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FACT BRIEF

Is sex work decriminalized in Nevada?

By Esther Tsvayg on 03/02/2023

NO

Under Nevada state law, licensed brothels are permitted to operate in counties with populations of 700,000 or less. However, soliciting sex or engaging in prostitution outside of brothels is a misdemeanor in Nevada and is punishable by law, unless the person is a victim of sex trafficking. Misdemeanors carry up to six months in jail and/or a fine.

Brothels are legal in 10 of Nevada's 17 counties. Clark County, the state’s largest county and home of Las Vegas, has a population exceeding 700,000, rendering prostitution illegal there. Carson City, Douglas, Eureka, Lincoln, Pershing and Washoe have expressly outlawed prostitution.

A Safer Nevada petition to put a question on the 2024 ballot about decriminalizing sex work was later withdrawn.

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