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• Surrogacy and legal parenthood – changes from 1 October 2013

22 December 1994

To: All Directors of Centres

Dear Director

The Parental Orders (Human Fertilisation and Embryology) Regulations 1994
I am writing to let you know that regulations came into force last month concerning surrogacy arrangements and to ask you to inform any relevant past and present patients of the implications. These regulations bring into effect section 30 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, also known as Parental Orders.

The regulations introduce new procedural arrangements to transfer legal parenthood to the "commissioning couple" where a child is born to a surrogate mother. These parents will no longer need to go through the full adoption procedure.

A "commissioning couple" is a husband and wife who have arranged for a surrogate mother to carry a child for them, using their eggs and/or sperm. The new regulations allow the "commissioning couple" to apply to the courts for a Parental Order which, if granted, would allow legal parenthood to be transferred from the child's birth parents to themselves.

The regulations do not change the law on surrogacy arrangements. They simplify the adoption procedure for parents who have had a child/children through surrogacy.

There are a number of conditions which need to be fulfilled before a Parental Order can be granted. These are outlined in the attached annex.
 
It would be helpful if you could inform any patients of your clinic whose child was born through a surrogacy arrangement before 1 November 1994 about the new regulations. They must apply for a Parental Order by end of April 1995. Applications relating to children born after 1 November 1994 must be made within six months of the child's birth.

If you have any further questions or you would like a copy of the guidance notes on the Parental Orders Regulations , please contact Jennifer Woodside at the Authority.

Yours sincerely

Flora Goldhill
Chief Executive

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ANNEX

CONDITIONS WHICH NEED TO BE FULFILLED BEFORE A PARENTAL ORDER CAN BE GRANTED

(i)  The child must be genetically related to at least one of the commissioning couple;

(ii)  The surrogate parents must have consented to the making of the order (unless incapable of giving consent or untraceable) no earlier than six weeks after the birth of the child;

(iii)  The commissioning couple must be married to each other, and must both have attained the age of 18;

(iv)  The commissioning couple must have applied for an order within six months of the Parental Order regulations coming into force (subsequent applications must be made within six months of the child's birth);

(v)  No money, other than expenses, must have been paid in respect of the surrogacy arrangement, unless authorised by a court;

(vi)  The child must reside with the commissioning couple;

(vii)  The commissioning couple must be domiciled in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, or the Isle of Man.

Application forms for Parental Orders are available from Family Proceedings Courts in the applicants' home area. Legal aid may be available to cover court proceedings involving applications.

Page last updated: 24 August 2012

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