act contains different penalties for different conduct; there is no single penalty covering every violation. [Surrogacy Act]

Section 43 classifies offences as cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable. [Surrogacy Act]

In plain language, those classifications concern police powers, the absence of an automatic entitlement to bail and restrictions on privately settling the offence; “non-bailable” does not mean a court can never grant bail. [Surrogacy Act]

Section 44 separately regulates how a court takes cognizance, including complaints by authorised bodies or a person who has given the prescribed minimum 15-day notice. [Surrogacy Act]

Refusals, Appeals and Records

Section 14 provides an appeal route for specified adverse decisions, including rejection of certificates, generally within 30 days of receiving the communication. [Surrogacy Act]

The appeal goes to the State Government for an order of a State Appropriate Authority, or to the Central Government for an order of a Union Territory Appropriate Authority; the Rules prescribe Form 5. [Surrogacy Act] [Rules & OCI circular]

A refusal should therefore be obtained in writing so the applicant can understand the reasons and protect the applicable deadline.

Clinics must preserve the relevant records for 25 years, or longer where proceedings require retention until final disposal. [Surrogacy Act]

Families should also maintain their own secure copies of certificates, consent documents, insurance, embryo records, court orders and birth documentation.

Court Decisions and Age Limits

Court decisions can affect individual eligibility, but they must be read carefully rather than reduced to headlines. [Supreme Court judgment] [2026 Kerala decision]

In Vijaya Kumari S. v. Union of India, 2025 INSC 1209, decided on 9 October 2025, the Supreme Court addressed couples who had reached the relevant embryo-creation and freezing stage for surrogacy before the Act commenced. [Supreme Court judgment]

The Court held that the statutory age restriction could not be retrospectively applied to the qualifying pre-Act circumstances it examined, while preserving other applicable requirements. [Supreme Court judgment]

The official Supreme Court judgment should be read before relying on that exception. [Supreme Court judgment]

A September 2026 Kerala High Court decision distinguished such cases from post-commencement procedures and held that freezing embryos after the Act began did not itself allow applicants to bypass age certification. [2026 Kerala decision]

The age limits have not simply disappeared. Whether an exception applies depends on the evidence, the procedural history and the precise court ruling. [Supreme Court judgment] [2026 Kerala decision]

Practical Document Checklist

Document requirements vary with the applicant category and authority, but the file should be organised around the legal conditions rather than a clinic’s generic package checklist. [Surrogacy Act] [Rules & OCI circular]

Identity and status: Current passports, citizenship evidence, both OCI cards where using that route, marriage documents and any relevant divorce decree or spouse’s death certificate. [Surrogacy Act] [Rules & OCI circular]

Medical evidence: Diagnosis, treatment history, District Medical Board certification, donor-gamete justification where applicable and the surrogate’s medical and psychological fitness certification. [Surrogacy Act] [2024 donor amendment]

Approvals and safeguards: Essentiality and eligibility certificates, parentage-and-custody order, insurance, prescribed consent and agreement, and National Board recommendation where required. [Surrogacy Act] [Rules & OCI circular]

Overseas planning: Destination-country advice, nationality evidence, any required document authentication and a plan for passport, entry permission and departure formalities. [UK international surrogacy guidance] [US State Department guidance]

Do not assume that notarisation, an apostille and consular authentication are identical processes or that every document requires all three; ask the receiving authority which form of authentication it accepts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Surrogacy Completely Banned?

No. Qualifying altruistic gestational surrogacy is permitted, while commercial surrogacy and specified related activities are prohibited. [Surrogacy Act]

Can Two OCI Holders Apply?

Yes, a qualifying married both-OCI couple can apply through the defined couple-of-Indian-origin route, subject to the statutory conditions and National Board recommendation. [Rules & OCI circular]

Is One OCI Card Enough?

Not for the express both-OCI definition; mixed-status couples require a specific legal assessment rather than assuming automatic eligibility. [Rules & OCI circular]

Must the Surrogate Be Related?

No close-relative requirement appears in the enacted statutory surrogate conditions; the woman must instead satisfy the willingness, age, family, fitness and other legal requirements. [Surrogacy Act]

Are Donor Eggs Legal?

They can be used for an intending couple where the District Medical Board certifies the necessary medical condition, but at least one gamete must come from the couple. [2024 donor amendment]

Can an OCI Divorcee Apply Alone?

The ordinary intending-woman definition refers to an Indian widow or divorcee, while the OCI definition concerns a married both-OCI couple; an OCI card does not by itself create the single-woman route. [Surrogacy Act] [Rules & OCI circular]

Can Parents Choose the Sex?

No. Sex selection for surrogacy is expressly prohibited. [Surrogacy Act]

Is a Contract Enough?

No. A private contract cannot replace statutory certificates, the required court order, insurance, informed consent or other applicable approvals. [Surrogacy Act]

Did the 2026 Rules Open Access?

The June 2026 amendment concerns clinic-registration renewal, not a general opening of surrogacy to all foreign nationals. [2026 renewal amendment]

What Should Be Checked First?

Start by establishing each applicant’s exact citizenship or OCI category, the applicable marital and age requirements, the medical indication and the competent approval authorities; overseas families should resolve nationality and parentage recognition before proceeding. [Surrogacy Act] [Rules & OCI circular] [UK international surrogacy guidance] [US State Department guidance]