Is surrogacy legal in the United Kingdom?
Altruistic only
Altruistic surrogacy is legal in the UK, but commercial arrangements are prohibited under the Surrogacy Arrangements Act 1985.
The United Kingdom is one of 15 countries classified “Altruistic only” for surrogacy — 34% of the 44 with data.
Source
- Taken from
- Wikipedia: Surrogacy laws by country
- Last checked
- 7 July 2026
- How it was classified
- Classified by a language model from the source text, then checked against hand-verified reference countries.
Nearby countries
- Ireland
- Unregulated Ireland has no specific law governing surrogacy, with only guidelines for Irish nationals abroad.
- Netherlands
- Altruistic only Altruistic surrogacy is legal in the Netherlands, but commercial surrogacy is illegal.
- Belgium
- Altruistic only Belgium allows only altruistic surrogacy, where intended parents pay only for related expenses, though there is no legal framework for the process.
- France
- Banned France declares all surrogacy arrangements void under the Civil Code since 1994.
- Germany
- Banned Germany prohibits all surrogacy arrangements, both commercial and altruistic.
- Switzerland
- Banned Switzerland bans surrogacy, with penalties for clinicians and those arranging it, though surrogate mothers are still legal parents.
Other laws in United Kingdom
- Abortion
- Legal on request
- Euthanasia
- Illegal
- Suicide Laws
- Not a crime
- FGM Laws
- Specifically banned
- Organ Donor Consent
- Opt-out (presumed consent)
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A visual reference compiled from Wikipedia’s law-by-country articles, not legal advice. Laws change and summaries simplify — check a primary source before relying on anything here.