Texas has a gestational-agreement statute
Texas Family Code Chapter 160 includes a specific subchapter governing gestational agreements. The statute allows a prospective gestational mother, her spouse if she is married, donors where applicable, and intended parents to enter a written agreement meeting statutory requirements.
One clear statutory requirement: the intended parents must be married to each other, and each intended parent must be a party to the gestational agreement. The statute does not say the marriage must be between a man and a woman.
The agreement must be validated
Texas uses a court-validation procedure for gestational agreements. Validation is not a detail to leave until late in the process. The agreement and the petition must satisfy the statute, and the legal sequence should be planned with Texas reproductive counsel before assisted reproduction proceeds.
The carrier cannot provide the egg
The statute requires that the eggs used in the assisted-reproduction procedure come from an intended parent or a donor; the gestational carrier’s own eggs may not be used under this gestational-agreement framework.
Parentage follows the validated-agreement framework
Texas law contains a specific parentage procedure for a child born under a validated gestational agreement. The exact filings and timing should be handled by Texas counsel. This page does not characterize the process as a universal “pre-birth order” because the statutory structure is more specific than that shorthand suggests.
Do not infer eligibility from family labels alone
Whether a family can use the Texas statutory pathway depends on the actual statutory requirements and facts of the case. The statute’s marriage requirement is one important threshold. Other eligibility and validation requirements also need to be reviewed by counsel.
Avoid county folklore. This site does not rank Harris, Travis, Dallas, Bexar or other counties as “better” or “safer” for surrogacy without authoritative evidence. Venue, jurisdiction and local procedure are legal questions for counsel based on the actual case.
Texas cost and compensation
There is no defensible statewide Texas surrogacy total, agency-fee range or surrogate-compensation average that can be inferred from currently advertised profiles. Compare the actual compensation package, agency scope, legal work, insurance, IVF and contingencies rather than relying on a state-level headline number.
What to ask Texas counsel
- Do our facts satisfy the Texas statutory requirements?
- What must be included in the gestational agreement?
- When and where should the validation petition be filed?
- What court orders or notices are required before and after birth?
- How will parentage and vital-records documents be handled in our case?
- Are there any facts that require a different legal strategy?
Texas has a real statutory pathway, but it is a requirements-driven pathway. Read the statute through the facts of your own case rather than through broad state rankings.