Prostitution laws in Andorra
Andorra sanctions the client, not the seller. Since Llei 30/2018 qualificada de seguretat pública entered into force in 2019, soliciting or obtaining paid sexual relations is a serious administrative infringement (fine of €501–1,000 in the consolidated text). The Penal Code (Llei 9/2005) punishes running or financing a prostitution establishment (art. 150) and recruiting for, promoting, facilitating or favouring another person's prostitution (art. 151, three months to three years), with a higher penalty for promoting or publicising prostitution through the media or the internet. Coercive procuring is punished under art. 152. In July 2026 the Consell General adopted a Penal Code reform that, according to press reports, adds an offence of facilitating sexual services in the digital environment; its final text was not reviewed.
Legal model
Buying criminalised (Nordic model). Buying sex is an offence; selling it is not (the "Nordic" or "Equality" model).
The Public Security Law 30/2018 prohibits soliciting or obtaining sexual relations from a person engaged in prostitution in exchange for payment and makes it a serious administrative infringement for the client; the person selling is not sanctioned. The Penal Code criminalises running or financing a prostitution establishment, any promotion or facilitation of another's prostitution, and its online publicity. Because the client sanction is administrative rather than criminal, Andorra is a variant of the Nordic model.[1][2]
At a glance
| Question | Status | In short |
|---|---|---|
| Selling sexual services | Restricted | Selling sex is not an offence for the person selling. The 2018 Public Security Law presents itself as incorporating a 'legal prohibition of prostitution', but its sanction falls only on the person who solicits or obtains paid sex. Any third-party help, venue or publicity is criminal.[1][2][3] |
| Buying sexual services | Illegal Administrative offence | Soliciting or obtaining sexual relations from a person engaged in prostitution, even occasionally, in exchange for payment, a promise of payment or a benefit in kind is prohibited (Llei 30/2018 art. 31) and is a serious infringement (art. 51(h)), fined €501–1,000 (art. 53(2)).[1][2][4] |
| Brothels and managed venues | Illegal Criminal offence | Anyone who runs or finances a prostitution establishment faces three months to three years' imprisonment and disqualification from managing hotel, restaurant or leisure businesses for up to five years (Codi penal art. 150). Where the offender profits, a fine of up to €30,000, or three times the profit, is added (art. 153).[2] |
| Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping) | Illegal Criminal offence | Recruiting for prostitution, or promoting, facilitating or favouring another person's prostitution, is punishable by three months to three years (art. 151(1)), regardless of consent. Using violence, intimidation, deception or abuse of a position of need or dependence to make someone engage in prostitution carries two to five years (art. 152). Penalties rise for organised groups (art. 460).[2] |
| Advertising sexual services | Illegal Criminal offence | Promoting, publicising, facilitating, disseminating or inciting prostitution through the media, the internet or other information technologies so that it becomes accessible to a large number of people is punished with the art. 151 penalty in its upper half (art. 151(2)). This covers ad sites and other online intermediaries.[2][5] |
The law in detail
Selling sexual services
Selling sex is not an offence for the person selling. The 2018 Public Security Law presents itself as incorporating a 'legal prohibition of prostitution', but its sanction falls only on the person who solicits or obtains paid sex. Any third-party help, venue or publicity is criminal.[1][2][3]
Checked 30 October 2026
Buying sexual services
Soliciting or obtaining sexual relations from a person engaged in prostitution, even occasionally, in exchange for payment, a promise of payment or a benefit in kind is prohibited (Llei 30/2018 art. 31) and is a serious infringement (art. 51(h)), fined €501–1,000 (art. 53(2)).[1][2][4]
Using a minor or person with a disability in prostitution is a crime (Codi penal art. 154, one to five years). The government's March 2026 bill proposed fines of €501–1,500 for consumers who request and pay for interactive, personalised sexual content online, treating it as prostitution; press reports on the law adopted on 15 July 2026 say the Consell General kept a definition limited to physical prostitution (see pending).
Checked 30 October 2026
Brothels and managed venues
Anyone who runs or finances a prostitution establishment faces three months to three years' imprisonment and disqualification from managing hotel, restaurant or leisure businesses for up to five years (Codi penal art. 150). Where the offender profits, a fine of up to €30,000, or three times the profit, is added (art. 153).[2]
Checked 30 October 2026
Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping)
Recruiting for prostitution, or promoting, facilitating or favouring another person's prostitution, is punishable by three months to three years (art. 151(1)), regardless of consent. Using violence, intimidation, deception or abuse of a position of need or dependence to make someone engage in prostitution carries two to five years (art. 152). Penalties rise for organised groups (art. 460).[2]
Confidence: medium. Cited from the government's unofficial consolidated text, which does not yet include the reform adopted on 15 July 2026; that reform may have amended this chapter.
