Prostitution Laws

Prostitution laws in the United States

Selling and buying prohibitedFull profile · last reviewed 30 October 2026

Prostitution is not legal in Las Vegas or Reno. In the United States prostitution is mainly a matter of state law, and selling and buying sex are crimes in every state except in licensed brothels in some rural Nevada counties, and except that Maine (since 2023) no longer punishes selling. Nevada bars brothel licences in any county of 700,000 or more people, which is Clark County (Las Vegas); Washoe County (Reno) bans them by ordinance. Federal law adds the Mann Act (taking a person across state lines for prostitution) and, since FOSTA-SESTA in 2018, a crime of running a website with intent to promote or facilitate the prostitution of another person; Section 230 no longer shields such sites from state prosecution or civil sex-trafficking claims. Backpage was seized in 2018 and its owners prosecuted.

Legal model

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

Prohibition, because selling sex is a criminal offence in 49 states and the District of Columbia and buying in all 50. There is no federal offence of selling or buying sex as such; federal law targets interstate transport and enticement (Mann Act), online promotion (18 U.S.C. § 2421A) and trafficking. Nevada, where licensed brothels operate in some rural counties, is shown as regulation, and Maine, which since 2023 criminalises only buying, as neo-abolitionist.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Regional differences

  • Alabama Selling and buying prohibited: Selling and buying sex, and promoting prostitution, are prohibited by Ala. Code § 13A-12-121; each violation is a Class A misdemeanour (§ 13A-12-122).[7][8]
  • Alaska Selling and buying prohibited: Selling sex is a class B misdemeanour under AS 11.66.100; promoting prostitution is graded in three degrees (AS 11.66.110-130). The official text could not be opened from here (the state portal is unreachable from this network or behind a bot check); the citation and grade are taken from a reproduction of the statute by an advocacy NGO and may be out of date.[9]
  • Arizona Selling and buying prohibited: A.R.S. § 13-3214 makes both receiving and paying a fee for sexual conduct an offence; it is a class 1 misdemeanour with a mandatory minimum of 15 consecutive days in jail for a first conviction. Cities and towns may also enact prostitution ordinances.[10]
  • Arkansas Selling and buying prohibited: Selling sex is prohibited by Ark. Code § 5-70-102 (class B misdemeanour for a first offence, class A thereafter); patronising is a separate offence (§ 5-70-103). The official text could not be opened from here (the state portal is unreachable from this network or behind a bot check); the citation and grade are taken from a reproduction of the statute by an advocacy NGO and may be out of date.[11]
  • California Selling and buying prohibited: Penal Code § 647(b) makes soliciting, agreeing to or engaging in prostitution a form of disorderly conduct (a misdemeanour), both for the person paid (§ 647(b)(1)) and the person paying (§ 647(b)(2)). SB 357, approved on 1 July 2022, repealed the offence of loitering with intent to commit prostitution (former Penal Code § 653.22).[12][13]
  • Colorado Selling and buying prohibited: Prostitution remains an offence under C.R.S. § 18-7-201 but has been a petty offence (the lowest grade) since 1 March 2022 (SB 21-271). SB26-097, which would have repealed the prostitution, soliciting, patronising and brothel-keeping offences and pre-empted local ordinances, was postponed indefinitely by the Senate Judiciary Committee on 11 March 2026.[14][15]
  • Connecticut Selling and buying prohibited: Prostitution by a person aged 18 or over is a class A misdemeanour (C.G.S. § 53a-82); buying is the separate offence of soliciting sexual acts (§ 53a-83, renamed from "patronizing a prostitute" by P.A. 21-102). Promoting prostitution is a felony in three degrees (§§ 53a-86 to 53a-88).[16]
  • Delaware Selling and buying prohibited: Prostitution by a person aged 18 or over is a class B misdemeanour (11 Del. C. § 1342), a class A misdemeanour with a $500 minimum fine within 1,000 feet of a school, residence or place of worship. Patronising carries a mandatory $500 minimum fine (§ 1343). Running a prostitution business with two or more workers, including an illicit massage establishment, is a class E felony (§ 1352).[17]
  • District of Columbia Selling and buying prohibited: D.C. Code § 22-2701 makes it unlawful to engage in or solicit for prostitution (up to 90 days for a first offence). The Community Safety and Health Amendment Act of 2019 (B23-0318), which as introduced would have decriminalised prostitution between adults, had a public hearing on 17 October 2019 and was not enacted.[1][18]
  • Florida Selling and buying prohibited: Fla. Stat. § 796.07(2)(e) makes it unlawful for a person aged 18 or over to offer to commit or to commit prostitution: a second-degree misdemeanour for a first violation, rising to a third-degree felony for a third. Soliciting or procuring another to commit prostitution (§ 796.07(2)(f)) is a first-degree misdemeanour for a first violation and a felony thereafter (§ 796.07(5)).[19]
  • Georgia Selling and buying prohibited: O.C.G.A. § 16-6-9 makes it an offence for a person aged 18 or over to perform, offer or consent to perform a sexual act for money or other items of value.[20]
  • Hawaii Selling and buying prohibited: Prostitution, including agreeing or offering to engage in sexual conduct for a fee, is a petty misdemeanour under HRS § 712-1200 (a violation, not a crime, if committed by a minor).[21]
