Prostitution Prostitution laws in Bolivia
Selling and buying sex between adults are not offences in Bolivia. Since Law 263 of 2012, the Penal Code's proxenetismo offence punishes promoting, facilitating or contributing to another person's prostitution for profit or to satisfy others only where it involves deception, abuse of need, vulnerability, dependency or power, violence or threats (10 to 15 years), and separately punishes keeping a house or establishment where sexual exploitation or commercial sexual violence is promoted (8 to 12 years). Sex workers obtain a health card after STI tests every three months and HIV tests every six, which the Ministry of Health describes as allowing them to work in venues; venues without sanitary certificates have been closed in health inspections. Law 263 also requires that advertisements for sexual services exclude nudity, references to regional or national origin, and minors.
Legal model
Regulation (legal & licensed). Selling sex and running venues are legal under a licensing or registration regime.
Adult prostitution is not a crime, and the criminal law reaches third parties only where they use deception, abuse of need or vulnerability, violence or coercion, or keep a house where sexual exploitation is promoted (Penal Code art. 321 as amended in 2012). Venues ("lenocinios") operate with sanitary certificates and sex workers hold health cards issued after periodic STI and HIV checks, overseen by departmental health services. The classification as regulation rests on that health-control practice rather than on a single national licensing statute, which was not found.[1][2][3]
At a glance
| Question | Status | In short |
|---|---|---|
| Selling sexual services | Licensed | Selling sex is not an offence. Sex workers obtain a health card (carnet sanitario) after STI checks every three months and HIV tests every six months at departmental surveillance centres; the Ministry of Health describes the card as allowing work in venues and lenocinios.[1][2] |
| Buying sexual services | Legal | Paying an adult for sex is not an offence. Commercial sexual violence against minors and trafficking are separate crimes.[1] |
| Brothels and managed venues | Restricted Breach: criminal offence | Venues where sex is sold need a sanitary certificate from the departmental health service, and those without one have been closed in inspections. Keeping, openly or covertly, a house or establishment where sexual exploitation or commercial sexual violence is promoted carries 8 to 12 years.[1][3] |
| Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping) | Restricted Breach: criminal offence | Promoting, facilitating or contributing to another's prostitution, or forcing them to remain in it, for profit or to satisfy others, is proxenetismo (10 to 15 years) when committed through deception, abuse of need, vulnerability, dependency or power, violence, threats or other coercion. Higher penalties apply for victims under 18 or with disabilities (12 to 18) and under 14 (15 to 20).[1] |
| Advertising sexual services | Restricted Breach: administrative offence | Advertisements offering sexual services are lawful but regulated: Law 263 requires them to protect dignity, bans images of partial or total nudity and references to a person's regional, local or national origin, and requires that minors are never involved. The Ministry of Communication enforces this and imposes administrative sanctions on media outlets.[1] |
The law in detail
Selling sexual services
Selling sex is not an offence. Sex workers obtain a health card (carnet sanitario) after STI checks every three months and HIV tests every six months at departmental surveillance centres; the Ministry of Health describes the card as allowing work in venues and lenocinios.[1][2]
Confidence: medium. The health-card rules are described from a 2015 Ministry of Health release; the regulation that sets them, and whether working without a card is sanctioned, were not found.
Checked 30 October 2026
Buying sexual services
Paying an adult for sex is not an offence. Commercial sexual violence against minors and trafficking are separate crimes.[1]
Confidence: medium. Based on the Penal Code provisions amended by Law 263; the full current Penal Code was not reviewed.
Checked 30 October 2026
Brothels and managed venues
Venues where sex is sold need a sanitary certificate from the departmental health service, and those without one have been closed in inspections. Keeping, openly or covertly, a house or establishment where sexual exploitation or commercial sexual violence is promoted carries 8 to 12 years.[1][3]
Article 321(IV) of the Penal Code, as amended by Law 263, punishes whoever "mantuviere ostensible o encubiertamente una casa o establecimiento donde se promueva la explotación sexual y/o violencia sexual comercial". In October 2014 an official quoted by Erbol reported that 88 lenocinios in La Paz and El Alto had been closed during the year for lacking sanitary certificates and workers' health booklets, and that the La Paz health service (SEDES) issues sanitary certificates and health cards but not operating licences.
Confidence: medium. Which authority issues operating licences (presumably municipalities) and under which rules was not confirmed.
Checked 30 October 2026
Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping)
Promoting, facilitating or contributing to another's prostitution, or forcing them to remain in it, for profit or to satisfy others, is proxenetismo (10 to 15 years) when committed through deception, abuse of need, vulnerability, dependency or power, violence, threats or other coercion. Higher penalties apply for victims under 18 or with disabilities (12 to 18) and under 14 (15 to 20).[1]
Law 263 of 31 July 2012 rewrote article 321 so that, for adults, the offence requires one of the listed means. The 2006 wording (Law 3325) had punished promoting, favouring or facilitating prostitution for profit without that requirement.
Confidence: medium. The statement about the 2006 wording comes from secondary summaries of Law 3325 and was not checked against its text.
Checked 30 October 2026
Advertising sexual services
Advertisements offering sexual services are lawful but regulated: Law 263 requires them to protect dignity, bans images of partial or total nudity and references to a person's regional, local or national origin, and requires that minors are never involved. The Ministry of Communication enforces this and imposes administrative sanctions on media outlets.[1]
Article 23(IV) of Law 263: "todos los avisos de oferta sexual, deberán ser reguladas precautelando la dignidad de las personas, prohibiendo el uso de imágenes de desnudos parciales o totales". Article 23(I) also bars the media from disseminating messages that promote trafficking and related offences.
Note. Whether the rule and its implementing regulation are applied to online platforms was not checked.
Checked 30 October 2026
Key legislation
| Law | What it does here | In force |
|---|---|---|
| Ley N° 263, Ley Integral contra la Trata y Tráfico de Personas, de 31 de julio de 2012 Law 263, Comprehensive Law against Trafficking and Smuggling of Persons (2012) art. 23 · art. 34 (Penal Code arts. 321, 321 bis, 321 ter) | Rewrote the proxenetismo offence (Penal Code art. 321) and regulates advertisements for sexual services (art. 23).[1] |
Timeline
Sources
- Ley N° 263, Ley Integral contra la Trata y Tráfico de Personas, de 31 de julio de 2012 (Law No. 263, Comprehensive Law against Trafficking and Smuggling of Persons, 31 July 2012). Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia (official edition hosted by the CEPAL Gender Equality Observatory), 31 July 2012. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Trabajadoras sexuales fueron reconocidas por cumplir normas de protección (Sex workers recognised for complying with protection rules). Ministerio de Salud y Deportes de Bolivia, 2 June 2015. government · accessed 30 October 2026
- Clausuraron 88 lenocinios en La Paz y El Alto (88 brothels closed in La Paz and El Alto). Erbol, 31 October 2014. news · accessed 30 October 2026