Long Beach, CA Public Conduct: Public Urination (2026)
Key Facts
- Ordinance
- LBMC § 9.25.010, "Public Excretion"
- Applies to
- any "public place" per § 9.02.090
- Exception
- regularly provided toilet facilities
- Charge level
- misdemeanor (or infraction, prosecutor's discretion)
- Max penalty
- $1,000 fine and/or 6 months jail (§1.32.010)
- Also a
- listed public-nuisance factor (§9.37)
Summary
Long Beach makes it a misdemeanor to urinate or defecate in any public place other than a regularly provided toilet facility. Municipal Code § 9.25.010, the City's stand-alone "Public Excretion" chapter, defines the offense using the code's broad definition of "public place" in § 9.02.090.
No person shall urinate or defecate in or at any "public place" as defined in Section 9.02.090 except at regularly provided toilet facilities. Violation hereof shall be a misdemeanor.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Municipal Code: Supplement 52 Update 1 | City Charter: Supplement 5).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 9.25, titled Public Excretion, consists of a single operative section. Section 9.25.010 states: "No person shall urinate or defecate in or at any 'public place' as defined in Section 9.02.090 except at regularly provided toilet facilities. Violation hereof shall be a misdemeanor." The cross-referenced definition in § 9.02.090 is broad: "'Public place' means and includes, but is not limited to, any street, park, pier, beach, restaurant, cafe, theater, store, building playground, school ground recreational area or other place to which the public is invited or has access or any place open to the public view." Because the ordinance is written as a misdemeanor without its own stated fine, sentencing falls to the Municipal Code's general penalty clause, § 1.32.010, which caps a misdemeanor conviction at a $1,000 fine, six months in the city or county jail, or both, though the City Prosecutor has discretion to instead charge it as an infraction.
The prohibition sits within Part IV of Title 9 (Public Peace, Morals and Welfare), alongside the City's disorderly-conduct and public-nuisance chapters, and public urination separately appears as a listed public-nuisance factor in § 9.37, the Long Beach Nuisance Code, and as a condition that can support revocation of a nonconforming land-use right under § 21.15.030.
Violations & Fines
A violation of § 9.25.010 is charged as a misdemeanor, carrying up to a $1,000 fine and/or up to six months in jail under the citywide general penalty, § 1.32.010, unless the City Prosecutor elects to charge it as an infraction instead, which caps the fine at $1,000 with no jail exposure. Enforcement is by Long Beach Police Department citation or arrest at the location of the offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is public urination actually a crime in Long Beach, not just a fine?
What counts as a "public place" for this ordinance?
Is there an exception if no restroom is nearby?
What's the maximum penalty?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Long Beach
California rules heatmap·Compare Long Beach to another location·View the California public conduct overview
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Public Urination in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Los Angeles County handle public urination.