  • Idaho Selling and buying prohibited: Since 2024 (2024 Idaho Sess. Laws ch. 147) the offence is called "providing commercial sexual activity" (Idaho Code § 18-5613): a misdemeanour, but a felony on a third or subsequent conviction.[22]
  • Illinois Selling and buying prohibited: Prostitution is a Class A misdemeanour under 720 ILCS 5/11-14, with an affirmative defence for victims of involuntary servitude or trafficking.[23]
  • Indiana Selling and buying prohibited: Prostitution is an offence under Ind. Code § 35-45-4-2 and patronising under § 35-45-4-3. The official text could not be opened from here (the state portal is unreachable from this network or behind a bot check); the citation and grade are taken from a reproduction of the statute by an advocacy NGO and may be out of date. The reproduced text still refers to a "Class D felony", a class Indiana abolished in 2014, which suggests it is out of date.[24]
  • Iowa Selling and buying prohibited: Iowa Code § 725.1 makes both selling and buying a sex act an aggravated misdemeanour; buying from a person under 18 is a class D felony.[25]
  • Kansas Selling and buying prohibited: Selling sexual relations is a class B nonperson misdemeanour under K.S.A. 21-6419; buying is a separate offence.[26]
  • Kentucky Selling and buying prohibited: Prostitution is a Class B misdemeanour under KRS 529.020.[27]
  • Louisiana Selling and buying prohibited: La. R.S. 14:82 punishes prostitution with a fine of up to $500 or up to six months' imprisonment for a first conviction, rising to up to four years with hard labour for a third.[28]
  • Maine Buying criminalised (Nordic model): Maine is the only state where selling sex is not an offence. LD 1435, "An Act to Reduce Commercial Sexual Exploitation" (Public Law 2023, chapter 316, enacted and signed on 26 June 2023), repealed the offence of engaging in prostitution (17-A M.R.S. § 853-A). Buying remains a crime: engaging a person for prostitution is a Class E crime, and a Class D crime with a prior conviction within two years (§ 853-B). The sex trafficking offences in chapter 35 of Title 17-A remain in force.[2][3][29]
  • Maryland Selling and buying prohibited: Md. Code, Crim. Law § 11-303 prohibits knowingly engaging in prostitution or assignation by any means or occupying a building or vehicle for prostitution: a misdemeanour punishable by up to one year or a $500 fine.[30]
  • Massachusetts Selling and buying prohibited: M.G.L. c. 272 § 53A(a) punishes engaging in sexual conduct for a fee with up to one year in a house of correction or a $500 fine; paying (§ 53A(b)) carries up to two and a half years.[31]
  • Michigan Selling and buying prohibited: MCL 750.448 makes it a crime for a person aged 16 or over to accost, solicit or invite another in a public place, or from a building or vehicle, to commit prostitution.[32]
  • Minnesota Selling and buying prohibited: Under Minn. Stat. § 609.324 engaging in prostitution with an adult is a misdemeanour (subd. 7), and a gross misdemeanour in a public place (subd. 6); hiring is also an offence.[33]
  • Mississippi Selling and buying prohibited: Engaging in prostitution, soliciting and keeping a brothel are prohibited by Miss. Code § 97-29-49. The official text could not be opened from here (the state portal is unreachable from this network or behind a bot check); the citation and grade are taken from a reproduction of the statute by an advocacy NGO and may be out of date. A 2025 law (HB 1189) reportedly added mandatory fines for solicitation; that was not checked.[34]
  • Missouri Selling and buying prohibited: Prostitution is a class B misdemeanour under RSMo § 567.020 (a class B felony if the person knew they were HIV-positive).[35]
  • Montana Selling and buying prohibited: MCA § 45-5-601 penalises the person selling only for sexual intercourse (up to $500 or six months), while a buyer can also be convicted for direct sexual contact.[36]
  • Nebraska Selling and buying prohibited: Prostitution is a Class II misdemeanour for a first or second conviction under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-801, which also grants immunity from prosecution in some circumstances.[37]
  • Nevada Regulation (legal & licensed): Prostitution is legal in Nevada only inside a brothel licensed by a rural county, and it is NOT legal in Las Vegas or Reno. NRS 244.345(8) bars licensing a house of prostitution in any county of 700,000 or more people, which is Clark County (Las Vegas), and Washoe County (Reno), Carson City, Douglas, Eureka, Lincoln and Pershing ban brothels by ordinance. In 2026 the Nevada Brothel Association counted 16 licensed brothels in seven counties (Elko, Lander, Lyon, Mineral, Nye, Storey, White Pine); Churchill, Esmeralda and Humboldt allow them but have none operating. Outside a licensed brothel, selling (NRS 207.030(1)(b)) and buying (NRS 201.354: a fine of at least $400 plus a civil penalty of at least $200 for a first offence) are misdemeanours, including in Las Vegas hotels. Escort services can be licensed by counties (NRS 244.345), but that does not make paying for sex legal. Advertising a brothel is an offence in any county where prostitution is prohibited (NRS 201.430).[4][38][39][40]
  • New Hampshire Selling and buying prohibited: Soliciting, agreeing to perform or engaging in sexual contact or penetration for consideration is a misdemeanour under RSA 645:2.[41]
  • New Jersey Selling and buying prohibited: Offering sexual activity for something of economic value is a disorderly persons offence under N.J.S.A. 2C:34-1(b)(8), a fourth-degree crime on a repeat conviction; buying is also a disorderly persons offence (2C:34-1(b)(1)).[42]
