Urinating or defecating in public is a misdemeanor throughout Nevada. In Las Vegas, the punishment is $100 to $1,000 in fines and/or up to six months in jail.
If you also neglect to clean up your solid waste, you face charges for littering as well. If it was in a public place, the D.A. may even bring charges for indecent exposure (NRS 201.220).
These crimes frequently involve partying tourists and bar patrons who are too intoxicated or exhausted to find a bathroom.
On this page our Las Vegas criminal defense attorneys discuss the Nevada offense of public urination. Continue reading to learn about how the law works, how you can fight charges, and how judges levy punishments.
Peeing in public is a misdemeanor offense in Las Vegas under Municipal Code 10.40.040.
Is it a crime to urinate in public in Nevada?
It is unlawful in Nevada to urinate or defecate in public, such as on city streets, parks, or other common areas. Even homeless people are expected to find shelters and porta-potties whenever possible.1
Defecating in public without picking up after yourself triggers an additional charge of littering.2 Plus if you do not cover your privates while using the bathroom, you also face indecent exposure charges.3
Note that police rarely arrest people for public urination. You will likely just get a citation with instructions to show up at court on a certain day or pay a fine.
Also note that public urination laws are governed by city codes and county ordinances, not state laws.
Certain medical conditions may release people from criminal liabilty for urinating in public.
How can I fight the charges?
There are several ways to fight public urination charges in Nevada depending on the unique facts of the case. Possible defenses are the following:
- You were falsely accused. Perhaps the police mistook you for someone else. If the act was not caught on video and there were no other witnesses, there may be insufficient evidence to prove beyond reasonable doubt that you were the one who went to the bathroom.
- You had a medical condition. Perhaps you suffer from a malady that makes it difficult to reach a bathroom in time. Examples include: Overactive bladder syndrome, diabetes, interstitial cystitis, urinary tract infections, multiple sclerosis, enlarged prostate, food poisoning, or diarrhea. If your medical records demonstrate you were blameless because you were legitimately ill, the prosecutor may drop the charges.
- There was no reasonable alternative. Judges understand that sometimes people find themselves in situations where there is no bathroom nearby, and that going in public is a better alternative to a burst bladder. If we can show that your actions were reasonable under the circumstances, the case may be dropped.
Example: Jim is driving on the I-15 at night. His car stalls, and his cell battery is dead so he cannot call for help. He needs to use the bathroom badly, but he reasons it would be dangerous to walk on the side of the highway to the closest exit, which is a mile away anyway. He decides to crouch by his car and cloak his jacket over his body so no one could physically see him going to the bathroom.
If a policeman happened to see him and cite him for public urination, chances are the prosecutor would eventually drop the charge because extenuating circumstances left Jim with little choice. Furthermore, he took care to conceal himself so no one would see him unclothed.
Going to the bathroom in public is prosecuted as a misdemeanor under Nevada law.
What are the penalties?
Going to the bathroom in public is a misdemeanor in Nevada. The penalties vary city to city, with the maximum penalties topping off at $1,000 in fines and/or up to six months in jail.
In practice however, the typical penalty is just a few hundred dollars and no jail at all. For first-time offenses, prosecutors may be willing to dismiss the charge after you pay the fine so there is no conviction on your record.
Below are the specific penalty ranges for urinating or defecating in public in Nevada’s biggest cities.
Las Vegas
- $100 to $1,000 in fines and/or
- up to 6 months in jail
Note that unlike with most misdemeanors, here the minimum fine is $100 rather than $0.4
Henderson
- up to $1,000 in fines, and/or
- up to 6 months in jail
In addition, there is a $100 clean-up fee.5
North Las Vegas
- up to $500 in fines, and/or
- up to 6 months in jail
Note that unlike with most misdemeanors, here the maximum fine is only $500 as opposed ot $1,000.6
Reno
- up to $1,000 in fines, and/or
- up to 6 months in jail
As with other cities, judges rarely impose jail.7
Littering:
Since feces is considered a hazardous material, the penalties for not cleaning up after a public bowel movement can get steep. A first-time littering offense in a two-year time span is a misdemeanor carrying:
- up to 6 months in jail and/or up to $1,000 in fines, and
- 10 hours of community service including cleaning of the dump site.
A second-time littering offense in a two-year time span is a gross misdemeanor carrying:
- between 14 days and 364 days in jail, and
- 10 hours of community service including cleaning of the dump site.
A third-time offense in a two-year timespan is also a gross misdemeanor carrying:
- 364 days in jail, and
- 10 hours of community service including cleaning of the dump site.
