Prostitution laws in the Dominican RepublicRepública Dominicana
Selling sex and paying an adult for sex are legal in the Dominican Republic; organising it is not. On 3 August 2026 the 1884 Penal Code was replaced by Law 74-25, as amended by Law 44-26. The new code defines prostitution as any sexual relationship between adults for payment or a promise of it (Art. 178) and punishes procuring with two to five years and a fine (Art. 176). Procuring includes helping, protecting or covering for another adult's prostitution, sharing their earnings, hiring someone for prostitution, intermediating between sex workers and clients, and housing people for prostitution. Aggravated procuring, five to ten years (Art. 177), covers among others the use of a communications network reaching an indeterminate public and running an establishment where adults sell sex or seek clients. From 5 November 2026 companies can be criminally liable for these offences.
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; the new Penal Code (Law 74-25, in force since 3 August 2026) even defines prostitution neutrally as a sexual relationship between adults for payment (Art. 178). Procuring is defined broadly and covers helping, protecting, sharing earnings, intermediation, housing people for prostitution and running establishments (Arts. 176–177).[1][2]
At a glance
| Question | Status | In short |
|---|---|---|
| Selling sexual services | Legal | Selling sex is not an offence. The new Penal Code defines prostitution as 'any sexual relationship between adults in exchange for remuneration or a promise of economic remuneration' (Art. 178) solely for the purposes of the procuring offences; it creates no offence for the person who sells sex.[1] |
| Buying sexual services | Legal | Paying an adult for sex is not an offence. Paying for sexual services is procuring only where the payer 'obtains a benefit in return', i.e. acts as a profit-making intermediary (Art. 176(8)). Paying or promising to pay a child or adolescent for sexual acts is commercial sexual exploitation, punishable by ten to twenty years (Arts. 179–180).[1] |
| Brothels and managed venues | Illegal Criminal offence | Running, using or financing a commercial establishment for procuring, or agreeing that adults sell sex or look for clients inside an establishment or its annexes, is aggravated procuring: five to ten years and a fine of ten to twenty public-sector minimum wages (Art. 177). Housing or keeping people for prostitution is basic procuring (Art. 176(6)).[1] |
| Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping) | Illegal Criminal offence | Procuring, 'engaging in intervening for profit to encourage, favour or induce the prostitution of another person', carries two to five years and a fine of nine to fifteen public-sector minimum wages (Art. 176). It includes helping, protecting or covering for another adult's prostitution, sharing their earnings, hiring someone for prostitution and intermediating between sex workers and clients. Aggravated forms carry five to ten years (Art. 177).[1][2] |
| Advertising sexual services | Restricted Breach: criminal offence | No offence targets advertising as such and a sex worker's own advertisement is not an offence. Advertising on behalf of others can be intermediation between sex workers and clients (Art. 176(4) and (7)), and committing procuring 'by means of or with the help of a communications network that allows messages to be disseminated to an indeterminate public' makes it aggravated procuring, five to ten years (Art. 177(6)).[1][2] |
| Online platforms and ad sites | Restricted Breach: criminal offence | Legal persons can be held criminally liable for procuring and the other offences in Arts. 176–182 under the general corporate-liability rules (Art. 183, with Arts. 8–11), where the offence results from failures of direction, control or supervision. Those general rules take effect on 5 November 2026, three months after Law 44-26 was published.[1] |
The law in detail
Selling sexual services
Selling sex is not an offence. The new Penal Code defines prostitution as 'any sexual relationship between adults in exchange for remuneration or a promise of economic remuneration' (Art. 178) solely for the purposes of the procuring offences; it creates no offence for the person who sells sex.[1]
Confidence: medium. Read from a republication of the official consolidated edition; municipal rules and police practice were not reviewed.
Checked 30 October 2026
Buying sexual services
Paying an adult for sex is not an offence. Paying for sexual services is procuring only where the payer 'obtains a benefit in return', i.e. acts as a profit-making intermediary (Art. 176(8)). Paying or promising to pay a child or adolescent for sexual acts is commercial sexual exploitation, punishable by ten to twenty years (Arts. 179–180).[1]
Confidence: medium. The 2003 trafficking law (Law 137-03), which the new code did not repeal, was not reviewed for a client offence.
Checked 30 October 2026
Brothels and managed venues
Running, using or financing a commercial establishment for procuring, or agreeing that adults sell sex or look for clients inside an establishment or its annexes, is aggravated procuring: five to ten years and a fine of ten to twenty public-sector minimum wages (Art. 177). Housing or keeping people for prostitution is basic procuring (Art. 176(6)).[1]
Confidence: medium. Numbering follows the text as amended by Law 44-26; the original Art. 177 listed twelve circumstances.
