Under Nevada law, prostitution and solicitation are illegal except in a few rural counties that permit licensed brothels. Prostitution is illegal throughout Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, and Washoe County, which includes Reno. A first offense is generally charged as a misdemeanor.¹ Courts typically impose fines and no jail time. Judges often dismiss the charges if the offender completes an AIDS Awareness class.

1. In which Nevada counties is prostitution legal?

Regulated, licensed brothel prostitution is currently legal in:

1. Churchill County
2. Elko County (only in incorporated Elko, Carlin, Wendover, and Wells)
3. Esmeralda County
4. Humbolt County (only in incorporated Winnemucca)
5. Lander County
6. Lyon County (only in Mound House)
7. Mineral County
8. Nye County
9. Storey County
10. White Pine County (only in incorporated Ely)

These counties prohibit any act of prostitution outside of Nevada's legal brothels. All sex workers employed by brothels must be adults, have work cards, get paid fair wages, and work of their own free will. Examples of illegal prostitution include:

• Streetwalking,
• Escort services, and
• "Happy ending" massage parlors

Currently, about 21 brothels operate throughout seven rural Nevada counties. The nearest legal brothels to Las Vegas are located in Pahrump (in Nye County). State law now allows licensed brothels to employ male sex workers as well as females, but this rarely happens.²

2. In which Nevada counties is prostitution illegal?

All forms of prostitution remain illegal in:

1. Clark County (which contains Las Vegas)
2. Douglas County
3. Eureka County
4. Lincoln County
5. Pershing County
6. Washoe County (which contains Reno)
7. Carson City

Prostitution is typically regulated on the county level. But state law prohibits any county with a population of at least 700,000 people from allowing prostitution.³

All kinds of prostitution including brothels are prohibited in Las Vegas.

3. What constitutes prostitution under Nevada law?

Under NRS 201.354, prostitution is defined as the act of trading a fee for sexual favors such as intercourse, oral sex, or anal sex. Even groping over clothing counts as a sexual favor. And the fee can be anything of value. This includes cash, jewelry or drugs.

"Solicitation of prostitution" is offering or agreeing to commit prostitution. In short, it is attempted prostitution. In Nevada, solicitation is punished the same as prostitution.

Typical solicitation settings in Las Vegas are street corners, bars, lounges, strip clubs, nightclubs, massage parlors, reflexology parlors, gentlemen's clubs, and casinos. People also solicit prostitution online, over the phone, through print ads, or on websites.⁴

4. What are the penalties?

4.1. Getting the charge dismissed

Some prosecutors will dismiss a first-time prostitution charge if the defendant completes these terms:

• A $250 fine or 25 hours of community service;
• An AIDS Awareness class. This is commonly called “John School”; and
• Avoiding any other arrest or citations (other than for minor traffic violations) until the case is closed.

If the prosecutor refuses to dismiss the charge, the defense attorney may instead be able to get the charge reduced to trespass (NRS 207.200) or disorderly conduct (NRS 203.210). These low-level offenses carry less of a stigma with potential employers and on background checks.

Most NRS 201.354 charges settle without a trial.

5. How can a defendant fight the charges?

Three common defenses to Nevada prostitution charges include:

1. Entrapment,
2. Illegal police search, and
3. Lack of overtness

5.1 Entrapment

Entrapment is an illegal police practice. It is where officers trick a person into committing a crime to which he/she is not predisposed. If a person would not have committed solicitation but for the police meddling, then he/she has been entrapped.⁵

Example:  A decoy policeman is plying a random female bar patron with drinks and then suggests he pay her cash for oral sex. She says yes, and the policeman then arrests her for solicitation of prostitution.

Here, solicitation charges should not stand. This is because the police entrapped the woman by making her drunk. And there is no evidence to show that she was predisposed to solicitation.

5.2. Illegal police search

Police may conduct searches and seizures within the bounds of the Fourth Amendment. If they overreach and obtain evidence illegally, the defendant may ask the judge to throw out ("suppress") that evidence.

An illegal search recently occurred in Florida when police recorded New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft in a massage parlor receiving sexual favors. His attorneys persuaded the judge that the video was unlawfully obtained. Without that video evidence, the state's prostitution case against Kraft fell apart.⁶

5.3. Lack of overtness

Nevada law requires that solicitation be “overt” in order to be criminal.⁷ The most common example of overt solicitation is a verbal agreement to trade a specific amount of money for certain sexual acts.

In these cases, a defense attorney may try to argue that the defendant's words were too ambiguous to qualify as solicitation. Typical evidence in these cases includes surveillance video and witness testimony.

6. Will this show on a background check?

Yes, prostitution cases show up on background checks unless the defendant gets the cases sealed.

If the defendant's charge gets dismissed, he/she can petition for a record seal right away. Otherwise, there is a waiting period depending on what crime category the defendant was convicted of.

Note that defendants may never seal convictions for solicitation of a child. 

Learn more about how to get a record seal in Nevada.

7. Related offenses

Prostitution suspects can face additional criminal charges depending on the circumstances of the case. Examples include:

1. Open and gross lewdness (NRS 201.210). A prostitute and customer commit open and gross lewdness if they have sex in public. A first-time offense is a gross misdemeanor carrying up to 364 days in jail and/or up to $2,000 in fines. The defendant will also have to register as a sex offender (NRS 179D).
2. Battery (NRS 200.481). Many encounters between prostitutes and customers turn violent. Battery can be a misdemeanor or a felony depending on whether the victim sustains substantial bodily harm (NRS 0.060).
3. Sexual assault (NRS 200.366). Johns who rape prostitutes may face up to life in prison and will have to register as a sex offender.
4. Trick-rolling. This is when hookers steal cash or other valuables from johns. Prosecutors charge trick-rolling as robbery (NRS 200.380) if the prostitute used threats or force. Otherwise, prosecutors will bring a charge for larceny from a person (NRS 205.270). Either way, the punishment can include high fines and years of incarceration.

Call our Las Vegas criminal defense attorneys at 702-DEFENSE for a FREE consultation today.

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Arrested for prostitution or solicitation in Nevada? Call our Las Vegas criminal defense attorneys at 702-DEFENSE (702-333-3673). We may be able to get your charge reduced or dismissed.

Go back to our Nevada sex crimes page.

¿Habla español? Aprender más acerca de las leyes sobre prostitución y la Invitación en Nevada.

Arrested in California? See our article on California prostitution laws | Penal Code 647b PC.

Arrested in Colorado? See our article on Colorado prostitution laws | 18-7-201 C.R.S.

Legal References