Surrogacy is one of the most legally uncertain areas of fertility care in Colombia, and its status is changing. This page sets out what the courts have actually said, what a bill now in Congress would do, and what that means if you’re considering it.
What the courts have said
T-968/2009. The Constitutional Court wrote that “no existe una prohibición expresa” for these agreements in Colombian law: there is no express prohibition. It also quoted a list of conditions that legal scholars recommended for any future regulation, such as the gestational carrier not providing her own eggs and not acting for profit. Those conditions sit in the Court’s reasoning, not in its orders, and analysts describe them as recommendations rather than binding rules (Universidad Externado).
T-127/2024. In April 2024 the Court found that “existe un vacío legal en la materia”, a legal vacuum that leaves the rights of the children involved under-protected. It repeated its call for Congress to regulate surrogacy comprehensively and urged the Ministry of Justice to present a bill. Congress could regulate it “to prohibit it, permit it freely or limit it to specific circumstances” (Cambio).
ICBF, Colombia’s family welfare agency, put it plainly in a 2020 legal opinion: surrogacy “no se encuentra permitida ni prohibida”, neither permitted nor prohibited (ICBF).
How parentage works in practice
Because no law sets the rules, parentage is sorted out case by case. In April 2025 the Bogotá Superior Tribunal ruled in one case that the notary had to register the woman who gave birth as the mother on the birth certificate (ruling). In practice, the intended father then asks a family judge to challenge that maternity, using a genetic test (Cuestión Pública, 2026).
El Tiempo reported 8,435 lawsuits challenging maternity in 2024, and linked the trend to a boom in reproductive tourism (El Tiempo, 2025).
The bill in Congress
On August 13, 2026, Representative Luis Miguel López Aristizábal filed Proyecto de Ley Estatutaria 215/2026 in the House, with co-authors from several parties. It would prohibit what it calls reproductive exploitation through surrogacy, with prison terms of 120 to 192 months and fines of 500 to 1,500 monthly minimum wages. It would also reach anyone who advertises “paquetes médicos, turísticos o jurídicos” for surrogacy (bill text).
As of early October 2026, the bill was in the House’s First Committee, with rapporteurs assigned and no first debate (Cámara). Two earlier bills to ban surrogacy didn’t pass: one was archived in 2025 and one was withdrawn in 2026.
What this means if you’re considering surrogacy
- Hire an independent Colombian family lawyer: someone who doesn’t work for the clinic or agency you’re considering.
- Ask that lawyer, in writing, how the pending bill could affect an arrangement that’s already underway.
- Talk to a lawyer in your home country about how it would recognize parentage and issue the baby’s documents.
- Be wary of anyone who calls surrogacy in Colombia simply “legal”, or sells it as a package.
Surrogacy in Colombia is unregulated, not legalized. The Constitutional Court has asked Congress to regulate it, and the bill now in committee would ban it outright. Plan around that uncertainty, not around a price.
Sources
- Sentencia T-968/2009, Corte Constitucional de Colombia (Dec. 18, 2009)
- Concepto No. 23, ICBF Oficina Asesora Jurídica (June 1, 2020), quoting the T-968/2009 list of recommended conditions
- Sentencia T-127/2024, Corte Constitucional de Colombia (Apr. 18, 2024)
- Reiteración de exhorto para la regulación sobre la gestación subrogada (Universidad Externado, May 27, 2024)
- Corte lanza dura advertencia por falta de reglas claras sobre la maternidad subrogada (Cambio, May 7, 2024)
- Tribunal Superior de Bogotá, Sala Civil, ruling of Apr. 1, 2025, case 2025-00072-01
- Maternidad subrogada: cascada de demandas refleja ‘boom’ del turismo reproductivo (El Tiempo, July 12, 2025)
- Cuando seas grande no recordarás que naciste en un país extranjero (Cuestión Pública, Apr. 23, 2026)
- Prohibición de la maternidad subrogada, Proyecto de Ley Estatutaria 215/2026 Cámara (status page) and bill text
- PL 131/2025 Cámara (archived) and PL 052/2026 Cámara (withdrawn)
Last checked October 6, 2026. General information, not legal advice.
Questions about IVF, egg donation or reciprocal IVF?
Message us on WhatsApp. It’s free, with no obligation.