  • New Mexico Selling and buying prohibited: Prostitution is a petty misdemeanour (a misdemeanour on a repeat conviction) under NMSA § 30-9-2. The official text could not be opened from here (the state portal is unreachable from this network or behind a bot check); the citation and grade are taken from a reproduction of the statute by an advocacy NGO and may be out of date.[43]
  • New York Selling and buying prohibited: Prostitution is a class B misdemeanour under Penal Law § 230.00. The offence of loitering for prostitution (§ 240.37) was repealed by chapter 23 of 2021, and chapter 686 of 2025 (signed 19 December 2025) added § 230.45, immunity from prosecution for people in prostitution who report or help prosecute a crime. Cecilia's Act (S2513-A / A3251), which would decriminalise sex between consenting adults, was amended and recommitted to the Senate Codes Committee on 12 May 2026.[44][45][46][47]
  • North Carolina Selling and buying prohibited: Prostitution is a Class 1 misdemeanour under G.S. § 14-204, with conditional discharge for first offenders.[48]
  • North Dakota Selling and buying prohibited: Prostitution by an adult is a class B misdemeanour (N.D.C.C. § 12.1-29-03), as is hiring for a first offence (§ 12.1-29-06).[49]
  • Ohio Selling and buying prohibited: Engaging in sexual activity for hire is prostitution, a third-degree misdemeanour (R.C. § 2907.25).[50]
  • Oklahoma Selling and buying prohibited: 21 O.S. § 1029 prohibits engaging in prostitution; violations are misdemeanours carrying 30 days to a year in jail or fines up to $2,500 for a first conviction (§ 1031). The official text could not be opened from here (the state portal is unreachable from this network or behind a bot check); the citation and grade are taken from a reproduction of the statute by an advocacy NGO and may be out of date.[51]
  • Oregon Selling and buying prohibited: Prostitution (ORS 167.007) and commercial sexual solicitation (ORS 167.008) are both Class A misdemeanours.[52]
  • Pennsylvania Selling and buying prohibited: Engaging in sexual activity as a business is a third-degree misdemeanour (18 Pa.C.S. § 5902). Act 41 of 2026 (SB 45, signed 20 July 2026) moved promoting (§ 3027) and patronising (§ 3028) into the human trafficking chapter: patronising becomes a felony on a third offence, with minimum fines of $2,500, $5,000 and $10,000.[53][54]
  • Rhode Island Selling and buying prohibited: Prostitution is a misdemeanour under R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-34.1-2 (up to six months or a fine of $250 to $1,000). From a 1980 amendment until 2009 the state had no offence covering sex for money in private, only street soliciting and related acts, so indoor prostitution was in practice legal. The loophole was closed by the law Governor Carcieri signed on 3 November 2009 (P.L. 2009, ch. 185 and 186).[55][56][57]
  • South Carolina Selling and buying prohibited: S.C. Code § 16-15-90 makes it unlawful to engage in prostitution, with an affirmative defence for coercion or trafficking and immunity for minors.[58]
  • South Dakota Selling and buying prohibited: Engaging or offering to engage in sexual activity for a fee is a Class 1 misdemeanour (SDCL 22-23-1).[59]
  • Tennessee Selling and buying prohibited: Prostitution is a Class B misdemeanour under Tenn. Code § 39-13-513 (Class A near a school or church). The official text could not be opened from here (the state portal is unreachable from this network or behind a bot check); the citation and grade are taken from a reproduction of the statute by an advocacy NGO and may be out of date.[60]
  • Texas Selling and buying prohibited: Prostitution is a Class B misdemeanour under Penal Code § 43.02, rising to a state jail felony after three prior convictions. Since 1 September 2021 buying is a separate and more serious offence, solicitation of prostitution, a state jail felony (§ 43.021). Running a prostitution enterprise with two or more workers is a first-degree felony (§ 43.04).[61]
  • Utah Selling and buying prohibited: Engaging in prostitution is a class B misdemeanour under Utah Code § 76-5d-202, with immunity for a person who reports a serious crime they witnessed or suffered. The prostitution offences were renumbered from Title 76, Chapter 10, Part 13 into the new Chapter 76-5d on 7 May 2025.[62][63]
  • Vermont Selling and buying prohibited: 13 V.S.A. § 2632(a)(8) prohibits engaging in prostitution (a fine of up to $100 or up to one year).[64]
  • Virginia Selling and buying prohibited: Prostitution is a Class 1 misdemeanour under Va. Code § 18.2-346.[65]
  • Washington Selling and buying prohibited: Prostitution is a misdemeanour under RCW 9A.88.030; the current text, in force since 1 January 2024 (2020 c 331), applies to a person aged 18 or over.[66]
  • West Virginia Selling and buying prohibited: W. Va. Code § 61-8-5(b) punishes engaging in prostitution with 60 days to six months in jail and a fine for a first offence.[67]
  • Wisconsin Selling and buying prohibited: Prostitution is a Class A misdemeanour under Wis. Stat. § 944.30; patronising, soliciting, pandering and keeping a place of prostitution are separate offences (§§ 944.31-944.34). The section titles were checked on the legislature's site; the grade comes from a reproduction of the statute by an advocacy NGO.[68][69]
  • Wyoming Selling and buying prohibited: Prostitution is a misdemeanour punishable by up to six months or a $750 fine (W.S. § 6-4-101); paying is the separate offence of soliciting an act of prostitution (§ 6-4-102).[70]

