Birth Certificates

In Ohio, the pleadings filed in your parentage action will result in an order directing that the name(s) of the intended parent(s) be placed on the child’s birth certificate. In gestational surrogacy, the intended mother and intended father will be named on the birth certificate as parents. Married same-sex parents and single parents will be placed on the birth certificate too.

In the case of traditional surrogacy, because the surrogate’s egg is used, the surrogate’s name may remain on the original birth certificate as mother along with the intended father’s name. This will depend on the court’s willingness to apply caselaw specific to gestational surrogacy to traditional surrogacy. It may be necessary to remove the surrogate’s name by way of an adoption if the intended father is married or by court order. Single fathers with a partner do have options, but only if they can complete a second-parent adoption. This cannot be done in Ohio.

In Illinois, the names of the intended parent(s) will be placed on the child’s birth certificate without a parentage action so long as the Illinois statutory requirements have been satisfied.