Prostitution Prostitution laws in HungaryMagyarország
In Hungary, adults may sell sex if they have the medical certificate required by ministerial decree and do not solicit or provide services in protected zones defined by Act LXXV of 1999 and by municipal decrees; municipalities may designate tolerance zones, and must where street-based prostitution is persistent in towns over 50,000. Breaking these rules is a petty offence, and clients who solicit in a protected zone also commit one. Brothels, providing premises, procuring and living off a sex worker's earnings are crimes. Advertising another person's sexual services is banned, and media operators that carry such ads face fines of HUF 500,000 to 1,000,000 per ad.
Legal model
Legal, organisation banned. Selling and buying are legal, but brothels, procuring and organising are criminal offences.
Selling sex is legal for adults who hold a medical certificate and keep to the place rules of Act LXXV of 1999: no soliciting or services in protected zones, and municipalities may designate tolerance zones. Running a brothel, providing premises for prostitution, procuring and living off a sex worker's earnings are crimes under the Criminal Code. Because the 1999 act sets conditions such as tolerance zones and health certificates, some comparative work describes Hungary as regulationist, but there is no licensing of venues.[1][2]
At a glance
| Question | Status | In short |
|---|---|---|
| Selling sexual services | Restricted Breach: administrative offence | Legal for people aged 18 or over who hold the medical certificate prescribed by the health minister's decree (§ 9 Act LXXV of 1999). Soliciting or providing services is banned in protected zones, for example within 300 m of listed public and institutional buildings, and services may not be provided in shared areas of apartment buildings or in vehicles (§ 7). Breaching these rules is a petty offence (§ 172 Act II of 2012).[1][3] |
| Buying sexual services | Restricted Breach: administrative offence | Buying sex from an adult is legal outside protected zones. Inviting someone in a protected zone to provide sexual services for payment, or accepting such an offer there, is banned (§ 10 Act LXXV of 1999) and is a petty offence (§ 184 Act II of 2012). Giving payment for a sexual act with a person under 18 is a crime (§ 203(2) Criminal Code).[1][2][3] |
| Brothels and managed venues | Illegal Criminal offence | Running or managing a brothel, or funding its operation, is a crime (§ 201(3) Criminal Code, one to five years). Making a building or other premises available for prostitution is also an offence under § 201(1), punishable by up to three years. A notary may temporarily close a business linked to procuring or related offences (§ 5 Act LXXV of 1999).[1][2] |
| Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping) | Illegal Criminal offence | Procuring a person for sexual acts with another for profit (kerítés, § 200 Criminal Code) carries up to three years, two to eight years if commercial. Persuading another person into prostitution is facilitation (§ 201(1), up to three years). Being supported wholly or partly by a sex worker (kitartottság, § 202) carries up to three years. Higher penalties apply where minors are involved.[2] |
| Advertising sexual services | Restricted Breach: administrative offence | It is banned to offer or advertise another person's sexual services, or to take part in doing so, in writing or through image, sound or other recordings or devices (§ 11 Act LXXV of 1999). A press, information or media service provider that takes part in such advertising can be fined HUF 500,000 to 1,000,000 per advertisement; repeat breaches can lead to the medium being stripped of its unlawful content or destroyed (§ 12).[1] |
The law in detail
Selling sexual services
Legal for people aged 18 or over who hold the medical certificate prescribed by the health minister's decree (§ 9 Act LXXV of 1999). Soliciting or providing services is banned in protected zones, for example within 300 m of listed public and institutional buildings, and services may not be provided in shared areas of apartment buildings or in vehicles (§ 7). Breaching these rules is a petty offence (§ 172 Act II of 2012).[1][3]
- Protected zones (védett övezet, § 4 h), § 7): set by the act and by municipal decree.
- Tolerance zones (türelmi zóna, § 4 i), § 8): a municipality may designate one where prostitution appears on a mass scale; in settlements of over 50,000 inhabitants it may not omit one where street-based prostitution is persistently observed. Municipalities may also ban soliciting in other public areas (§ 8(2)). How many municipalities have actually designated a zone was not verified.
- Petty offence: § 172 Act II of 2012 (Tiltott prostitúció) covers breaching a statutory or municipal restriction on sexual services; a person under 18 cannot be punished for offering sexual services and is treated under child-protection rules (§ 172(2)-(5)). Section 172 is in Chapter XXIII of Act II of 2012, the petty offences also punishable by confinement, so it carries confinement of up to 60 days or a fine of up to HUF 400,000 (§§ 9(2) and 11(1)).