At a glance

QuestionStatusIn short
Selling sexual servicesVariesSelling sex is a crime, usually a misdemeanour, in the District of Columbia and in every state except Maine. In Nevada it is legal only inside a brothel licensed by a rural county, so it is illegal in Las Vegas (Clark County) and Reno (Washoe County). Maine repealed its offence of engaging in prostitution in 2023. There is no federal offence of selling sex as such.[1][2][3][4][10][14][22][25][39][44][46][61][62]
Buying sexual servicesVariesPaying for sex is a crime in every state, including Maine, and in the District of Columbia; the only exception is a brothel licensed in one of Nevada's rural counties. Buying sex is illegal in Las Vegas. Several states now punish buyers more heavily than sellers: Texas made solicitation of prostitution a state jail felony in 2021, and Pennsylvania's Act 41 of 2026 makes a third offence a felony with minimum fines from $2,500.[10][25][29][31][38][52][54][61]
Brothels and managed venuesVariesBrothels are illegal everywhere except licensed houses in Nevada counties under 700,000 people that choose to license them. There are none in Las Vegas: state law forbids a brothel licence in Clark County, and Washoe County (Reno), Carson City, Douglas, Eureka, Lincoln and Pershing ban them by ordinance. In 2026 the Nevada Brothel Association counted 16 licensed brothels in seven counties.[4][17][38][40][49][54][61]
Sex workers sharing premisesIllegal
Criminal offence
Outside Nevada's licensed brothels, two or more sex workers working from the same place are generally caught by state offences of keeping a house of prostitution, promoting prostitution or permitting premises to be used for prostitution, and a landlord who knowingly lets premises for it commits an offence too.[17][19][38][49][54][61]
Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping)Illegal
Criminal offence
Profiting from or organising another person's prostitution is a crime in every state, including Nevada outside the licensed system and Maine. Federal law adds the Mann Act: transporting a person across state lines for prostitution (up to 10 years) and persuading or enticing a person to travel for it (up to 20 years), plus the sex-trafficking offence in 18 U.S.C. § 1591.[5][42][49][54][61][71][72]
Advertising sexual servicesIllegal
Criminal offence
There is no general federal ban on advertising, but because almost every state makes offering sex for a fee an offence, an advert offering sex for money is itself evidence of soliciting. Nevada also bans advertising a brothel in any county where prostitution is prohibited, which covers Las Vegas and Reno, and on public streets and highways. Adult advertising websites face federal liability under FOSTA (see platforms).[6][10][38][44][66][72]
Online platforms and ad sitesRestricted
Breach: criminal offence
Since FOSTA-SESTA (signed 11 April 2018), 18 U.S.C. § 2421A makes it a federal crime to own, manage or operate an online service with intent to promote or facilitate the prostitution of another person (up to 10 years; 25 years for five or more people or reckless disregard of trafficking), and Section 230 no longer blocks state prosecutions for that or federal sex-trafficking claims. Backpage was seized and its owners prosecuted.[6][73][74][75][76][77][78][79]
Street-based sex work and solicitingIllegal
Criminal offence
Soliciting in public is an offence in every state that criminalises prostitution, and some add higher penalties for public places or near schools and churches. Two large states have repealed their offences of loitering with intent to commit prostitution: New York in 2021 and California in 2022. In Maine selling, including soliciting, is no longer an offence.[2][13][17][32][33][39][45]
Registration, licensing and health checksVariesThere is no registration of sex workers anywhere except in Nevada's licensed brothels, where the county issues work cards after background checks and workers must undergo weekly testing for sexually transmitted infections. Selling sex outside that system is a misdemeanour.[4][39][40]
Tax and social securityLegalIncome from sex work is taxable like any other income. The Internal Revenue Service states that income from illegal activities must be reported, either as other income or, for self-employment, on Schedule C. Workers in Nevada's licensed brothels also pay county work-card and licence fees.[40][80]
Migrant sex workersIllegal
Administrative offence
A non-citizen who comes to the United States to engage in prostitution, or has engaged in it within the previous 10 years, is inadmissible under federal immigration law, even if the work was legal where it took place, such as a licensed Nevada brothel. Procuring people for prostitution or receiving its proceeds is also a ground of inadmissibility.[81]

The law in detail

Selling sexual services

Varies by regionSelling: state codes (see subnational entries) · NRS 207.030(1)(b) · NRS 244.345(8) · 17-A M.R.S. § 853-A (repealed 2023)

Selling sex is a crime, usually a misdemeanour, in the District of Columbia and in every state except Maine. In Nevada it is legal only inside a brothel licensed by a rural county, so it is illegal in Las Vegas (Clark County) and Reno (Washoe County). Maine repealed its offence of engaging in prostitution in 2023. There is no federal offence of selling sex as such.[1][2][3][4][10][14][22][25][39][44][46][61][62]

Prostitution law is state law. Each state's own offence is listed under the subnational entries below; the grade ranges from a petty offence in Colorado (since 1 March 2022) and a petty misdemeanour in Hawaii to an aggravated misdemeanour in Iowa. Several states escalate repeat offences to felonies, for example Idaho on a third conviction ("providing commercial sexual activity", Idaho Code § 18-5613) and Texas after three prior convictions (Penal Code § 43.02).

Exceptions. Maine's LD 1435 (Public Law 2023, chapter 316) repealed 17-A M.R.S. § 853-A, so selling sex is not an offence there. In Nevada, offering, agreeing to or engaging in prostitution is a misdemeanour under NRS 207.030(1)(b) unless it happens in a licensed house of prostitution; NRS 244.345(8) prevents any licence in a county of 700,000 or more people (Clark County, which contains Las Vegas).

Immunity when reporting crimes. A growing number of states protect people who sell sex from prosecution when they report a crime: New York added Penal Law § 230.45 by chapter 686 of 2025, and Utah's § 76-5d-202(4) bars prosecution of a person who reports a serious offence they witnessed or suffered. Nebraska (§ 28-801) and Rhode Island also have immunity provisions.

Recent recodifications. Utah moved its prostitution offences into a new Chapter 76-5d on 7 May 2025, and Idaho renamed the offence in 2024; both remain offences.

Note. The statute pages of Alaska, Arkansas, Indiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Tennessee could not be opened from here; their entries rely on an NGO's reproduction of the statute. The Nevada Legislature's site blocks this network, so NRS chapters 201, 207 and 244 were read from Internet Archive copies captured in August-October 2026.

