The Vermont Statutes Online
The Statutes below include the actions of the 2025 session of the General Assembly.
NOTE: The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated that is provided as a convenience.
(Cite as: 15C V.S.A. § 804)
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§ 804. Birth and parentage orders
(a) Before or after the birth of a resulting child, a party to a gestational carrier agreement
may commence a proceeding in the Probate Division of the Superior Court to obtain
an order and judgment of parentage doing any of the following:
(1) Declaring that the intended parent or parents are the parent or parents of the resulting
child and ordering that parental rights and responsibilities vest exclusively in the
intended parent or parents immediately upon the birth of the child.
(2) Declaring that the gestational carrier or the carrier’s spouse, if any, are not the
parents of the resulting child.
(3) Designating the contents of the birth certificate and directing the Department of
Health to designate the intended parent or parents as the parent or parents of the
child. The Department of Health may charge a reasonable fee for the issuance of a
birth certificate.
(4) Sealing the record from the public to protect the privacy of the child and the parties.
(5) Providing any relief the court determines necessary and proper.
(b) Neither the State nor the Department of Health is a necessary party to a proceeding
under subsection (a) of this section.
(c) The Probate Division of the Superior Court shall forward a certified copy of the order
issued pursuant to this section to the Department of Health and to the intended parents
or their representative.
(d) The intended parent or parents and any resulting child shall have access to their
court records at any time.
(e) An uncontested petition for a judgment of parentage pursuant to this section shall
be resolved by the court promptly. (Added 2017, No. 162 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2019, No. 24, § 5; 2023, No. 175 (Adj. Sess.), § 13, eff. July 1, 2024.)