Note that the judge may order thousands of dollars in civil fines as well.
Depending on the location, peeing in public could be charged as indecent exposure under Nevada law.
Indecent Exposure:
When public urination is charged as indecent exposure in Nevada, the penalties can be very steep. A first-time offense is a gross misdemeanor. The sentence includes:
- up to 364 days in jail and/or up to $2,000 in fines, and
- possible sex offender registration.
A second-time or subsequent offense of indecent exposure is a category D felony. The sentence includes:
- 1 to 4 years in Nevada State Prison and possibly up to $5,000 in fines, and
- possible sex offender registration.
Note that indecent exposure is usually classified as a Tier 1 sex offense (NRS 179D.113). If you are registered as Tier 1 sex offender, you are not publicly searchable on the sex registry database.
Additional Reading
For more in-depth information, refer to the following scholarly articles:
- The Disappearing Public Toilet – Seton Hall Law Review.
- Public panics: Problematic bodies in social space – Emotion, Space, & Society.
- Persuasive Technology Against Public Nuisance – Public Urination in the Urban Nightlife District – International Conference on Persuasive Technology.
- Health and social impacts of open defecation on women: a systematic review – BMC Public Health.
- Open Defecation in the United States: Perspectives from the Streets – Environmental Justice.
Legal References:
- LVMC 10.40.040 – Urination or defecation in certain places.
(A) For purposes of this Section:
(1) “Appropriate sanitary facility” means a urinal, toilet, commode or other facility that accommodates or is designed for the sanitary disposal of human bodily fluids or waste and that is enclosed from public view.
(2) “Public place” means any walkway, street, highway, sidewalk, bridge, overpass, alley or alleyway, plaza, park, driveway, transportation facility, park, recreational area, parking lot, vacant or undeveloped lot or the stairwells, alcoves, doorways and entrance ways to such places.
(3) “Verified medical condition” does not include alcoholism or the excessive consumption of alcohol.
(B) Any person who urinates or defecates in, on or about any of the following places, other than in an appropriate sanitary facility, is guilty of a misdemeanor:
(1) Any public place;
(2) Any private property into or upon which the public is admitted by easement or license; or
(3) Any private property without the consent of the owner.
(C) It is an affirmative defense to an offense described in Subsection (B) of this Section that such person then suffered from a verified medical condition which necessitated or caused such action.
(D) It is unlawful for any person who has urinated or defecated in, on or about any public place, other than in an appropriate sanitary facility, to fail to clean or remove the material deposited, or to fail to dispose of the material used in the cleaning or removal process in a container designed for such disposal as required under Title 9
- NRS 444.630.
- NRS 201.220.
- LVMC 10.42.110 – Violation—Penalty. (“Any person, firm or corporation who violates any of the provisions of this Article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars nor more than the maximum fine allowed by law for the commission of a misdemeanor or by imprisonment in the City Jail for not to exceed six months, or any combination of such fine and imprisonment. Every day of such violation shall constitute a separate offense.”)
- HMC 8.60.130 – Public urination or defecation prohibited. (“Any person who shall defecate or urinate in any public place shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. A. For purposes of this section, a “public place” means any street, alley, sidewalk, thoroughfare, school, municipal premises, vacant lot, parks or private property that is plainly visible from any such public place, except by proper use of a toilet or other suitable facility provided for this purpose. B. In addition to other penalty for this offense, the court shall order the person to pay an administrative fee of $100.00 to the City of Henderson for any clean-up costs incurred by the city.”) HMC 8.60.160 – Penalty for violation. (“A violation of any provision of this chapter shall be a misdemeanor.”)
- NLVMC 9.08.020 – Unlawful to urinate or defecate in undesignated places. (“No person shall urinate or defecate or expose himself with the intent to urinate or defecate in any public place or any place open to the public except in such places designated as public restrooms.”). NLVMC 9.12.040 – Violation—Penalty. (“Any person found guilty of any violation within this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) and/or imprisonment in the city jail, not to exceed six months, and every continuing day of such violation shall constitute a separate offense.”)
- RMC Sec. 8.12.018. – Urinating/defecating in public prohibited. (“(a) No person shall urinate or defecate in or upon any street, sidewalk, alley, plaza, park, beach, public building or publicly maintained facility, or in any place open to the public or exposed to public view. This section shall not apply to urinating or defecating in any restroom or other facility designed for the sanitary disposal of human waste. (b) Any person convicted under this section shall be punished for a misdemeanor.”)