Checked 30 October 2026

Buying sexual services

Varies by regionNRS 201.354 · 17-A M.R.S. § 853-B · Tex. Penal Code § 43.021 · 18 Pa.C.S. § 3028

Paying for sex is a crime in every state, including Maine, and in the District of Columbia; the only exception is a brothel licensed in one of Nevada's rural counties. Buying sex is illegal in Las Vegas. Several states now punish buyers more heavily than sellers: Texas made solicitation of prostitution a state jail felony in 2021, and Pennsylvania's Act 41 of 2026 makes a third offence a felony with minimum fines from $2,500.[10][25][29][31][38][52][54][61]

In most states buying is either part of the same offence as selling (for example Arizona's § 13-3214 and Iowa's § 725.1, both of which treat seller and buyer alike) or a separate offence such as patronising or soliciting. Where the grades differ, the buyer's is now often higher: Massachusetts punishes paying with up to two and a half years against one year for selling (c. 272 § 53A); Texas made buying a state jail felony from 1 September 2021 (Penal Code § 43.021) while selling stayed a Class B misdemeanour; and Pennsylvania's Act 41 of 2026 created § 3028 (patronising prostitution), a third-degree felony on a third offence, with minimum fines of $2,500, $5,000 and $10,000 that fund victim services.

In Nevada, NRS 201.354 makes it unlawful for a customer to engage in or solicit prostitution except in a licensed house of prostitution: a misdemeanour with a fine of at least $400 for a first offence, plus a civil penalty of at least $200. In Maine, engaging a person for prostitution remains a Class E crime (Class D with a prior conviction within two years) under 17-A M.R.S. § 853-B.

Note. The Nevada Legislature's site blocks this network, so NRS chapters 201, 207 and 244 were read from Internet Archive copies captured in August-October 2026.

Checked 30 October 2026

Brothels and managed venues

Varies by regionNRS 244.345(8) · NRS 201.380 · NRS 201.390 · Tex. Penal Code § 43.04 · 11 Del. C. § 1352 · N.D.C.C. § 12.1-29-01

Brothels are illegal everywhere except licensed houses in Nevada counties under 700,000 people that choose to license them. There are none in Las Vegas: state law forbids a brothel licence in Clark County, and Washoe County (Reno), Carson City, Douglas, Eureka, Lincoln and Pershing ban them by ordinance. In 2026 the Nevada Brothel Association counted 16 licensed brothels in seven counties.[4][17][38][40][49][54][61]

Nevada. NRS 244.345 lets the county licence board license businesses outside incorporated cities; subsection 8 provides that in a county whose population is 700,000 or more the board "shall not grant any license" for a house of ill fame or any business employing a person for prostitution. Clark County is the only county above that threshold. The other counties decide for themselves: the Nevada Independent (2026), citing the Nevada Brothel Association, lists 16 brothels operating in Elko, Lander, Lyon, Mineral, Nye, Storey and White Pine counties, three more counties (Churchill, Esmeralda, Humboldt) that allow brothels but have none open, and six that ban them by ordinance. Brothels may not be within 400 yards of a school or church (NRS 201.380) or front a principal business street (NRS 201.390).

Everywhere else keeping a house of prostitution is a crime, often a felony. Examples: operating a prostitution business is a class C felony in North Dakota when the actor owns or manages it (§ 12.1-29-01); Delaware's promoting prostitution in the second degree covers a business with two or more workers, including an illicit massage establishment (class E felony, § 1352); Texas punishes owning or managing a prostitution enterprise that uses two or more workers as a first-degree felony (§ 43.04).

Note. The brothel count is the industry association's, reported by the press; there is no official statewide register. The Nevada Legislature's site blocks this network, so NRS chapters 201, 207 and 244 were read from Internet Archive copies captured in August-October 2026.

Checked 30 October 2026

Sex workers sharing premises

IllegalTex. Penal Code § 43.04 · 11 Del. C. §§ 1352, 1355 · N.D.C.C. §§ 12.1-29-02, 12.1-29-05 · Fla. Stat. § 796.07(2) · 18 Pa.C.S. § 3027

Outside Nevada's licensed brothels, two or more sex workers working from the same place are generally caught by state offences of keeping a house of prostitution, promoting prostitution or permitting premises to be used for prostitution, and a landlord who knowingly lets premises for it commits an offence too.[17][19][38][49][54][61]

State codes typically define a "house of prostitution" or "prostitution business" by reference to prostitution carried on there by more than one person or under another's control (for example N.D.C.C. § 12.1-29-05), and several grade the offence by the number of workers: Texas § 43.04 ("a prostitution enterprise that uses two or more prostitutes") and Delaware § 1352 ("2 or more prostitutes"). Letting or permitting premises to be used for prostitution is a separate offence in most states, e.g. Fla. Stat. § 796.07(2), N.D.C.C. § 12.1-29-02(1)(c), Delaware § 1355 (permitting prostitution) and Pennsylvania's new § 3027(a)(8). There is no general exemption for sex workers sharing premises for safety.

Checked 30 October 2026

Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping)

Illegal18 U.S.C. § 2421 · 18 U.S.C. § 2422 · 18 U.S.C. § 1591 · 18 Pa.C.S. § 3027 · Tex. Penal Code § 43.03 · N.J.S.A. 2C:34-1

Profiting from or organising another person's prostitution is a crime in every state, including Nevada outside the licensed system and Maine. Federal law adds the Mann Act: transporting a person across state lines for prostitution (up to 10 years) and persuading or enticing a person to travel for it (up to 20 years), plus the sex-trafficking offence in 18 U.S.C. § 1591.[5][42][49][54][61][71][72]

Federal. The Mann Act provisions, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2421-2424, apply to prostitution "or any sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense": § 2421 (knowingly transporting an individual in interstate or foreign commerce with intent that they engage in prostitution, up to 10 years), § 2422(a) (persuading, inducing, enticing or coercing an individual to travel for that purpose, up to 20 years). Sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, or of anyone under 18, is punished under § 1591. Because the Mann Act turns on prostitution being unlawful where it takes place, the federal layer reinforces state law rather than replacing it.

