Surrogacy Guide Colombia

Surrogacy glossary: terms you will meet in Colombia

Short definitions of the terms in these guides. They are general explanations, not legal or medical advice. Spanish terms are included because you will see them on Colombian documents.

Short answer. This glossary defines more than 45 terms you will meet in a surrogacy in Colombia, from apostille and CRBA to maternity challenge, REPS and statelessness. The definitions are general explanations in plain words and are not legal or medical advice.

  • Updated
  • Sources cited in the text

Not legal or medical advice. This guide is written by an independent publisher, not by a lawyer or doctor. Surrogacy law abroad is unsettled and changes. Talk to an attorney in the country where the surrogacy will happen and to an attorney in your home state before making any decision.

Agency
A company that coordinates a surrogacy: it finds the carrier, links the clinic and lawyers and often manages the money. We found no Colombian license specific to surrogacy agencies.
Altruistic surrogacy
Surrogacy in which the carrier does not receive payment beyond expenses. Some people call any payment "compensation," so the line is not always clear.
Apostille
A certificate that authenticates a public document so another country accepts it, under the 1961 Hague Convention. In Colombia the Foreign Ministry issues it.
Auto
A court order that is not the final ruling. The Constitutional Court uses autos to ask for information or to set a hearing.
Blastocyst
An embryo that has grown for five to six days in the lab. Many clinics transfer or freeze embryos at this stage.
Carrier
Short for gestational carrier. The woman who carries the pregnancy. We use "carrier" and "surrogate" to mean the same person.
Certificado de nacido vivo
The live birth certificate issued by the hospital. It is used to register a birth in Colombia.
Commercial surrogacy
Surrogacy in which the carrier or intermediaries are paid. Some laws treat any payment above expenses as commercial.
Compensation and reimbursement
Compensation is pay for time, effort and risk. Reimbursement is repayment of costs such as medical care. Colombian sources disagree on which is allowed.
Constitutional Court (Corte Constitucional)
Colombia's highest court for constitutional matters. It has issued the main rulings on surrogacy and has asked Congress to legislate.
CRBA
Consular Report of Birth Abroad: the document a U.S. embassy or consulate issues as evidence that a child born abroad is a U.S. citizen. It is not a passport.
Cryopreservation
Freezing eggs, sperm or embryos for later use.
DNA test
A lab test that compares genetic material to show a biological tie. Embassies may suggest it to prove the tie between a child and a parent.
Domicile (domicilio)
In Colombian nationality law, residence in Colombia with the intent to stay. A parent domiciled in Colombia at the birth gives the child nationality by birth. Tourists are not domiciled.
Donor
A person who gives eggs or sperm to someone else. A donor generally cannot pass on U.S. citizenship to the child.
Egg retrieval
A minor procedure that collects eggs from the ovaries for IVF.
Embryo
The early stage of a human being after an egg has been fertilized.
Embryo transfer
The procedure that places an embryo in the carrier's uterus.
Escrow
An account held by a neutral third party that releases money on agreed dates or events.
Euploid embryo
An embryo with the normal number of chromosomes, according to testing such as PGT-A.
Exhorto (exhortation)
A formal call from a court to another branch, such as Congress, to act. It is not an order that can be enforced like a ruling.
Filiación
Parentage in law: the legal link between a child and a mother or a father. It decides who appears on the birth record.
Gamete
A reproductive cell: an egg or a sperm.
Genetic parent
The person whose egg or sperm formed the embryo. U.S. citizenship rules look at this tie.
Gestational surrogate
A woman who carries a pregnancy created with an embryo that is not made from her own egg.
HCCH
The Hague Conference on Private International Law. It studied a convention on legal parentage and decided in March 2026 not to start drafting one for now.
ICBF
Instituto Colombiano de Bienestar Familiar, Colombia's national child welfare agency.
INA
The Immigration and Nationality Act, the main U.S. law on citizenship at birth abroad. Sections 301 and 309 matter for surrogacy babies.
Intended parents
The people who will raise the child and arrange the surrogacy.
IVF (FIV in Spanish)
In vitro fertilization: fertilizing eggs outside the body to create embryos.
Maternity challenge (impugnación de la maternidad)
A court case in Colombia to change the mother named on a birth record. Intended parents use it to remove a carrier who has no genetic link.
Mosaic embryo
An embryo in which some cells test as normal and some as abnormal. Testing can label an embryo mosaic in a way that is hard to interpret.
PGT
Preimplantation genetic testing of embryos before transfer. PGT-A counts chromosomes. ASRM does not recommend it for all IVF patients.
Pre-birth order
A court order issued before the birth that names the intended parents. Whether it is available depends on the place. We found no such step described in the Colombian sources we read.
Registraduría
The national civil registry of Colombia. It keeps birth records and validates documents for the apostille.
Registro civil
The civil registry that issues birth certificates. Also the name of the record itself.
REPS
Registro Especial de Prestadores de Servicios de Salud: the Ministry of Health's public registry of health providers and the services they are enabled for.
Sentencia
A court ruling. Colombian Constitutional Court rulings are named with a letter and number, such as T-127 of 2024, where T means a tutela case.
Single embryo transfer
Transferring only one embryo in a cycle. ASRM strongly recommends it in all gestational carrier cycles.
Statelessness (apatridia)
Not being recognized as a citizen by any country. Colombian courts have acted to prevent it for children born through surrogacy.
Supersalud
Colombia's national health superintendency, which supervises health providers.
Surrogacy
An arrangement in which a woman carries a pregnancy for another person or couple, who will raise the child.
Traditional surrogacy
Surrogacy in which the carrier also provides the egg. It carries a higher legal risk than gestational surrogacy.
Trafficking in persons (trata)
A crime that involves recruiting or moving people for exploitation. The Court has warned that surrogacy can lead to it when no one controls what happens to the newborn.
Tutela
A Colombian action to protect fundamental rights. Several surrogacy rulings come from tutela cases.

Where to learn more

See the legal guide, the process guide and the citizenship guide.

For the law, read surrogacy in Colombia and the 2026 ban bill. For the process, read the timeline, medical risks and what you pay for. For safety and ethics, read surrogate protections and surrogacy ethics.

Frequently asked questions

What is a tutela in Colombia?

A tutela is a Colombian court action that protects fundamental rights. Several surrogacy rulings, such as T-127 and T-232 of 2024, came from tutela cases. A ruling in one tutela binds the parties of that case, not everyone, which is one reason the law on surrogacy is unsettled.

What does CRBA mean?

CRBA stands for Consular Report of Birth Abroad. It is the document a U.S. embassy or consulate issues as evidence that a child born abroad is a U.S. citizen. It records citizenship and is not a travel document, so a passport application is separate.

What is an apostille?

An apostille is a certificate that authenticates a public document so that another country accepts it under the 1961 Hague Convention. In Colombia the Foreign Ministry issues it, after the Registraduría validates a civil registry document. You will likely need one for the baby's birth record.

What is the difference between gestational and traditional surrogacy?

In gestational surrogacy the carrier has no genetic tie to the baby, because the embryo comes from the intended parents or donors. In traditional surrogacy she also provides the egg. Traditional surrogacy carries a higher legal risk, as in the 2009 T-968 case.

What is REPS?

REPS is the Special Registry of Health Service Providers run by Colombia's Ministry of Health. It is public and free to search and shows the services that a provider is enabled to offer. Use it to check a clinic by legal name or the other details the portal offers.

What does filiación mean?

Filiación is the legal link between a child and a mother or father. It decides who appears on the birth record and who has parental rights. In surrogacy, the record often begins with the woman who gave birth, so changing it may need a court process.