Surrogacy in England: Recent Developments in the Recognition and Enforcement of English Orders in France

I had already written on this subject, but French case law has recently evolved, and in a very positive way. If you have an English surrogacy judgment — that is, an English “parental order” — and you want that judgment to take effect in France, for example because you would like to obtain a French passport for your child, here is how to proceed by “riding the wave” of French case law.

Key Takeaways:

• Recent French case law has significantly improved the position of parents who obtained an English parental order following a surrogacy arrangement.
• Since the French Supreme Court’s 3 July 2026 plenary judgment, a foreign decision establishing parentage following surrogacy can be recognised in France as establishing parentage, rather than producing the effects of a full adoption.
• An English parental order may therefore be eligible for exequatur in France, provided that the English court had jurisdiction, the decision complies with French international public policy, and it was not obtained fraudulently.
• Because English parental orders are often brief and unreasoned, the French court must be provided with supporting documents demonstrating, in particular, the surrogate’s informed consent and compliance with the applicable English legal requirements.
• A complete exequatur application, including the parental order, supporting evidence, CAFCASS report and relevant English legal documentation, can potentially result in a decision in around six months in Paris.

Prohibited or not prohibited?

I remind you that surrogacy is prohibited in France. It is contrary to public policy and is a criminal offence. Article 227-12 of the French Criminal Code provides for 6 months’ imprisonment and a €7,500 fine for the surrogate mother, and 1 year’s imprisonment and a €15,000 fine for the intended parents.

Surrogacy, however, is legal in England, where it is governed by section 54 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008. English law allows surrogacy for single people as well as for married couples or those in a civil partnership. One of the parents must have a genetic link with the child. The application for a “parental order” must be filed within 6 months of the child’s birth. At least one of the applicants must be “domiciled” in England. The applicants must be adults. The expenses linked to the pregnancy must have been reasonable. Commercial surrogacy is prohibited in England, but case law accepts that the surrogate mother may be reimbursed for pregnancy-related expenses of around £15,000 to £20,000. The surrogate mother must consent by way of a surrogacy agreement. She renews her consent at the start of the judicial process and again at the end of it.

Exequatur in France

There is no bilateral convention between France and England on the question of exequatur. It is case law that has set out the conditions for a foreign judgment to take effect in France.

The leading case dates from 2007. It requires:

• That the English judge had jurisdiction to rule on the surrogacy, and
• That the English judgment complies with French international public policy, both in substance and in form, and
• That the English judgment was not obtained fraudulently.

The French evolution

Since 2019, foreign surrogacy judgments have been recognised in France, but on French territory they have produced the effects of a full adoption, that is, an adoption that severs ties with the birth family. Several rulings of the Cour de Cassation have since changed this case law. These are the series of rulings of 2 October 2024 and the ruling of 5 March 2025. These rulings made clear that surrogacy is not an adoption, and that a foreign surrogacy judgment must therefore produce in France the effects attached to it. Those cases concerned surrogacy carried out in Canada and the United States. The situation is entirely transposable to England. Your “parental order” obtained in England should not be given the effects of an adoption in France. Your judgment can simply be granted exequatur in France and will produce all its effects.

This new wave of case law was confirmed this summer by a ruling of the Cour de Cassation sitting in full plenary assembly. It is therefore a landmark ruling, handed down on 3 July 2026: “where, without pronouncing an adoption, a foreign decision establishing the parentage of a child born of a surrogacy arrangement has been granted exequatur, that parentage is recognised as such in France and produces the effects attached to it in accordance with the law applicable to each of those effects.”

The French judge’s scrutiny

While your “parental order” can be readily recognised in France, your case still needs to be properly presented, because the rulings cited above also reaffirmed that it is important for the French judge to check compliance with French international public policy, both in substance and in form — and the crucial point for the exequatur judge is consent.

Your English surrogacy judgment is two pages long and does not have any reasoning. It is therefore essential to produce, in your French proceedings, all the evidence showing that the surrogate mother genuinely consented to relinquishing her parental rights. Holding the dual qualification of French lawyer and English solicitor, I can provide a certificate of English law confirming that the legal requirements under English law have been met. Do not be sparing with the documents you produce in France. However, be careful with translations: any document you submit to the French judge must be translated into French. Along with your “parental order”, you will need to produce the reasons for the judgment and, at the very least, the CAFCASS report (Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service).

Indeed, the CAFCASS report goes into detail on the question of consent. The document sets out the origin of the relationship between the intended parents and the surrogate mother, and refers to a surrogacy agreement. The report verifies that the surrogate mother did sign her consent to relinquish her parental rights (form A101A), and the officer checks this consent again at the point the report is filed with the court. You should also remember to produce your child’s new birth certificate, issued at the end of the process.

It really is important, before the French judge, to bring evidence about the context, the consent, and the living conditions. The ruling of the Cour de Cassation sitting in full plenary assembly clearly reaffirmed this scrutiny. The highest court recalled that recognising a foreign decision that gives no reasons, “where documents capable of serving as an equivalent to the missing reasoning are not produced,” is contrary to the French conception of international public policy on procedure, and that it is for the applicants to produce those documents.

Timeframes in France

If your exequatur proceedings are complete from the outset, with all the requirements the French judge expects and a certificate of English law, you can obtain an exequatur judgment within 6 months in Paris. After that, however, I cannot predict the timeframes for having your judgment transcribed into the civil status registers in Nantes. In some cases, the Paris public prosecutor’s office sends its requisitions to Nantes directly; in others, you will need to send the request for transcription yourself.