Prostitution laws in SwitzerlandSchweiz / Suisse / Svizzera
Selling and buying sex between adults are legal in Switzerland, and since a 2021 Federal Supreme Court ruling the agreed payment enjoys criminal-law protection. Brothels and other venues are legal under cantonal rules, which in cantons such as Geneva and Ticino include registration of sex workers and a declaration or permit for venues. Procuring is a crime only where it exploits a person (Art. 195 StGB). There is no federal ban on advertising; cantonal rules vary. The National Council rejected a ban on buying sex in 2022, and in 2025 parliament asked the Federal Council to update its 2015 report on prostitution and human trafficking.
Legal model
Regulation (legal & licensed). Selling sex and running venues are legal under a licensing or registration regime.
Prostitution is a lawful activity. The Confederation only legislates through criminal law: exploitative procuring (Art. 195 StGB), paying for sex with minors (Art. 196) and a fine for breaching cantonal rules on the place, time and manner of prostitution (Art. 199). The cantons regulate the rest, so registration duties, permits for venues and street zones differ from canton to canton; cantonal rules must stay proportionate and may not obstruct prostitution beyond what is necessary.[1][2][3][4]
Regional differences
- Geneva (Genève) Regulation (legal & licensed): Loi sur la prostitution (LProst, I 2 49) of 17 December 2009: sex workers must be adults, attend an awareness course and register in person (Art. 4); salons (Art. 9-14) and escort agencies (Art. 15-21) must be declared in advance by a responsible person meeting personal conditions; street-based prostitution may be banned at places and times where it disturbs public order (Art. 7). Administrative fines of CHF 100 to 60,000 (Art. 25). The law contains no advertising rule.[3]
- Ticino Regulation (legal & licensed): Legge sull'esercizio della prostituzione (LProst, 550.500) of 22 January 2018: everyone who sells or intends to sell sex must report to the cantonal police (Art. 4); an erotic venue may open only with prior authorisation (Art. 6); apartments are covered by Art. 14. Any public communication about a venue must state that it is authorised under the LProst, and roadside billboards advertising prostitution are banned within municipal perimeters (Art. 24). Fines of CHF 200 to 40,000 (Art. 27).[4]
At a glance
| Question | Status | In short |
|---|---|---|
| Selling sexual services | Licensed Breach: criminal offence | Legal throughout Switzerland. Cantons set the conditions: several require sex workers to register with the police (for example Geneva and Ticino) and may restrict street-based work to certain places and times. Breaching these cantonal rules is punished by a fine under Art. 199 StGB, a contravention rather than a misdemeanour. Since BGE 147 IV 73 (2021) the courts protect the agreed payment.[1][3][4][5] |
| Buying sexual services | Legal | Paying an adult for sex is legal. Paying or promising payment for sexual acts with a person under 18 is a crime (Art. 196 StGB, up to three years). A motion to introduce a Nordic-model ban on buying sex (20.4216) was rejected by the National Council on 8 June 2022 by 172 votes to 11 with 4 abstentions; the Federal Council had recommended rejection.[1][6] |
| Brothels and managed venues | Licensed Breach: criminal offence | Brothels, salons and escort agencies are legal, regulated by the cantons. Geneva requires a prior written declaration by a responsible person who meets conditions of nationality or work authorisation, good repute and solvency; Ticino requires a prior authorisation for each erotic venue. Operating in breach of cantonal rules is fined (Art. 199 StGB and cantonal penalty provisions).[1][3][4] |
| Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping) | Restricted Breach: criminal offence | Profiting from someone else's prostitution is not in itself a crime. Art. 195 StGB punishes, with up to ten years or a monetary penalty, bringing a minor into prostitution or promoting it for gain; bringing a person into prostitution by exploiting dependence or for a financial advantage; restricting a sex worker's freedom by supervising them or deciding the place, time, extent or other conditions; and keeping a person in prostitution.[1] |
| Advertising sexual services | Varies | Federal law has no offence of advertising sexual services; cantons may regulate it as part of the manner of prostitution. Ticino requires venue advertising to state that the venue is authorised and bans roadside billboards within municipal perimeters; Geneva's law has no advertising rule. A website is only blocked where its content is illegal under federal law, such as illegal pornography (Art. 197 StGB).[1][3][4][7][8] |
The law in detail
Selling sexual services
Legal throughout Switzerland. Cantons set the conditions: several require sex workers to register with the police (for example Geneva and Ticino) and may restrict street-based work to certain places and times. Breaching these cantonal rules is punished by a fine under Art. 199 StGB, a contravention rather than a misdemeanour. Since BGE 147 IV 73 (2021) the courts protect the agreed payment.[1][3][4][5]
- Art. 199 StGB (Unzulässige Ausübung der Prostitution): whoever breaches cantonal rules on the place, time or manner of prostitution or on preventing nuisance is fined (Busse).
