Circle Surrogacy is a for-profit, full-service gestational surrogacy and egg donation agency founded in 1995 by John Weltman. It is headquartered in Boston and also has offices in New York; Burlingame, California; Washington, DC; and London, United Kingdom, with a staff estimated at just over 100 people.
The agency no longer operates as an independent, founder-owned business. It is part of Northstar Fertility Partners, a Boston-based platform formed in 2019 and backed by the New York private equity firm Cortec Group, with the transaction covering Circle Surrogacy dated to the start of 2022. Northstar's sibling brands include Growing Generations, Reproductive Possibilities, Everie and Surrogacy.com, and Circle's own posts refer to a brand family that includes Everie and Growing Generations. Business management is listed as a president and a manager, and the agency is BBB accredited.
Circle works with intended parents, including LGBTQ+ couples, single parents and clients living outside the United States. According to the agency, its program covers surrogate and egg donor matching along with in-house legal, financial, insurance and mental-health support, and case management that follows a family from application through delivery. Funds are held in an in-house escrow arrangement the agency calls Journey Protection, administered by its own trust accounting team rather than an outside escrow company.
On the surrogate side, the agency works with gestational carriers who are US citizens or permanent residents living in the United States, in a state where surrogacy is workable, and who hold a valid US driver's license; applicants from Nebraska and Louisiana are not accepted. Circle's stated requirements also touch on age, BMI, prior pregnancy and delivery history, having a child at home, and not smoking. Detailed eligibility criteria, compensation ranges, fee information and accreditation details appear below.
The agency says it is listed as a provider with Men Having Babies' Surrogacy Advisor and has sponsored that organization's conferences.
Recent ownership change: Circle Surrogacy is no longer independently owned by founder John Weltman. It operates under Northstar Fertility Partners (formed by key partners in 2019, HQ Boston, MA), a private-equity platform backed by Cortec Group of New York. Mergr dates the Cortec/Northstar transaction covering Circle Surrogacy to Jan 1, 2022. Northstar's sibling brands include Growing Generations, Reproductive Possibilities, Everie (egg donation, acquired Oct 2023) and Surrogacy.com (acquired Nov 2023). Circle's own LinkedIn posts refer to a 'brand family' of Everie, Growing Generations and Circle Surrogacy. Circle's public-facing pages do not disclose the PE ownership.
AI summary of 51 reviews · can make mistakes
Reviewers are overwhelmingly positive, often describing staff as supportive, caring and quick to respond from application through after delivery. Many surrogates and donors praise the matching process and say they stayed close with the families they worked with. A minority were unhappy, mostly with the length and demands of the intake process and the tone of screening interviews.
51 reviews match these filters.
Was great went well and very pleased. Anxiety along the journey but the staff and the handler was great 👍 highly recommended
View on Google (opens in a new tab)We could not be more grateful for our experience working with Circle Surrogacy!
View on Google (opens in a new tab)Circle is very responsive and I always felt so much love and support from my team. Had a lovely experience working with everyone. They matched us perfectly with our IP’s, couldn’t be more grateful for the experience.
View on Google (opens in a new tab)The company is superior in finding the perfect matches for surrogates and intended parents.
View on Google (opens in a new tab)Google reviews are shown as written and link to the original. Forum, Yelp and Trustpilot entries are our short summaries of what was posted, linked to the source. Reviewer type is inferred from what each reviewer wrote.
Base compensation
$50,000 – $75,000
Published by the agency. Benefits and allowances are usually on top of this.
Requirements change — confirm with the agency before applying.
See which agencies fit youCircle Surrogacy accepts gestational surrogates between 21 and 42 years old.
Circle Surrogacy requires surrogates to have a BMI of 33 or lower.
Yes. Circle Surrogacy requires surrogates to have had at least 1 prior pregnancy.
Yes. Circle Surrogacy requires surrogates to be raising at least one child of their own.
No. Circle Surrogacy requires surrogates to be non-smokers.
Circle Surrogacy's citizenship or residency requirement for surrogates: Must be a US citizen or permanent US resident and reside in the United States in a surrogacy-friendly state; a valid US driver's license is also required..
Yes. Circle Surrogacy does not accept surrogates who live in: Nebraska, Louisiana.
