Editorial policy
Surrogacy law changes often and mistakes are costly. This policy explains where our facts come from, who checks them, how often we re-verify them and how to tell us if we got something wrong.
Our standard
Every legal statement on this site must be traceable to a current primary source, every medical statement to a professional body or peer-reviewed research, and every page with legal content must show the date the law was last verified. If we cannot confirm something, we say so on the page rather than guessing.
We write for intended parents making decisions with real legal, medical and financial consequences. That means we prefer "we could not confirm this as of October 2026" to a confident sentence we cannot support. We never describe a legal position as permanent, because in cross-border surrogacy it rarely is.
Source hierarchy
We rank sources in four tiers: government and regulator sources first, then international and professional bodies, then peer-reviewed research, then reputable legal analysis clearly labelled as analysis. We never use competing agency or clinic websites as evidence for legal or medical facts.
- Government and regulator sources. Legislation and official gazettes, court databases, health ministries and regulators in each destination country; for home-country rules, the US Department of State (including its "Assisted Reproductive Technology Abroad" and citizenship pages), USCIS, GOV.UK guidance on surrogacy overseas and parental orders, the HFEA, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, and the Australian Department of Home Affairs and Attorney-General's Department.
- International and professional bodies. The Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) parentage/surrogacy project, ASRM, ESHRE, FIGO, WHO and the Law Commission of England and Wales.
- Peer-reviewed literature. PubMed-indexed studies for success rates, risks and medical procedures, preferring systematic reviews and large registry studies over single-centre reports.
- Reputable legal analysis. Law faculties, bar associations and recognised academic centres, always labelled on the page as analysis rather than law.
Clinic or agency price lists may be used only as a labelled basis for cost ranges, never for legal or medical facts. Every page lists its sources with the date we accessed them.
Review process
Each page is researched and drafted by a writer with sources. Independent legal and medical reviewers, who check legal and immigration statements and clinical content, are being appointed. A reviewer's name and the review date appear on a page only once that reviewer has reviewed it.
- Writer. The Surrogacy Beyond Borders editorial team researches the topic, verifies each time-sensitive claim against a primary source on the day of writing, and records it in our internal legal facts register with its source, date checked and confidence level.
- Legal reviewer. An independent legal reviewer, being appointed, will review legal framework, eligibility, parentage and citizenship content.
- Medical reviewer. An independent medical reviewer, being appointed, will review medical procedures, success rates and risk information.
- Publication. The page shows a published date, a reviewed date and, where it contains legal claims, a "law last verified" date.
What "last verified" means
"Law last verified" is the date on which we last checked the page's legal claims against their primary sources. It is different from the "reviewed" date, which covers the whole page, and the "published" date. If a law changes after that date, the page may be out of date until our next check.
Always confirm the current position with a lawyer qualified in the destination and in your home country before you sign anything.
How often we update
We re-verify legal facts at least every quarter. Where legislation is pending, a court case is under way, or a government has signalled change, we check monthly. We also update pages within 5 working days of learning about a material change.
| Content type | Minimum review | Triggers for an immediate check |
|---|---|---|
| Legal status, eligibility, parentage | Quarterly (monthly where legislation is pending) | New law, court ruling, ministry guidance or consular notice |
| Home-country citizenship and exit rules | Quarterly | Changes to State Department, GOV.UK, IRCC or Home Affairs guidance |
| Medical information | Annually | New professional-body guidance or major studies |
| Cost ranges | Every six months | Currency swings or significant price changes |
How we estimate costs
Our cost figures are ranges, not quotes. Each one states what it includes — typically IVF, surrogate compensation or expenses, legal fees, agency or coordination fees and typical travel — the basis we used and the date. Individual programmes can cost more or less depending on medical needs and choices.
- We build ranges from published clinic and agency price lists (labelled as such), and official fee schedules where they exist.
- We convert to US dollars at the exchange rate on the stated date and round to whole numbers.
- We call out common extras separately: additional IVF cycles, donor eggs, multiple pregnancy, neonatal care, extended stays and home-country legal costs.
Our international surrogacy cost guide applies this method across all destinations.
Independence from partners and advertisers
Commercial relationships never decide what we write. Providers cannot pay to appear in our guides, change a rating or review a page before it is published. Where we have a financial relationship with a provider mentioned on a page, we disclose it on that page and on our About page.
Editorial decisions are made by the editorial team, not by staff responsible for partnerships. The editorial team signs off content; partnerships are agreed separately and are never part of editorial sign-off. See how we are paid for the full disclosure.
Use of AI tools
We disclose how AI tools are used in producing our content. Any AI-assisted draft is treated like a draft from a new writer: every fact is checked against the source hierarchy above by a human.
We use AI tools for research assistance, summarising sources and first drafts. We never use them for legal or medical facts, cost figures, or final sign-off.
Corrections policy
If you spot an error, tell us and we will check it against the primary source. Where we were wrong, we correct the page promptly, update the "reviewed" date and, for material legal or medical errors, add a dated correction note at the end of the page explaining what changed.
- Report an error: use our contact form and tell us the address of the page.
- Our response time: we aim to acknowledge reports within 2 working days and resolve them within 10 working days.
- Minor fixes (typos, broken links) are corrected without a note.
Please do not send medical records or other sensitive personal information when reporting an error.