State. Every state has promoting, pandering or pimping offences. Pennsylvania's Act 41 of 2026 rewrote them as § 3027 (promoting prostitution), a third-degree felony for keeping a prostitution business, inducing a person into prostitution or being supported by its proceeds; New Jersey's 2C:34-1 grades promoting from a fourth- to a first-degree crime; Texas punishes receiving money under an agreement to share in the proceeds of prostitution as a third-degree felony (§ 43.03).

Checked 30 October 2026

Advertising sexual services

IllegalNRS 201.430 · NRS 201.440 · 18 U.S.C. § 1591(a)

There is no general federal ban on advertising, but because almost every state makes offering sex for a fee an offence, an advert offering sex for money is itself evidence of soliciting. Nevada also bans advertising a brothel in any county where prostitution is prohibited, which covers Las Vegas and Reno, and on public streets and highways. Adult advertising websites face federal liability under FOSTA (see platforms).[6][10][38][44][66][72]

Offering is the offence. State definitions of prostitution almost always include offering or agreeing to engage in sexual conduct for a fee (e.g. Arizona § 13-3214, New York Penal Law § 230.00, Washington RCW 9A.88.030), so an advert that offers sex for money can found a prosecution of the person who places it. Advertising non-sexual companionship or escort services is lawful in itself, and in Nevada counties may license escort services (NRS 244.345).

Nevada. NRS 201.430 forbids anyone engaged in unlawful prostitution, or any owner, operator, agent or employee of a house of prostitution, to advertise it in any public theatre, on public streets or highways, or "in any county, city or town where prostitution is prohibited by local ordinance or where the licensing of a house of prostitution is prohibited by state statute", and makes it an offence to prepare or print such an advert. Printing a brothel's address, telephone number or directions is prima facie evidence of advertising. NRS 201.440 penalises any business that knowingly lets a brothel advertise on its premises in such a county. Penalties: up to six months or a $1,000 fine for a first violation within three years.

Federal. 18 U.S.C. § 1591 makes advertising a person for a commercial sex act a sex-trafficking offence where the advertiser knows force, fraud or coercion will be used or the person is a minor (for advertising, reckless disregard is not enough). For the liability of websites see platforms.

Note. The Nevada Legislature's site blocks this network, so NRS chapters 201, 207 and 244 were read from Internet Archive copies captured in August-October 2026.

Checked 30 October 2026

Online platforms and ad sites

Legal with restrictions18 U.S.C. § 2421A · 47 U.S.C. § 230(e)(5) · 18 U.S.C. § 1591 · 18 U.S.C. § 1595 · Pub. L. 115-164

Since FOSTA-SESTA (signed 11 April 2018), 18 U.S.C. § 2421A makes it a federal crime to own, manage or operate an online service with intent to promote or facilitate the prostitution of another person (up to 10 years; 25 years for five or more people or reckless disregard of trafficking), and Section 230 no longer blocks state prosecutions for that or federal sex-trafficking claims. Backpage was seized and its owners prosecuted.[6][73][74][75][76][77][78][79]

FOSTA-SESTA (Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act, Public Law 115-164, approved 11 April 2018):

  • § 2421A(a) — owning, managing or operating an interactive computer service with intent to promote or facilitate the prostitution of another person: fine and up to 10 years.
  • § 2421A(b) — aggravated violation where the conduct promotes or facilitates the prostitution of 5 or more persons, or acts in reckless disregard of the fact that it contributed to sex trafficking: up to 25 years, with a civil damages action (§ 2421A(c)) and, for the reckless-disregard limb, mandatory restitution (§ 2421A(d)).
  • § 2421A(e) — affirmative defence that the promotion or facilitation was legal in the jurisdiction where it was targeted (e.g. a licensed Nevada brothel).
  • 47 U.S.C. § 230(e)(5) — Section 230 does not impair civil claims under 18 U.S.C. § 1595 where the conduct violates § 1591, or state criminal charges for conduct that would violate § 1591 or § 2421A where prostitution is illegal in the targeted jurisdiction. Section 2 of the Act records the "sense of Congress" that Section 230 "was never intended to provide legal protection to websites that unlawfully promote and facilitate prostitution".

Courts. In Woodhull Freedom Foundation v. United States (D.C. Cir., 7 July 2023) the court upheld FOSTA against First Amendment challenges, reading "promote or facilitate" in § 2421A as aiding or abetting the prostitution of another person, not general advocacy or harm-reduction information. The Ninth Circuit requires civil plaintiffs using the § 230(e)(5)(A) carve-out to show that the platform's own conduct violated § 1591; mere association with traffickers is not enough (Does 1-6 v. Reddit, 2022, applied in Doe 1 v. Twitter, 1 August 2025).

Backpage. The Justice Department seized Backpage.com on 6 April 2018 and announced a 93-count indictment of seven people on 9 April 2018, before FOSTA was signed; the charges were facilitating prostitution using a facility in interstate commerce (the Travel Act) and money laundering. After a 2023 trial co-founder Michael Lacey was convicted on one count of international concealment money laundering and sentenced in August 2024 to five years; the Ninth Circuit granted him bail pending appeal on 21 November 2024, and the counts on which the jury could not agree await a possible third trial. Executives Scott Spear and John Brunst were convicted of conspiracy and other counts.