- Contract and payment: in BGE 147 IV 73 (6B_572/2020, 8 January 2021) the Federal Supreme Court upheld the fraud conviction of a client who never intended to pay. It held that treating the contract between a sex worker and a client as immoral can no longer be upheld without qualification, and that the claim to the agreed payment has a protected financial value. The ruling is a criminal judgment; it does not say in so many words that the contract is fully enforceable in civil law.
- Cantonal registration: Geneva Art. 4 LProst; Ticino Art. 4 LProst (see subnational).
Checked 30 October 2026
Buying sexual services
Paying an adult for sex is legal. Paying or promising payment for sexual acts with a person under 18 is a crime (Art. 196 StGB, up to three years). A motion to introduce a Nordic-model ban on buying sex (20.4216) was rejected by the National Council on 8 June 2022 by 172 votes to 11 with 4 abstentions; the Federal Council had recommended rejection.[1][6]
Checked 30 October 2026
Brothels and managed venues
Brothels, salons and escort agencies are legal, regulated by the cantons. Geneva requires a prior written declaration by a responsible person who meets conditions of nationality or work authorisation, good repute and solvency; Ticino requires a prior authorisation for each erotic venue. Operating in breach of cantonal rules is fined (Art. 199 StGB and cantonal penalty provisions).[1][3][4]
- Geneva: salons Art. 9-14, escort agencies Art. 15-21 LProst; sanctions include temporary or definitive closure and a ban on running another venue for up to ten years (Art. 14(2), Art. 21).
- Ticino: Art. 6 LProst (authorisation), Art. 14 (apartments), Art. 25 (revocation).
- Other cantons: rules differ and were not checked one by one for this overview.
Checked 30 October 2026
Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping)
Profiting from someone else's prostitution is not in itself a crime. Art. 195 StGB punishes, with up to ten years or a monetary penalty, bringing a minor into prostitution or promoting it for gain; bringing a person into prostitution by exploiting dependence or for a financial advantage; restricting a sex worker's freedom by supervising them or deciding the place, time, extent or other conditions; and keeping a person in prostitution.[1]
Checked 30 October 2026
Advertising sexual services
Federal law has no offence of advertising sexual services; cantons may regulate it as part of the manner of prostitution. Ticino requires venue advertising to state that the venue is authorised and bans roadside billboards within municipal perimeters; Geneva's law has no advertising rule. A website is only blocked where its content is illegal under federal law, such as illegal pornography (Art. 197 StGB).[1][3][4][7][8]
- Ticino: Art. 24 LProst: every public communication about an erotic venue must carry the words "locale autorizzato all'esercizio secondo la LProst"; using them for an unauthorised venue is banned; billboards advertising prostitution are banned within perimeters set by the municipalities.
- Ad platforms: in September 2026 the Federal Council answered a question (26.7855) about a website operated by a company registered in the canton of Zurich that French authorities linked to procuring cases involving minors. It said the site is hosted in the United States; if its content were illegal under Swiss law (notably Art. 197 StGB) fedpol could have access from Switzerland blocked by DNS blacklisting under Art. 46a of the Telecommunications Act, but France had not provided information giving sufficient grounds. A follow-up interpellation (26.4329) is pending.
- Other cantons: advertising rules were not checked canton by canton.
Confidence: medium. Only the Geneva and Ticino laws were checked; the other 24 cantons may have their own advertising rules.
