Is prostitution legal in Maine?
Buying illegal (Nordic model)
Selling sex was decriminalized in 2023; buying sex remains a crime.
Maine is classified “Buying illegal (Nordic model)” for sex work — the only one of the 50 states and the District of Columbia to be. For the United States as a whole, the classification is “Varies by region”.
Source
- Last checked
- 17 September 2026
- How it was classified
- Read from the source’s state-by-state coverage; the topic is published only once hand-verified reference states match it.
Across the United States
- Legal & regulated 1 state.
- Buying illegal (Nordic model) 1 state: Maine.
- Illegal 48 states and the District of Columbia.
Nearby states
- New Hampshire
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal.
- Vermont
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal.
- Massachusetts
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal.
- Rhode Island
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal.
- Connecticut
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal.
- New York
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal.
Other laws in Maine
- Abortion
- Legal on request
- Euthanasia
- Assisted dying only
- Same-Sex Marriage
- Marriage legal
- Age of Consent
- 16–17
- Death Penalty
- Fully abolished
- Gun Laws
- Permissive
- Cannabis
- Legal
Sex work in the United States → · Where is sex work legal? →
A visual reference compiled from Wikipedia’s law-by-country articles, not legal advice. Laws change and summaries simplify — check a primary source before relying on anything here.