Legal note: This is educational information, not legal advice. Confirm the current statute and your facts with New Hampshire reproductive counsel.
Legal framework
RSA Chapter 168-B addresses gestational-carrier arrangements, parental status, enforceability, agreement requirements and parentage orders.
Agreement requirements
RSA 168-B:11 requires a written agreement executed before medical procedures to impregnate the gestational carrier. The parties must have legal representation, and the carrier must have counsel separate and independent from the intended parents' counsel.
The agreement must address parental intent, custody and support obligations, compensation or expense arrangements, and how pregnancy-termination decisions will be handled.
Parentage orders
RSA 168-B:12 permits a party to petition for a parentage order before, during or after pregnancy. The statute directs the court to grant the petition upon a finding of substantial compliance with the chapter's gestational-carrier agreement requirements.
Parentage at birth
RSA 168-B:7 states that a child conceived through assisted reproduction and a gestational-carrier arrangement is the child of the intended parent or parents, with physical-custody rights vesting at birth. Counsel should still coordinate the court order, hospital documentation and vital-record process for the specific case.
Practical takeaway
Do not treat a profile, match or signed agency agreement as legal clearance. New Hampshire counsel should review the carrier agreement, jurisdiction and parentage process before transfer.