Effect. The GAO found (June 2021) that the Backpage seizure and FOSTA led many operators to move platforms overseas and fragmented the market, and that by then DOJ had brought only one case under the new § 2421A (June 2020), preferring older statutes.

Note. The outcome of Lacey's Ninth Circuit appeal was not found as of 2026-10-30; the case status is from a November 2024 report.

Checked 30 October 2026

Street-based sex work and soliciting

IllegalMinn. Stat. § 609.324 subd. 6 · MCL 750.448 · N.Y. Penal Law § 240.37 (repealed 2021) · Cal. Penal Code § 653.22 (repealed 2022)

Soliciting in public is an offence in every state that criminalises prostitution, and some add higher penalties for public places or near schools and churches. Two large states have repealed their offences of loitering with intent to commit prostitution: New York in 2021 and California in 2022. In Maine selling, including soliciting, is no longer an offence.[2][13][17][32][33][39][45]

Examples: Minnesota makes prostitution in a public place a gross misdemeanour rather than a misdemeanour (§ 609.324 subd. 6); Michigan's core offence is accosting, soliciting or inviting in a public place or from a building or vehicle (MCL 750.448); Delaware raises the grade within 1,000 feet of a school, residence or place of worship (§ 1342(b)).

New York repealed Penal Law § 240.37 (loitering for the purpose of engaging in a prostitution offence) by chapter 23 of 2021, signed on 2 February 2021. California's SB 357, approved on 1 July 2022, repealed Penal Code § 653.22, which had prohibited loitering in a public place with intent to commit prostitution. Soliciting and engaging in prostitution remain offences in both states.

Checked 30 October 2026

Registration, licensing and health checks

Varies by regionNRS 244.345

There is no registration of sex workers anywhere except in Nevada's licensed brothels, where the county issues work cards after background checks and workers must undergo weekly testing for sexually transmitted infections. Selling sex outside that system is a misdemeanour.[4][39][40]

Licensing is local. NRS 244.345 sets up county licence boards (in counties under 700,000 people, the county commissioners and the sheriff) that license, condition and may revoke licences, and its subsection 8 forbids brothel licences in counties of 700,000 or more; each rural county decides by ordinance whether to license brothels. Workers in licensed brothels need a county work card. The Nevada Independent (2026) reports weekly STI tests costing a worker around $130 a week, background checks costing $150 every quarter, and registration cards costing about $60 in Lander and Storey counties and up to $250 in Elko City.

Confidence: medium. The state health regulations that require testing in licensed brothels (Nevada Administrative Code chapter 441A) could not be opened from here; the testing and fee details come from a 2026 news report. The Nevada Legislature's site blocks this network, so NRS chapters 201, 207 and 244 were read from Internet Archive copies captured in August-October 2026.

Checked 30 October 2026

Tax and social security

LegalIRS Publication 525: illegal activities

Income from sex work is taxable like any other income. The Internal Revenue Service states that income from illegal activities must be reported, either as other income or, for self-employment, on Schedule C. Workers in Nevada's licensed brothels also pay county work-card and licence fees.[40][80]

IRS Publication 525 (2025): "Income from illegal activities, such as money from dealing illegal drugs, must be included in your income on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 8z, or on Schedule C (Form 1040) if from your self-employment activity." Brothel and liquor licence fees and workers' cards brought Lyon County, Nevada, about $340,000 in 2025, according to a UNLV report cited by the Nevada Independent.

Confidence: medium. The IRS guidance is general and does not mention prostitution specifically; whether licensed Nevada brothel workers are employees or independent contractors was not checked.

Checked 30 October 2026

Migrant sex workers

Illegal8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2)(D)

A non-citizen who comes to the United States to engage in prostitution, or has engaged in it within the previous 10 years, is inadmissible under federal immigration law, even if the work was legal where it took place, such as a licensed Nevada brothel. Procuring people for prostitution or receiving its proceeds is also a ground of inadmissibility.[81]

8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2)(D) makes inadmissible any alien who "is coming to the United States solely, principally, or incidentally to engage in prostitution, or has engaged in prostitution within 10 years of the date of application for a visa, admission, or adjustment of status", anyone who procures or imports persons for prostitution or receives its proceeds within that period, and anyone coming to engage in any other unlawful commercialised vice. The ground applies to visa applications, admission at the border and adjustment of status.

Note. Waivers and the separate protections for trafficking victims (T visas) are not covered here.

