What is a parental order?
Under the enacted framework, a parental order would be a Circuit Court order stating that a child becomes the child of the intending parent or parents. It is different from a general declaration of parentage, guardianship, adoption or a foreign birth certificate. The correct present route depends on the facts, place of birth, genetic relationship and law in force.
What does the future domestic route say?
Sections 65 and 66 describe an application following a permitted domestic surrogacy. The enacted text includes consent, residence and best-interests requirements. It also sets a future filing window beginning 28 days after birth and generally ending six months after birth. Those details should be read as the design of the future system, not a deadline currently running for every Irish surrogacy family.
Past and international arrangements
The Act contains separate chapters for international surrogacy and arrangements completed before the new framework. Different facts and statutory tests apply. Do not assume that the domestic route, a foreign order or a declaration of parentage automatically resolves Irish parentage.
What families can do now
- Obtain case-specific Irish advice before treatment or signing documents.
- For a birth abroad, obtain advice in the treatment and birth jurisdiction too.
- Preserve clinic, consent, genetic, agreement, expense and birth records.
- Check the commencement table and Courts Service guidance again before taking procedural steps.
- Plan separately for guardianship, citizenship, passport and travel questions.
Parental order versus declaration of parentage
The Courts Service currently publishes general parentage guidance and forms, including routes under other legislation. Those procedures are not substitutes for the uncommenced surrogacy parental-order chapters. A solicitor should identify the legal basis that fits the individual case.
Frequently asked questions
Can I apply for an Irish surrogacy parental order now?
Not under sections 65, 102, 204 or 217 of the 2024 Act while the relevant chapters remain uncommenced. A family may have other current-law questions about parentage or guardianship, but those require case-specific advice and should not be labelled as the new parental-order process.
Will a foreign parental order be recognised automatically?
Do not assume so. Recognition can depend on the kind of foreign document, the court or authority that issued it, the parties' connections to that jurisdiction and Irish law. Obtain written advice before treatment and again before the birth or travel.
What happens to the birth certificate?
The enacted Act contains future provisions connecting parental orders, the National Surrogacy Register and civil registration. Those provisions are also uncommenced. Current registration steps depend on where the child is born and the law then applicable.
A practical document file
Keep certified birth and court records, clinic confirmations, consents, genetic evidence where relevant, proof of residence, legal advice and a dated payment ledger. Store originals securely and keep an encrypted copy. Ask advisers which documents will need apostilles, certified translations or sworn evidence.
Primary sources
Source review: 31 July 2026. General information only; obtain advice on the procedure applicable to your family.