Can a child from surrogacy abroad register in Spain? 2026

Surrogacy, or better known as “surrogacy”, is a process that has become very popular in recent months thanks to public figures. However, there are many doubts and queries about this type of process, which leads to statements that have nothing or little to do with reality. From ABA Abogadas, the lawyer Tania Pose, a specialist in Family Law, offers the keys to understanding how surrogacy works in Spain.

The answer is yes, but first of all, it would be advisable to clarify what is meant by surrogacy. It is the process by which a woman has embryos transferred from another couple, whether for reasons of infertility or other issues, to conceive a child. Let it be clear that in Spain this practice is considered illegal. However, what is allowed is to register a child born under these circumstances in the Civil Registry, with the essential condition that the surrogacy process has been carried out in a country that considers it legal.

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In Spanish legislation, maternity is determined based on the person who gives birth to the newborn, regardless of the child's genetic background. In addition to being considered null and void, any contract that agrees on gestation (with or without price) and renounces maternal filiation in favor of a third party (article 10 of Law 14/2006 on Assisted Human Reproduction Techniques). What happens is that the increase in births using this technique in countries such as the United States, Canada, Greece or the United Kingdom, where it is legal, has caused the General Directorate of Registries and Notaries (DGRN), to have had to regulate the conditions to be able to register children born through surrogacy in the Spanish Civil Registry.

Conditions for registration of children born through surrogacy

• That at least one of the parents is Spanish.
• That in the country where the baby was conceived, surrogacy is legal and has a law that protects it.
• That said country issue a final ruling of filiation, in which a judge confirms that the paternity and maternity of the baby belongs to the contracting parents, and certifies that the surrogate mother has carried out the entire process freely and without coercion.
• That the foreign Judgment be expressly recognized and approved in our country through the voluntary jurisdiction procedure, called exequatur.

To defend this decision they rely on the need to:

• Do not violate Spanish public order, since in Spain filiation by two men is permitted (in cases of adoption), without distinction between adopted children and natural children, both equal before the Law (art 14. Constitution). In this way, if two people of the same sex can register the filiation of an adopted child, they can also register the filiation of natural children.
• Always prioritize the best interests of the minor. And in the event that registration in the Civil Registry is denied, the minor would be deprived of said filiation, when in reality they have the right to a unique identity across state borders, and not to a waived filiation, depending on whether they are in one country or another.

Conclusion

It is true that Spanish Law does not expressly recognize surrogacy, but in practice, it is possible for a child born abroad through this technique - whether of two men, two women or a man and a woman - to be registered in our Civil Registry as a child of both, since the best interest of the minor takes precedence above all, who cannot be deprived of a specific affiliation.

Another thing would be for the surrogacy to be carried out in our country and for the baby to be born in Spain, since, in this case, maternity will be determined by the mother who gave birth, without the possibility of modifying the registration in the Civil Registry.

Tania Pose, lawyer at ABA Abogadas