Checked 30 October 2026

Key legislation

LawWhat it does hereIn force
18 U.S. Code § 2421 - Transportation generally
Mann Act (18 U.S.C. chapter 117)
18 U.S.C. § 2421 · 18 U.S.C. § 2422 · 18 U.S.C. § 2423 · 18 U.S.C. § 2424
Federal offences of transporting a person across state or national borders for prostitution (§ 2421, up to 10 years) and persuading or enticing a person to travel for it (§ 2422, up to 20 years).[5]
Public Law 115-164: Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017
Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017 (FOSTA-SESTA)
§ 3 (18 U.S.C. § 2421A) · § 4 (47 U.S.C. § 230(e)(5))
Created 18 U.S.C. § 2421A (operating an online service with intent to promote or facilitate prostitution) and the Section 230(e)(5) carve-out that exposes websites to state prosecution and civil sex-trafficking claims.[73]11 April 2018
47 U.S. Code § 230 - Protection for private blocking and screening of offensive material
Communications Decency Act, Section 230
47 U.S.C. § 230(c) · 47 U.S.C. § 230(e)(5)
Immunity of online services for third-party content, limited since 2018 by § 230(e)(5) for sex-trafficking claims and state charges mirroring § 2421A.[74]
18 U.S. Code § 1591 - Sex trafficking of children or by force, fraud, or coercion
Sex trafficking of children or by force, fraud, or coercion
18 U.S.C. § 1591
Federal sex-trafficking offence, including benefiting from participation in a trafficking venture and advertising a trafficked person; the basis of civil claims against platforms under § 1595.[72]
NRS Chapter 244 - Counties: Government (NRS 244.345)
Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS 244.345; NRS chapters 201 and 207)
NRS 244.345(8) · NRS 201.354 · NRS 201.380 · NRS 201.430 · NRS 207.030(1)(b)
The legal basis of Nevada's county-licensed brothels and the ban on licensing them in counties of 700,000 or more people (Clark County, Las Vegas), plus the offences for selling, buying and advertising outside the licensed system.[4]
LD 1435 (HP 931), An Act to Reduce Commercial Sexual Exploitation - Public Law 2023, chapter 316
Maine: An Act to Reduce Commercial Sexual Exploitation (Public Law 2023, chapter 316)
17-A M.R.S. § 853-A (repealed) · 17-A M.R.S. § 853-B
Repealed the offence of engaging in prostitution, making Maine the only state where selling sex is not a crime while buying remains one.[3]2023
Act of Jul. 20, 2026, P.L. 492, No. 41 (SB 45) - Crimes Code omnibus amendments
Pennsylvania Act 41 of 2026 (SB 45)
18 Pa.C.S. § 3027 · 18 Pa.C.S. § 3028 · 18 Pa.C.S. § 5902
Moved promoting and patronising prostitution into the human trafficking chapter and made patronising a felony on a third offence, with minimum fines of $2,500 to $10,000.[54]
8 U.S. Code § 1182 - Inadmissible aliens
Immigration and Nationality Act, inadmissibility
8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2)(D)
Makes non-citizens who come to engage in prostitution, or did so within 10 years, inadmissible.[81]

Pending and under review

In parliament · updated 12 May 2026

New York: Cecilia's Act for Rights in the Sex Trades (S2513-A / A3251)

Would decriminalise prostitution offences between consenting adults by repealing and amending Penal Law Article 230, keep the offences involving minors, force, coercion and trafficking, and let people vacate past convictions. Amended and recommitted to the Senate Codes Committee on 12 May 2026; the Assembly bill is in committee.[47]

Rejected · updated 11 March 2026

Colorado: SB26-097 Decriminalize Adult Commercial Sexual Activity

Would have repealed the state offences of prostitution, soliciting, keeping a place of prostitution and patronising, and pre-empted local ordinances, keeping pimping and coercive pandering as crimes. The Senate Judiciary Committee laid it over and then postponed it indefinitely on 11 March 2026 at the sponsor's request.[15]

In numbers

26,713
Estimated arrests for prostitution and commercialized vice (2019)[82]

FBI national estimate from the Summary Reporting System, the last year of that series; it counts arrests (not people) for all prostitution-related offences, buyers and sellers together, and is not comparable with later NIBRS-based figures.

at least 11, of which 1 under 18 U.S.C. § 2421A
Federal criminal cases against operators of online commercial-sex platforms (2014-2020)[78]

GAO count of DOJ cases against those who control platforms (including three against Backpage); the single FOSTA case was brought in June 2020.

16, in 7 counties
Licensed brothels operating in Nevada (2026)[40]

Count by the Nevada Brothel Association, an industry body, reported by the Nevada Independent; there is no official statewide register. None is in Clark County (Las Vegas) or Washoe County (Reno).

Timeline

  1. 1980Rhode Island amends its prostitution law, leaving no offence that covers sex for money in private; indoor prostitution is in practice legal until 2009.[56]
  2. 3 November 2009Rhode Island's governor signs the law that makes indoor prostitution a crime again (R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-34.1-2).[55][57]
  3. 6 April 2018Federal authorities seize Backpage.com; on 9 April the Justice Department announces a 93-count indictment of its founders and executives.[76]
  4. 11 April 2018FOSTA-SESTA becomes law: new federal offence for online services that promote or facilitate prostitution (18 U.S.C. § 2421A) and the Section 230(e)(5) carve-out.[73]
  5. 2 February 2021New York repeals the offence of loitering for the purpose of prostitution (Penal Law § 240.37).[45]
  6. 21 June 2021GAO reports that DOJ had brought only one prosecution under FOSTA's § 2421A and that the online sex market had moved overseas and fragmented.[78]
  7. 1 July 2022California's SB 357 is approved, repealing the offence of loitering with intent to commit prostitution.[13]
  8. 26 June 2023Maine enacts LD 1435, repealing the offence of engaging in prostitution while keeping buying a crime.[2][3]
  9. 7 July 2023The D.C. Circuit upholds FOSTA against First Amendment challenges in Woodhull Freedom Foundation v. United States.[75]
  10. August 2024Backpage co-founder Michael Lacey is sentenced to five years for international concealment money laundering; in November the Ninth Circuit grants bail pending appeal.[77]
  11. 7 May 2025Utah's recodified prostitution offences take effect in the new Chapter 76-5d of its criminal code.[62][63]
  12. 19 December 2025New York's chapter 686 of 2025 is signed, giving people in prostitution immunity from prosecution when they report or help prosecute a crime.[46]
  13. 11 March 2026Colorado's bill to decriminalise adult commercial sex (SB26-097) is postponed indefinitely in committee.[15]
  14. 20 July 2026Pennsylvania's Act 41 of 2026 makes patronising prostitution a felony on a third offence and raises buyers' minimum fines.[54]

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