Prostitution Laws

Prostitution laws in Moroccoالمغرب

Selling and buying prohibitedOverview · last reviewed 30 October 2026

Prostitution is prohibited in Morocco. Article 490 of the Penal Code punishes sexual relations between unmarried persons of different sexes with one month to one year in prison, which applies to both the seller and the buyer, and Article 502 punishes publicly soliciting people to debauchery by gestures, words, writings or any other means. Procuring in its many forms (Article 498), running or financing premises used for prostitution (Article 501) and tolerating prostitution on premises one controls (Article 503) are offences with prison terms of up to ten years, higher in aggravated cases. Repeal of Article 490 is publicly debated, but no bill to that effect had been found in Parliament as of October 2026.

Legal model

Selling and buying prohibited. Selling sex is an offence (criminal or administrative), whether or not buying is.

The Penal Code has no offence of selling sex as such, but Article 490 punishes any sexual relations between unmarried persons of different sexes, which covers both the person selling and the person buying. Public soliciting is a separate offence (Article 502), and Articles 497 to 504 criminalise procuring, brothels and tolerating prostitution on premises. The prohibition therefore rests on the general extramarital-sex offence plus the soliciting offence.[1][2]

At a glance

QuestionStatusIn short
Selling sexual servicesIllegal
Criminal offence
There is no offence of selling sex as such, but sexual relations between unmarried persons of different sexes are punishable by one month to one year in prison (Article 490), and publicly soliciting people of either sex to debauchery is punishable by one month to one year and a fine of 20,000 to 200,000 dirhams (Article 502).[1][2]
Buying sexual servicesIllegal
Criminal offence
There is no specific offence of paying for sex. A client who has sex with a person of the other sex outside marriage commits the general Article 490 offence (one month to one year); a married client may also be prosecuted for adultery (one to two years) on the complaint of the spouse (Article 491).[1]
Brothels and managed venuesIllegal
Criminal offence
Owning, managing, operating, directing or financing premises habitually used for prostitution, or a public establishment that tolerates it, is punishable by four to ten years and a fine of 5,000 to 2,000,000 dirhams, with withdrawal of any licence and possible closure (Article 501). Tolerating habitual clandestine prostitution in premises one controls is punishable by one month to two years (Article 503).[1]
Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping)Illegal
Criminal offence
Article 498 punishes with one to five years and a fine of 5,000 to 1,000,000 dirhams anyone who knowingly aids, assists or protects another's prostitution, shares in its proceeds, lives with a person habitually engaged in it, recruits or acts as an intermediary. Aggravating circumstances (minors, coercion, several victims, use of communication messages, among others) raise this to two to ten years (Article 499).[1]
Advertising sexual servicesIllegal
Criminal offence
There is no specific advertising offence, but public soliciting "by gestures, words, writings or any other means" is punishable under Article 502, and aiding another's prostitution "in any manner" is procuring under Article 498. Procuring offences committed through messages sent by means of communication are aggravated under Article 499.[1]

The law in detail

Selling sexual services

IllegalCode pénal art. 490 · Code pénal art. 502

There is no offence of selling sex as such, but sexual relations between unmarried persons of different sexes are punishable by one month to one year in prison (Article 490), and publicly soliciting people of either sex to debauchery is punishable by one month to one year and a fine of 20,000 to 200,000 dirhams (Article 502).[1][2]

Note. Checked against the Ministry of Justice consolidation of 5 July 2018; the later 2021 consolidation on adala.justice.gov.ma could not be opened from here.

Checked 30 October 2026

Buying sexual services

IllegalCode pénal art. 490 · Code pénal art. 491

There is no specific offence of paying for sex. A client who has sex with a person of the other sex outside marriage commits the general Article 490 offence (one month to one year); a married client may also be prosecuted for adultery (one to two years) on the complaint of the spouse (Article 491).[1]

Checked 30 October 2026

Brothels and managed venues

IllegalCode pénal art. 501 · Code pénal art. 501-1 · Code pénal art. 503

Owning, managing, operating, directing or financing premises habitually used for prostitution, or a public establishment that tolerates it, is punishable by four to ten years and a fine of 5,000 to 2,000,000 dirhams, with withdrawal of any licence and possible closure (Article 501). Tolerating habitual clandestine prostitution in premises one controls is punishable by one month to two years (Article 503).[1]

Checked 30 October 2026

Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping)

IllegalCode pénal art. 498 · Code pénal art. 499 · Code pénal art. 499-1

Article 498 punishes with one to five years and a fine of 5,000 to 1,000,000 dirhams anyone who knowingly aids, assists or protects another's prostitution, shares in its proceeds, lives with a person habitually engaged in it, recruits or acts as an intermediary. Aggravating circumstances (minors, coercion, several victims, use of communication messages, among others) raise this to two to ten years (Article 499).[1]

Checked 30 October 2026

Advertising sexual services

IllegalCode pénal art. 498(1) · Code pénal art. 499(9) · Code pénal art. 502

There is no specific advertising offence, but public soliciting "by gestures, words, writings or any other means" is punishable under Article 502, and aiding another's prostitution "in any manner" is procuring under Article 498. Procuring offences committed through messages sent by means of communication are aggravated under Article 499.[1]

Confidence: medium. How courts apply these provisions to online advertisements and to sites hosting them was not checked.

Checked 30 October 2026

Key legislation

LawWhat it does hereIn force
Code pénal — Version consolidée en date du 5 juillet 2018
Penal Code (Dahir No. 1-59-413 of 26 November 1962), consolidated to 5 July 2018
art. 490–491 · art. 497–504
Articles 490 and 491 punish extramarital sex and adultery; Articles 497 to 504 cover procuring, brothels, soliciting and tolerating prostitution.[1]26 November 1962

Timeline

  1. 26 November 1962Penal Code promulgated, including the offences of extramarital sex (Article 490) and public soliciting (Article 502).[1]
  2. 5 July 2018Law No. 103-13 on combating violence against women is published, renaming the Penal Code section on the corruption of youth and prostitution.[1]
  3. 27 October 2026Public debate on repealing Article 490 resumes after the 2026 legislative elections; no repeal bill is reported as tabled.[3]

Sources

  1. Code pénal — Version consolidée en date du 5 juillet 2018 (Penal Code — consolidated version as of 5 July 2018). Ministère de la Justice (copy hosted by the Office National des Œuvres Universitaires, Sociales et Culturelles), 5 July 2018. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
  2. Country matrix 2024: Morocco — Gender Justice and the Law. UN ESCWA, UNDP, UNFPA and UN Women. intergovernmental · accessed 30 October 2026
  3. Article 490: la pénalisation des relations sexuelles hors mariage de nouveau au centre du débat (Article 490: the criminalisation of sexual relations outside marriage back at the centre of debate). Le360, 27 October 2026. news · accessed 30 October 2026