Checked 30 October 2026
Advertising sexual services
Promoting, publicising, facilitating, disseminating or inciting prostitution through the media, the internet or other information technologies so that it becomes accessible to a large number of people is punished with the art. 151 penalty in its upper half (art. 151(2)). This covers ad sites and other online intermediaries.[2][5]
Art. 151(2), unlike art. 151(1), does not refer to 'the prostitution of another', so its wording does not clearly exclude self-advertising by a sex worker; no case law was found. The July 2026 reform reportedly adds a specific offence of facilitating the provision of sexual services in the digital environment, aimed at platforms.
Confidence: medium. Consolidated text predates the July 2026 reform; the new digital-facilitation offence is known only from press reports.
Checked 30 October 2026
Key legislation
| Law | What it does here | In force |
|---|---|---|
| Llei 9/2005, del 21 de febrer, qualificada del Codi penal (Text refós sense caràcter oficial) Qualified Law 9/2005 of 21 February on the Penal Code arts. 150–154 bis, 157 bis, 460 | Chapter on offences relating to prostitution: establishments, facilitation and online publicity, coercive procuring, child prostitution, trafficking.[2] | |
| Llei 30/2018, del 6 de desembre, qualificada de seguretat pública (BOPA núm. 3, 10 de gener del 2019) Qualified Law 30/2018 of 6 December on Public Security arts. 31, 51(h), 53 | Prohibits soliciting or obtaining paid sexual relations and fines the client as a serious administrative infringement.[1] | April 2019 |
Pending and under review
Adopted · updated 15 July 2026
Projecte de llei qualificada de modificació del Codi penal (online sexual offences, age of consent, digital facilitation of sexual services)
Approved by the government in March 2026, the bill would have treated paid sexual content with direct interaction (e.g. personalised requests on subscription platforms) as prostitution and fined consumers. The Consell General adopted the reform on 15 July 2026; press reports say it kept the definition of prostitution limited to physical prostitution, created an offence of facilitating sexual services in the digital environment and raised the age of sexual consent from 14 to 16.[3][5][6]
Next: Publication in the BOPA and entry into force; final wording of the prostitution provisions to be checked
Timeline
- 21 February 2005Penal Code (Qualified Law 9/2005) adopted, with a chapter on offences relating to prostitution.[2]
- 10 January 2019Public Security Law 30/2018 published in the BOPA; its ban on soliciting paid sexual relations takes effect three months later.[1]
- 15 July 2026Consell General adopts a Penal Code reform including a new offence of facilitating sexual services in the digital environment.[5][6]
Sources
- Llei 30/2018, del 6 de desembre, qualificada de seguretat pública (BOPA núm. 3, 10 de gener del 2019) (Qualified Law 30/2018 of 6 December on Public Security). Consell General d'Andorra, 10 January 2019. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Llei 9/2005, del 21 de febrer, qualificada del Codi penal (Text refós sense caràcter oficial) (Qualified Law 9/2005 of 21 February on the Penal Code (unofficial consolidated text)). Govern d'Andorra – Portal Jurídic d'Andorra, 21 February 2005. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Andorra considerarà prostitució demanar i pagar per contingut sexual a plataformes com OnlyFans (Andorra will treat requesting and paying for sexual content on platforms such as OnlyFans as prostitution). 3Cat, 24 March 2026. news · accessed 30 October 2026
- Llei 30/2018, del 6 de desembre, qualificada de seguretat pública (Text refós sense caràcter oficial) (Qualified Law 30/2018 on Public Security (unofficial consolidated text)). Govern d'Andorra – Portal Jurídic d'Andorra. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- El Consell General eleva el consentiment sexual als 16 anys (The Consell General raises the age of sexual consent to 16). Ràdio Valira, 15 July 2026. news · accessed 30 October 2026
- La cambra eleva l'edat de consentiment sexual fins als 16 anys i reforça la 'lluita' contra la pornografia infantil (Parliament raises the age of sexual consent to 16 and steps up the fight against child pornography). El Periòdic d'Andorra, July 2026. news · accessed 30 October 2026