Elko County, NV Public Conduct: Public Urination (2026)

Section 7-1-28 of the Elko County Code was added by the Board of County Commissioners as Ordinance 2023-05 on June 7, 2023. Subsection (A) has three elements. The act must be intentional, it must occur in a public place other than a washroom or toilet room, and it must happen under circumstances where the act could be observed by any member of the public. The test is whether someone could observe it, so a person need not have been seen.

Subsection (B) defines public place as an area generally visible to public view and lists streets, sidewalks, bridges, alleys, plazas, parks, driveways, parking lots, and buildings open to the general public. It also reaches private property in the view of any person on public property, so a back lot or private driveway visible from a road or sidewalk counts. Washrooms and toilet rooms are the only places carved out in subsection (A).

The section prints no penalty. Enforcement runs through the penalty provisions of Title 1, Chapter 4 and Title 7, Chapter 1. Section 1-4-3 treats a conviction for an act declared unlawful as a misdemeanor, and Section 7-1-26(B) lets a convicted person who agrees perform up to one hundred twenty hours of community work for the benefit of the community in place of all or part of the punishment. The Elko County Sheriff's Office enforces Title 7, the Police Regulations. The section applies in unincorporated Elko County, Nevada. The cities of Elko, Carlin, Wells and West Wendover have their own codes and their own public conduct rules.