California’s New Assisted Reproduction Law (AB 960) - California Statutory Forms for Assisted Reproduction - Facts and Guidance

Oct 1, 2026

FACT SHEET explains California’s Assisted Reproduction law AB 960 effective January 1, 2016, focusing on how statutory forms protect parental rights for families using assisted reproduction. It covers protections for at-home insemination and unmarried parents, and explains when non-birth parents, sperm donors, and ovum-sharing providers are recognized as legal parents. Guidance highlights signing before conception and obtaining adoption or judgments of parentage when moving outside California.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

Background

Protecting the non-birth parent

Known sperm donor protections

Protecting egg/ovum sharing parents

Ensuring a known sperm donor is not a legal parent

Avoiding donor legal parent status under AB 960

FACT SHEET California’s New Assisted Reproduction Law (AB 960) & California Statutory Forms for Assisted Reproduction The Facts About California’s New Assisted Reproduction Law (AB 960) Background Beginning January 1, 2016, California will have a new law, AB 960, that better protects families having children through assisted reproduction. The law extends protections to families who conceive through at-home insemination and to unmarried parents. Any prospective parent can start using the forms updated by this law even before January 2016. California statutes include forms that can be used to show the intentions of parents and donors involved in the conception of a child and help protect their rights. Those forms are included below. You should sign these forms before you conceive. These forms can help parents who are not able to consult with an attorney protect their rights, but the law about parental rights is complicated. We strongly encourage all parents conceiving through assisted reproduction to speak to an experienced California family law attorney before becoming pregnant to discuss their options and what legal protections they need and can put in place. IMPORTANT: These forms help protect your rights under California law. However, if you move or travel to another state, you may not be recognized as a parent if you are not a genetic or birth parent. We strongly recommend that all non-genetic and nonbirth parents get an adoption or judgment of parentage to protect their rights if they move or travel outside of California. This is needed even if you appear on the birth certificate and even if you are married. We are considering having a child through assisted reproduction, and one of us will be giving birth. How do we protect the parent who is not giving birth? Where two people intend to have a child together using assisted reproduction, and oneof them will give birth, they can protect the non-birth parent’s parental rights by signing a written agreement that the non-birth parent consented to the assisted reproduction. As of January 1, 2016, this protection applies to any two people, whether they are married or unmarried. Families in this situation should use California Statutory Forms for Assisted Reproduction Form 1 below to protect the non-birth parent’s rights. If you are also using a known sperm donor and/or a known egg donor, you should also use California Assisted Reproduction Form 4 below. We are unmarried and considering having a child using insemination to conceive, and one of us will be providing the sperm to conceive and the other will be giving birth. Is there anything we need to do to protect our rights even though we are both going to be biological parents? Yes! California law treats any person who provides sperm that is used for assisted reproduction as a sperm donor and not a parent if they are not married to the person giving birth. If the person providing sperm to a doctor actually intends to be a parent of the child conceived, they should have a signed, written agreement with the birth parent saying so signed before they conceive. Otherwise, they may be inappropriately treated as a sperm donor without any parental rights. The two parents can use California Statutory Forms for Assisted Reproduction Form 2 below for this purpose. We are considering having a child together through assisted reproduction. One of us will provide the egg/ovum to conceive, and the other parent will carry and give birth to the child (AKA Ovum Sharing) . How do we make sure we are both parents? California courts have already ruled that parents using ovum sharing are protected, but this law was not clearly explained in California statutes. As of January 1, 2016, both the person providing the egg and the birth parent are legal parents if a court finds satisfactory evidence that they both intended for the person providing the egg to be a parent. If you are planning to conceive through ovum sharing yo

FAQs

When does California’s AB 960 take effect, and what does it aim to do?

AB 960 takes effect January 1, 2016. It better protects families having children through assisted reproduction, including protections for at-home insemination and unmarried parents.

How can the non-birth parent protect their parental rights when they intend to have a child together?

They can protect the non-birth parent’s parental rights by signing a written agreement showing the non-birth parent consented to the assisted reproduction. As of January 1, 2016, this applies to married or unmarried couples, and the document references Form 1.

Under what conditions could a sperm provider be treated as a legal parent in California?

California law treats a person who provides sperm used for assisted reproduction as a sperm donor—not a parent—if they are not married to the person giving birth. To avoid donor legal parent status, the document describes approaches such as using a medical doctor/sperm bank under specified timing and requirements, or signing a donor agreement before conception.

Oct 1, 2026

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