Checked 30 October 2026
Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping)
Procuring, 'engaging in intervening for profit to encourage, favour or induce the prostitution of another person', carries two to five years and a fine of nine to fifteen public-sector minimum wages (Art. 176). It includes helping, protecting or covering for another adult's prostitution, sharing their earnings, hiring someone for prostitution and intermediating between sex workers and clients. Aggravated forms carry five to ten years (Art. 177).[1][2]
Art. 176, as amended by Law 44-26 (G.O. 11254, 5 August 2026), lists eight circumstances: (1) helping, assisting, protecting or covering for the prostitution of another adult; (2) obtaining any benefit from another's prostitution by sharing their income or receiving payments in whole or part; (3) hiring, employing, taking, diverting or training a person for prostitution; (4) acting as intermediary between two people so that one engages in prostitution and the other benefits; (5) obstructing public prevention, control or rehabilitation work against prostitution; (6) housing or keeping people for prostitution; (7) acting as intermediary in any capacity between sex workers and those who solicit them; (8) paying for these services where a benefit is obtained in return. Law 44-26 raised the maximum from three to five years and removed 'obligar' (forcing) from the definition. Aggravating circumstances in Art. 177 include two or more victims, victims induced abroad, offenders who are relatives or public officials, groups of offenders and recidivists.
Confidence: medium. No case law under the new code yet; the text was read from a law firm's republication of the official consolidated edition because the official portal could not be searched.
Checked 30 October 2026
Advertising sexual services
No offence targets advertising as such and a sex worker's own advertisement is not an offence. Advertising on behalf of others can be intermediation between sex workers and clients (Art. 176(4) and (7)), and committing procuring 'by means of or with the help of a communications network that allows messages to be disseminated to an indeterminate public' makes it aggravated procuring, five to ten years (Art. 177(6)).[1][2]
Confidence: medium. How courts will apply the communications-network aggravation to ad sites is untested.
Checked 30 October 2026
Online platforms and ad sites
Legal persons can be held criminally liable for procuring and the other offences in Arts. 176–182 under the general corporate-liability rules (Art. 183, with Arts. 8–11), where the offence results from failures of direction, control or supervision. Those general rules take effect on 5 November 2026, three months after Law 44-26 was published.[1]
Confidence: medium. Whether an ad platform hosting third-party listings would be treated as an intermediary under Art. 176 has not been tested.
Checked 30 October 2026
Key legislation
| Law | What it does here | In force |
|---|---|---|
| Ley núm. 74-25, Orgánica que instituye el Código Penal de la República Dominicana, con las modificaciones incorporadas por la Ley núm. 44-26 (edición especial de la Gaceta Oficial, Consultoría Jurídica del Poder Ejecutivo) Organic Law 74-25 establishing the Penal Code, as amended by Law 44-26 Arts. 8–11 · Arts. 176–183 · Arts. 391–393 | Replaces the 1884 Penal Code; defines prostitution (Art. 178), procuring (Art. 176), aggravated procuring including via communications networks and establishments (Art. 177), and corporate liability (Art. 183).[1] | 3 August 2026 |
Pending and under review
Adopted · updated 30 October 2026
Corporate criminal liability under the new Penal Code takes effect
Law 44-26 deferred the general rules on criminal liability of legal persons by three months from its publication on 5 August 2026, so companies, including any running venues or ad services, can be prosecuted for procuring from 5 November 2026.[1][2]
Next, 5 November 2026: Arts. 8–11 of Law 74-25 (corporate criminal liability, applied to procuring by Art. 183) enter into force
Timeline
- 3 August 2025Law 74-25 instituting a new Penal Code is promulgated (Gaceta Oficial 11208, 5 August 2025), with entry into force set twelve months later.[1]
- 27 July 2026Law 44-26 amends the new code before it takes effect, raising the maximum for basic procuring from three to five years and dropping 'forcing' from the procuring definition.[1][2]
- 3 August 2026The new Penal Code enters into force, repealing the 1884 code as regards the offences it defines.[1][2]
Sources
- Ley núm. 74-25, Orgánica que instituye el Código Penal de la República Dominicana, con las modificaciones incorporadas por la Ley núm. 44-26 (edición especial de la Gaceta Oficial, Consultoría Jurídica del Poder Ejecutivo) (Organic Law No. 74-25 establishing the Penal Code, with the amendments of Law No. 44-26 (special edition of the Official Gazette)). Consultoría Jurídica del Poder Ejecutivo (republicado por Stern & Comas), 5 August 2026. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Nuevo Código Penal: las 43 modificaciones que transforman la justicia en República Dominicana (New Penal Code: the 43 amendments transforming justice in the Dominican Republic). Diario Libre, 2 August 2026. news · accessed 30 October 2026