Prostitution laws in Chile
In Chile, sex work by adults is not punished. Article 41 of the Sanitary Code (1968) provides that a health statistic is kept on people engaged in sex trade and that they may not be grouped in closed brothels or houses of tolerance; the Carabineros enforce the ban and close premises. Health checks under the 2007 regulation on sexually transmitted infections are voluntary, free and confidential. The Penal Code punishes promoting or facilitating the prostitution of minors and paying 14- to 17-year-olds for sex, and Law 20.507 of 2011 added trafficking and migrant-smuggling offences. Breaching police regulations on people engaged in sex trade remains a minor offence.
Legal model
Legal, organisation banned. Selling and buying are legal, but brothels, procuring and organising are criminal offences.
Selling and buying sex between adults are not offences, and the Penal Code's prostitution offences concern minors and trafficking. The ban on organisation comes from the Sanitary Code, which prohibits grouping people engaged in sex trade in closed brothels or "casas de tolerancia" and has the Carabineros close such premises (art. 41). The ban is administrative rather than criminal, which makes Chile a mild case of abolitionism.[1][2]
At a glance
| Question | Status | In short |
|---|---|---|
| Selling sexual services | Legal | Selling sex is not an offence for adults. Health checks for sex workers under Decree 206 of 2007 are voluntary and confidential, with health centres keeping a statistical count of the people in control. The Penal Code still lists, among minor offences (faltas), breaching police regulations concerning those who engage in sex trade (art. 495 no. 7).[1][2][3] |
| Buying sexual services | Legal | Paying an adult for sex is not an offence. Obtaining sexual services from a person aged 14 to 17 in exchange for money or any other benefit is punished with presidio menor in its maximum degree (art. 367 ter).[2][3] |
| Brothels and managed venues | Illegal Administrative offence | The Sanitary Code prohibits grouping people engaged in sex trade in closed brothels or houses of tolerance (art. 41). The Carabineros enforce the ban and order and carry out the closure of premises, in addition to health-authority penalties; a closure can be lifted only by a civil judge at the owner's request.[1][2] |
| Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping) | Restricted Breach: criminal offence | There is no general offence of procuring adults. Promoting or facilitating the prostitution of minors to satisfy the desires of another carries presidio menor in its maximum degree, and presidio mayor where there is habituality, abuse of authority or trust, or deception (art. 367). Trafficking for sexual exploitation and facilitating cross-border movement for prostitution are covered by the offences added by Law 20.507 of 2011.[2][3] |
| Advertising sexual services | Legal | No provision specifically on advertising adult sexual services was found. Advertising a brothel would run into the Sanitary Code ban on brothels, and advertising involving minors would fall under the child-protection offences.[1][2] |
The law in detail
Selling sexual services
Selling sex is not an offence for adults. Health checks for sex workers under Decree 206 of 2007 are voluntary and confidential, with health centres keeping a statistical count of the people in control. The Penal Code still lists, among minor offences (faltas), breaching police regulations concerning those who engage in sex trade (art. 495 no. 7).[1][2][3]
Confidence: medium. The consolidated codes on LeyChile could not be opened (the site refused automated access); described from a 2014 Library of Congress report prepared for the Senate and search results quoting article 41. Changes after 2014 may not be reflected.
Checked 30 October 2026
Buying sexual services
Paying an adult for sex is not an offence. Obtaining sexual services from a person aged 14 to 17 in exchange for money or any other benefit is punished with presidio menor in its maximum degree (art. 367 ter).[2][3]
Confidence: medium. Penal Code text taken from the 2014 Library of Congress report; later amendments to article 367 ter were not checked.
Checked 30 October 2026
Brothels and managed venues
The Sanitary Code prohibits grouping people engaged in sex trade in closed brothels or houses of tolerance (art. 41). The Carabineros enforce the ban and order and carry out the closure of premises, in addition to health-authority penalties; a closure can be lifted only by a civil judge at the owner's request.[1][2]
Article 41 reads: "Para las personas que se dedican al comercio sexual, se llevará una estadística sanitaria, no permitiéndose su agrupación en prostíbulos cerrados o casas de tolerancia." The Library of Congress describes the Sanitary Code's provisions as aimed solely at preventing the spread of venereal disease.
Confidence: medium. LeyChile could not be opened; wording confirmed from search results quoting the article and from the Library of Congress report.
Checked 30 October 2026
Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping)
There is no general offence of procuring adults. Promoting or facilitating the prostitution of minors to satisfy the desires of another carries presidio menor in its maximum degree, and presidio mayor where there is habituality, abuse of authority or trust, or deception (art. 367). Trafficking for sexual exploitation and facilitating cross-border movement for prostitution are covered by the offences added by Law 20.507 of 2011.[2][3]
Confidence: medium. Based on the 2014 Library of Congress report; the exact current numbering and wording of the trafficking offences could not be checked on LeyChile.
Checked 30 October 2026
Advertising sexual services
No provision specifically on advertising adult sexual services was found. Advertising a brothel would run into the Sanitary Code ban on brothels, and advertising involving minors would fall under the child-protection offences.[1][2]
Confidence: low. Media, consumer and platform rules were not reviewed; the absence of an advertising rule is unconfirmed.
Checked 30 October 2026
Key legislation
| Law | What it does here | In force |
|---|---|---|
| Decreto con Fuerza de Ley 725, Código Sanitario Sanitary Code (DFL 725 of 1967) arts. 39, 41 | Prohibits closed brothels and houses of tolerance and provides for their closure by the Carabineros.[1] | |
| Código Penal Penal Code arts. 367, 367 ter, 495 n° 7 | Offences on the prostitution of minors (arts. 367, 367 ter), trafficking (Law 20.507) and the minor offence on police regulations (art. 495 no. 7).[3] |
In numbers
Ministry of Health figure reported by the Library of Congress. Counts only people attending voluntary, confidential checks; not an estimate of the total number of people who sell sex.
Timeline
- 2004Law 19.927 rewrites article 367 of the Penal Code on the prostitution of minors and adds article 367 ter on paying 14- to 17-year-olds for sex.[2]
- 8 May 2007Decree 206 of 2007, the regulation on sexually transmitted infections, enters into force, making sex workers' health checks voluntary and confidential.[2]
- 2011Law 20.507 creates the offences of migrant smuggling and trafficking in persons and repeals article 367 bis.[2]
Sources
- Decreto con Fuerza de Ley 725, Código Sanitario (Decree with Force of Law 725, Sanitary Code). Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional de Chile (LeyChile), 31 January 1968. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Comercio sexual (Sex trade (report for the Senate Human Rights Committee)). Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional de Chile, Asesoría Técnica Parlamentaria, 3 June 2014. parliament · accessed 30 October 2026
- Código Penal (Penal Code). Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional de Chile (LeyChile). legislation · accessed 30 October 2026