Checked 30 October 2026
Key legislation
| Law | What it does here | In force |
|---|---|---|
| Schweizerisches Strafgesetzbuch vom 21. Dezember 1937 (SR 311.0), Stand 1. Oktober 2026 Swiss Criminal Code (SR 311.0) Art. 182 · Art. 195 · Art. 196 · Art. 199 | Exploitative procuring, paying for sex with minors, and the fine for breaching cantonal prostitution rules.[1] | |
| Loi sur la prostitution (LProst) du 17 décembre 2009 (rsGE I 2 49) Geneva Prostitution Act (I 2 49) | Registration of sex workers, declaration of salons and escort agencies, street restrictions in Geneva.[3] | 1 May 2010 |
| Legge sull'esercizio della prostituzione (LProst) del 22 gennaio 2018 (RL 550.500), stato 15 giugno 2023 Ticino Act on the Exercise of Prostitution (550.500) | Police registration, venue authorisation and advertising rules in Ticino.[4] |
Pending and under review
Under review · updated 15 September 2025
Postulate 25.3808: update of the 2015 report on human trafficking and prostitution
Submitted by National Councillor Marianne Binder-Keller on 20 June 2025 and referred to the Federal Council, which had recommended accepting it. The Federal Council is to update its 2015 report with new and relevant developments.[2][9]
Next: Federal Council report updating its 2015 report "Prostitution und Menschenhandel zum Zweck der sexuellen Ausbeutung"
In parliament · updated 30 September 2026
Interpellation 26.4329 on a Swiss-linked platform used for the prostitution of minors
Asks what is needed to prosecute Swiss residents or nationals involved in the sexual exploitation of minors abroad, how the Federal Council explains the case of a website operator registered in Switzerland, and what it can do to have such a website shut down.[7][8]
Next: Federal Council answer
Timeline
- 5 June 2015The Federal Council adopts its report on prostitution and human trafficking for sexual exploitation, concluding that prostitution should not be banned.[2]
- 22 January 2018Ticino adopts a new prostitution act, replacing its 2001 law.[4]
- 8 January 2021The Federal Supreme Court (BGE 147 IV 73) holds that the agreed payment for sexual services is protected by criminal law and that the contract can no longer be treated as immoral without qualification.[5]
- 8 June 2022The National Council rejects motion 20.4216 for a Nordic-model ban on buying sex by 172 votes to 11.[6]
- 15 September 2025Postulate 25.3808, asking the Federal Council to update its 2015 report, is referred to the Federal Council.[9]
Sources
- Schweizerisches Strafgesetzbuch vom 21. Dezember 1937 (SR 311.0), Stand 1. Oktober 2026 (Swiss Criminal Code (consolidated version of 1 October 2026)). Fedlex, Bundeskanzlei. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Prostitution und Menschenhandel zum Zweck der sexuellen Ausbeutung. Bericht des Bundesrates in Erfüllung der Postulate 12.4162 Streiff-Feller, 13.3332 Caroni, 13.4033 Feri und 13.4045 Fehr (Prostitution and human trafficking for sexual exploitation: Federal Council report). Schweizerischer Bundesrat, 5 June 2015. government · accessed 30 October 2026
- Loi sur la prostitution (LProst) du 17 décembre 2009 (rsGE I 2 49) (Geneva Prostitution Act of 17 December 2009). République et canton de Genève, Recueil systématique, 17 December 2009. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Legge sull'esercizio della prostituzione (LProst) del 22 gennaio 2018 (RL 550.500), stato 15 giugno 2023 (Ticino Act on the Exercise of Prostitution of 22 January 2018). Repubblica e Cantone Ticino, Raccolta delle leggi, 22 January 2018. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- BGE 147 IV 73 (Urteil 6B_572/2020 vom 8. Januar 2021) (Federal Supreme Court, BGE 147 IV 73 (judgment 6B_572/2020 of 8 January 2021)). Schweizerisches Bundesgericht, 8 January 2021. case law · accessed 30 October 2026
- Motion 20.4216 Streiff-Feller: Menschen sind keine Ware. Nordisches Modell für die Schweiz (Sexkaufverbot) (Motion 20.4216: People are not goods – Nordic model for Switzerland (ban on buying sex)). Schweizerische Bundesversammlung, Curia Vista, 25 September 2020. parliament · accessed 30 October 2026
- Fragestunde. Frage 26.7855 Gaillard: Prostitution von Minderjährigen in Frankreich mithilfe einer von der Schweiz aus betriebenen Website (Question time, question 26.7855: prostitution of minors in France via a website operated from Switzerland (with Federal Council answer)). Schweizerische Bundesversammlung, Curia Vista, 17 September 2026. parliament · accessed 30 October 2026
- Interpellation 26.4329 Tschopp: Plattform zur sexuellen Ausbeutung von Kindern durch Prostitution mit Verbindungen in die Schweiz: Welche Massnahmen ergreifen die Behörden? (Interpellation 26.4329: platform for the sexual exploitation of children through prostitution with links to Switzerland). Schweizerische Bundesversammlung, Curia Vista, 30 September 2026. parliament · accessed 30 October 2026
- Postulat 25.3808 Binder-Keller: Aktualisierung des 2015 erstellten Berichtes zu Menschenhandel und Prostitution (Postulate 25.3808: update of the 2015 report on human trafficking and prostitution). Schweizerische Bundesversammlung, Curia Vista, 20 June 2025. parliament · accessed 30 October 2026