Prostitution laws in Portugal
In Portugal selling and buying sex between adults are legal, but any professional or profit-seeking involvement by a third party in another person's prostitution is the crime of lenocínio (art. 169 of the Penal Code, six months to five years; one to eight years with violence, deception or abuse of vulnerability). Since a 1998 reform the offence no longer requires that the sex worker be exploited or in need. The Constitutional Court has repeatedly upheld it; a 2020 chamber ruling finding it unconstitutional was reversed by the plenary in January 2021. Paying for sex with a minor and knowingly using the services of a trafficking victim are crimes. There is no licensing system and no specific advertising 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. Art. 169 of the Penal Code (lenocínio) punishes anyone who, professionally or with intent to profit, fosters, favours or facilitates another person's prostitution, with no requirement of coercion or exploitation since 1998. The Constitutional Court in plenary upheld that provision in 2021 (Acórdão 72/2021).[1][2]
At a glance
| Question | Status | In short |
|---|---|---|
| Selling sexual services | Legal | Selling sexual services as an adult is not an offence. No provision of the Penal Code penalises the person who sells sex, and there is no registration or licensing regime.[1][2] |
| Buying sexual services | Restricted Breach: criminal offence | Buying sex from an adult is legal. It is a crime for an adult to pay for sexual acts with a minor aged 14 to 18 (art. 174, up to two or three years), and for anyone who knows a person is a trafficking victim to use that person's services (art. 160(6), one to five years).[3][4] |
| Brothels and managed venues | Illegal Criminal offence | Running a brothel or any business that profits from other people's prostitution falls under lenocínio (art. 169): six months to five years' imprisonment, even where the sex workers consent and are not exploited.[1][2] |
| Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping) | Illegal Criminal offence | Lenocínio (art. 169): six months to five years for professionally or for profit fostering, favouring or facilitating another's prostitution; one to eight years where committed with violence or serious threat, deception, abuse of authority or dependence, or exploitation of vulnerability.[1][2][4][5][6] |
| Advertising sexual services | Restricted Breach: criminal offence | No specific offence prohibits advertising sexual services. A sex worker advertising her own services is not committing a crime, but a publisher or website that professionally or for profit facilitates another's prostitution may fall within the broad wording of lenocínio (art. 169).[1] |
The law in detail
Selling sexual services
Selling sexual services as an adult is not an offence. No provision of the Penal Code penalises the person who sells sex, and there is no registration or licensing regime.[1][2]
The Penal Code's offences relating to prostitution of adults are aimed at third parties (art. 169, lenocínio) and at trafficking (art. 160). The Constitutional Court's case law on art. 169 proceeds on the basis that prostitution itself is lawful and that the offence protects against third-party involvement.
Checked 30 October 2026
Buying sexual services
Buying sex from an adult is legal. It is a crime for an adult to pay for sexual acts with a minor aged 14 to 18 (art. 174, up to two or three years), and for anyone who knows a person is a trafficking victim to use that person's services (art. 160(6), one to five years).[3][4]
Art. 160(6): 'Quem, tendo conhecimento da prática de crime previsto nos n.os 1 e 2, utilizar os serviços ou órgãos da vítima é punido com pena de prisão de um a cinco anos'. The offence requires knowledge of the trafficking; there is no general offence of buying sex from an adult.
Checked 30 October 2026
Brothels and managed venues
Running a brothel or any business that profits from other people's prostitution falls under lenocínio (art. 169): six months to five years' imprisonment, even where the sex workers consent and are not exploited.[1][2]
Art. 169(1) covers anyone who 'profissionalmente ou com intenção lucrativa, fomentar, favorecer ou facilitar o exercício por outra pessoa de prostituição'. The 1982 Code required exploitation of a situation of abandonment or extreme economic need; the 1995 reform softened that to 'abandono ou necessidade económica', and Law 65/98 removed the requirement altogether, as recounted by the Constitutional Court in Acórdão 72/2021. Whether a sex worker sharing premises with others is caught depends on intent to profit from the others' prostitution; this was not researched for this entry.
Checked 30 October 2026
Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping)
Lenocínio (art. 169): six months to five years for professionally or for profit fostering, favouring or facilitating another's prostitution; one to eight years where committed with violence or serious threat, deception, abuse of authority or dependence, or exploitation of vulnerability.[1][2][4][5][6]
The Constitutional Court has held art. 169(1) (formerly art. 170(1)) compatible with the Constitution in a long line of decisions starting with Acórdão 144/2004. Its 3rd Section broke with that line in Acórdão 134/2020 (3 March 2020), holding the offence unconstitutional for violating arts. 18(2) and 27(1) of the Constitution; the plenary reversed that ruling in Acórdão 72/2021 (27 January 2021), with dissents. Trafficking for sexual exploitation is a separate offence (art. 160, three to ten years).
