North America · 2 countries covered
Prostitution laws in North America
- Decriminalisation 4
- Regulation (legal & licensed) 12
- Legal, organisation banned 99
- Buying criminalised (Nordic model) 12
- Selling and buying prohibited 69
- Not covered yet
- Legal 45
- Legal under licence / registration 9
- Legal with restrictions 73
- Illegal 64
- Varies by region 5
- Not covered yet
- Legal under licence / registration 12
- Legal with restrictions 11
- Illegal 170
- Varies by region 3
- Not covered yet
- Legal 7
- Legal with restrictions 104
- Illegal 81
- Varies by region 4
- Not covered yet
Selling sexual services, for an adult acting consensually.Brothels and managed venues, for an adult acting consensually.Advertising sexual services, for an adult acting consensually.
By legal model
No prostitution-specific criminal law. Sex work is regulated like other work.
None covered here
Selling sex and running venues are legal under a licensing or registration regime.
None covered here
Selling and buying are legal, but brothels, procuring and organising are criminal offences.
None covered here
Buying sex is an offence; selling it is not (the "Nordic" or "Equality" model).
Selling sex is an offence (criminal or administrative), whether or not buying is.
Read this first
A country's model is a simplification. States, cities and regions add their own rules, and enforcement matters as much as the statute. Each profile spells out the detail and how we classify.
All countries in North America
| Country | Model | Profile | Reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | Buying criminalised (Nordic model) | Full profile | 30 October 2026 |
| United States | Selling and buying prohibited | Full profile | 30 October 2026 |