Checked 30 October 2026
Buying sexual services
Buying sex from an adult is legal outside protected zones. Inviting someone in a protected zone to provide sexual services for payment, or accepting such an offer there, is banned (§ 10 Act LXXV of 1999) and is a petty offence (§ 184 Act II of 2012). Giving payment for a sexual act with a person under 18 is a crime (§ 203(2) Criminal Code).[1][2][3]
Section 184 is not among the petty offences punishable by confinement, so the penalty is a fine of up to HUF 200,000 (§ 11(1) Act II of 2012).
Checked 30 October 2026
Brothels and managed venues
Running or managing a brothel, or funding its operation, is a crime (§ 201(3) Criminal Code, one to five years). Making a building or other premises available for prostitution is also an offence under § 201(1), punishable by up to three years. A notary may temporarily close a business linked to procuring or related offences (§ 5 Act LXXV of 1999).[1][2]
Checked 30 October 2026
Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping)
Procuring a person for sexual acts with another for profit (kerítés, § 200 Criminal Code) carries up to three years, two to eight years if commercial. Persuading another person into prostitution is facilitation (§ 201(1), up to three years). Being supported wholly or partly by a sex worker (kitartottság, § 202) carries up to three years. Higher penalties apply where minors are involved.[2]
Checked 30 October 2026
Advertising sexual services
It is banned to offer or advertise another person's sexual services, or to take part in doing so, in writing or through image, sound or other recordings or devices (§ 11 Act LXXV of 1999). A press, information or media service provider that takes part in such advertising can be fined HUF 500,000 to 1,000,000 per advertisement; repeat breaches can lead to the medium being stripped of its unlawful content or destroyed (§ 12).[1]
- Scope: the wording of § 11 covers another person's services ("más személy szexuális szolgáltatását"); it does not expressly cover a sex worker advertising their own services.
- Platforms: § 12 applies to whoever pursues press activity or provides "egyéb tájékoztatást, hír- vagy médiaszolgáltatást" (other information, news or media services), which on its face can reach websites carrying ads; the fine is imposed on the operator of the organisation, or failing that the organisation. Fines are a public-order fine (közrendvédelmi bírság) imposed by the police (§ 12(3)).
- No case law on how § 12 is applied to online ad platforms was found.
Checked 30 October 2026
Key legislation
| Law | What it does here | In force |
|---|---|---|
| 1999. évi LXXV. törvény a szervezett bűnözés, valamint az azzal összefüggő egyes jelenségek elleni fellépés szabályairól és az ehhez kapcsolódó törvénymódosításokról Act LXXV of 1999 on the rules of action against organised crime and certain related phenomena §§ 4-12 | Conditions for selling sex, protected and tolerance zones, the client ban in protected zones and the advertising ban.[1] | |
| 2012. évi C. törvény a Büntető Törvénykönyvről Act C of 2012 on the Criminal Code § 200 · § 201 · § 202 · § 203 | Procuring, facilitating prostitution including brothel keeping, living off earnings, and child prostitution offences including paying a person under 18.[2] | |
| 2012. évi II. törvény a szabálysértésekről, a szabálysértési eljárásról és a szabálysértési nyilvántartási rendszerről Act II of 2012 on petty offences § 172 · § 184 | Petty offences for breaching prostitution restrictions and for soliciting sexual services in protected zones.[3] |
Sources
- 1999. évi LXXV. törvény a szervezett bűnözés, valamint az azzal összefüggő egyes jelenségek elleni fellépés szabályairól és az ehhez kapcsolódó törvénymódosításokról (Act LXXV of 1999 on the rules of action against organised crime and certain related phenomena (consolidated, in force from 27 September 2026)). Jogtár (Wolters Kluwer Hungary), 1999. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- 2012. évi C. törvény a Büntető Törvénykönyvről (Act C of 2012 on the Criminal Code (consolidated, version in force from 1 October 2026)). Jogtár (Wolters Kluwer Hungary), 2012. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- 2012. évi II. törvény a szabálysértésekről, a szabálysértési eljárásról és a szabálysértési nyilvántartási rendszerről (Act II of 2012 on petty offences, petty offence procedure and the petty offence register (consolidated)). Jogtár (Wolters Kluwer Hungary), 2012. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026