Checked 30 October 2026
Advertising sexual services
No specific offence prohibits advertising sexual services. A sex worker advertising her own services is not committing a crime, but a publisher or website that professionally or for profit facilitates another's prostitution may fall within the broad wording of lenocínio (art. 169).[1]
Art. 169 covers anyone who 'fomentar, favorecer ou facilitar' another's prostitution professionally or with intent to profit, without requiring exploitation. Whether this applies to newspapers or websites carrying paid adult-service ads, and how hosting providers' liability under the EU Digital Services Act interacts with it, was not established from case law for this entry.
Confidence: low. Based on the statutory wording only. No advertising-specific provision was found, and no court decision applying art. 169 to an ad publisher or website could be verified (web search was unavailable for this part of the research).
Checked 30 October 2026
Key legislation
| Law | What it does here | In force |
|---|---|---|
| Código Penal, artigo 169.º (Lenocínio), versão consolidada Penal Code (as revised by Decree-Law 48/95), art. 169: procuring (lenocínio) Art. 169 | The central provision: criminalises professional or profit-seeking facilitation of another person's prostitution, without any coercion requirement.[1] | |
| Código Penal, artigo 160.º (Tráfico de seres humanos), versão consolidada Penal Code, art. 160: trafficking in human beings Art. 160 | Trafficking offence, including the crime of knowingly using the services of a trafficking victim (art. 160(6)); last amended by Law 53/2026 of 19 August.[4] | |
| Código Penal, artigo 174.º (Recurso à prostituição de menores), versão consolidada Penal Code, art. 174: paying for sex with minors Art. 174 | Criminalises adults who pay for sexual acts with a person aged 14 to 18.[3] |
Pending and under review
In parliament · updated 13 February 2026
Projeto de Resolução 557/XVII/1: national plan to support women leaving prostitution
Non-binding draft resolution by the Chega group recommending that the government create a national plan to support women leaving prostitution. Admitted on 11 February 2026 and sent to the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees on 13 February 2026; no vote recorded. It would not change the Penal Code.[7]
Timeline
- 2 September 1998Law 65/98 removes from the lenocínio offence the requirement that the offender exploit the sex worker's abandonment or economic need.[2]
- 10 March 2004Constitutional Court (Acórdão 144/2004) holds the lenocínio offence, then art. 170(1), compatible with the Constitution.[5]
- 3 March 2020Constitutional Court 3rd Section (Acórdão 134/2020) holds art. 169(1) unconstitutional in a concrete case.[6]
- 27 January 2021Constitutional Court plenary (Acórdão 72/2021) reverses Acórdão 134/2020 and holds art. 169(1) constitutional.[2]
- 19 August 2026Law 53/2026 amends the trafficking offence in art. 160 of the Penal Code.[4]
Sources
- Código Penal, artigo 169.º (Lenocínio), versão consolidada (Penal Code, article 169 (procuring), consolidated version). Procuradoria-Geral Regional de Lisboa (PGRL). legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Acórdão do Tribunal Constitucional n.º 72/2021 (Processo n.º 1458/2017, Plenário) (Constitutional Court plenary judgment 72/2021). Tribunal Constitucional, 27 January 2021. case law · accessed 30 October 2026
- Código Penal, artigo 174.º (Recurso à prostituição de menores), versão consolidada (Penal Code, article 174 (paying for sex with minors), consolidated version). Procuradoria-Geral Regional de Lisboa (PGRL). legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Código Penal, artigo 160.º (Tráfico de seres humanos), versão consolidada (Penal Code, article 160 (trafficking in human beings), consolidated version). Procuradoria-Geral Regional de Lisboa (PGRL). legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Acórdão do Tribunal Constitucional n.º 144/2004 (Processo n.º 566/2003) (Constitutional Court judgment 144/2004). Tribunal Constitucional, 10 March 2004. case law · accessed 30 October 2026
- Acórdão do Tribunal Constitucional n.º 134/2020 (Processo n.º 1458/17) (Constitutional Court judgment 134/2020 (3rd Section; reversed by judgment 72/2021)). Tribunal Constitucional, 3 March 2020. case law · accessed 30 October 2026
- Projeto de Resolução 557/XVII/1: Recomenda ao Governo que crie um Plano Nacional de Apoio à Saída de Mulheres da Prostituição (Draft resolution 557/XVII/1 recommending a national plan to support women leaving prostitution). Assembleia da República, 9 February 2026. parliament · accessed 30 October 2026