Adult Entertainment Laws in Costa Rica
Legal Overview
Prostitution itself is legal in Costa Rica: no law makes it an offence to sell sex, and paying an adult for sex is not a crime. What the Penal Code (Law 4573) punishes is third-party involvement. Anyone who promotes the prostitution of others, induces a person to engage or remain in it, or recruits for it faces two to five years (Art. 169, proxenetismo); four to ten years with aggravating factors such as a victim under 18, deception or violence (Art. 170). Coercively making a sex worker support you is punishable by two to eight years (Art. 171, rufianería). Trafficking for sexual exploitation (Art. 172, six to ten years) has required coercive or deceptive means for adult victims since 2018. Advertising the country as a destination for prostitution carries four to eight years (Art. 162 bis). Paying anyone under 18 for sexual acts carries two to ten years (Art. 160). Source: Prostitution Laws (prostitutionlaws.org), https://prostitutionlaws.org/countries/costa-rica/, reviewed 2026-11-04, CC BY 4.0.
In Practice
No offence targets a sex worker's own advertisements. Advertising on behalf of others can amount to 'promoting' their prostitution (Art. 169). Promoting or running advertising programmes, campaigns or ads, by any means, that project Costa Rica as a tourist destination accessible for commercial sexual exploitation or the prostitution of persons of any sex or age carries four to eight years (Art. 162 bis, 'sex tourism'). Directories may not list escort services here: a site that carries other people's ads can be prosecuted or fined. Source: Prostitution Laws (prostitutionlaws.org), https://prostitutionlaws.org/countries/costa-rica/, reviewed 2026-11-04, CC BY 4.0.
Last updated: 11 November 2026
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