Bozeman, MT Public Conduct: Public Urination (2026)

Section 24.06.010 of the Bozeman Municipal Code sits in Article 6, Offenses Against Public Morals, and applies within the jurisdictional limits of the city. It bars anyone from publicly defecating or urinating on streets, sidewalks, alleys, parks, parking lots or other places open to the public, and the reach extends to areas open to the public in buildings, so a lobby or a customer-accessible hallway counts as much as a sidewalk.

The only exception is written into the same sentence: the conduct is allowed when a sanitary facility capable of and commonly used for disposal of human urine or excrement is used. A toilet, in other words, is the compliant choice, and a portable unit set up for that purpose fits the wording, while a doorway, alley or park bush does not.

The section prints no penalty clause. Section 1.01.210 is the general penalty for Code violations, and it applies unless otherwise specifically provided in the Bozeman Municipal Code: a person violating the Code is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, is punished by a fine in any sum not exceeding $500.00 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months, or both, and pays the costs and expenses of the case. A separate offense is committed on each day during or on which a violation occurs or continues.

The conduct also appears in the nuisance article. Section 16.02 lists, among conditions that can be declared public nuisances, a building or place operated or maintained in a manner that has resulted in repeated disruptive activities including public urination, disturbances of the peace, public drunkenness and drinking in public. A property owner whose premises draw repeated public urination therefore faces a separate nuisance track in addition to the personal offense. The Bozeman Police Department is the enforcing agency for the Chapter 24 offenses.