Miami, FL Public Conduct: Public Urination (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Miami City Code § 37-11, as amended by Ord. No. 14472 (June 11, 2026)
- Prohibited act
- Intentional urination or defecation in plain view of the public
- Where it applies
- Any public place, including private places open to the public
- Restroom exemption
- Restroom use in the manner the facility was designed
- Maximum penalty
- Fine up to $500.00, up to 60 days jail, or both (§ 1-13)
- Classification
- Municipal ordinance violation
Summary
Miami City Code § 37-11 makes it unlawful to intentionally urinate or defecate in plain view of the public on any public place in the city, a term that covers streets, sidewalks, parks, beaches, piers and parking lots, public or private, if open to the public. Using a restroom as it was designed is outside the rule, and violations are punished under the general penalty in section 1-13.
(a) Purpose. Public urination and/or defecation is found to be a public nuisance and detrimental to the health, safety, and welfare of the city and its inhabitants. ... In plain view of the public means where such act may be readily observed by a member of the public. Public place means any street, highway, right-of-way, alley, parking lot, driveway, sidewalk, boulevard, park, beach, wharf, pier, bridge, mall, or other place, whether public or private, which is open to the public. ... (c) Prohibited acts. It is unlawful for any person: (1) To intentionally urinate or defecate in plain view of the public on any public place in the city. (2) This section shall not apply to urinating or defecating in any restroom facility in a manner for which that facility was designed. (d) Penalty. Any person violating any of the provisions of this section shall be subject to the penalty as provided in section 1-13 of the City Code. (Ord. No. 13495, § 2, 2-12-15; Ord. No. 14472, § 2, 6-11-26)
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 23 | Ordinance 11000 (Previous Zoning Code): Supplement 22 | Miami 21 (Zoning Code): ?).
Full Breakdown
Section 37-11 of the Miami City Code opens with a finding that public urination and defecation are a public nuisance, detrimental to the health, safety, and welfare of the city and its inhabitants. The operative ban in subsection (c)(1) is narrower than the headline suggests: it is unlawful only to intentionally urinate or defecate in plain view of the public on any public place in the city. Three elements have to line up. The act must be intentional, it must be done in plain view of the public, and it must happen in a public place.
The code defines each element. "In plain view of the public" means the act can be readily observed by a member of the public, so the test is whether someone could readily see it, not whether anyone actually did. "Public place" is defined broadly: any street, highway, right-of-way, alley, parking lot, driveway, sidewalk, boulevard, park, beach, wharf, pier, bridge, mall, or other place, whether public or private, which is open to the public. That reaches privately owned lots and malls that admit the public, and it names Miami's waterfront piers, wharves and beaches outright. To urinate means to pass or discharge urine excreted by the kidneys from the body, and to defecate means to excrete waste from a person's bowels.
Subsection (c)(2) states that the section does not apply to urinating or defecating in any restroom facility in a manner for which that facility was designed. A person using a toilet or urinal in a public or customer restroom is outside the ordinance.
Subsection (d) sets the penalty by cross-reference: any person violating the section is subject to the penalty in section 1-13 of the City Code. The section's current form comes from Ordinance No. 14472, adopted June 11, 2026, which amended the version first enacted by Ordinance No. 13495 on February 12, 2015. The editor's note records that the 2026 ordinance changed the section title from "Public urination or defecation prohibited; exceptions; penalties" to "Public urination or defecation prohibited; penalties."
Violations & Fines
A violation of § 37-11 is a municipal ordinance violation punished under section 1-13 of the City Code: upon conviction, a fine of not more than $500.00, imprisonment of not more than 60 days, or both. Section 1-13 also provides that each day a violation continues is a separate offense. Section 37-11(d) names no separate fine of its own; it sends every violator to the general penalty section.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it illegal to urinate outdoors in Miami if nobody is watching?
Does the ban cover private property in Miami?
What is the penalty for public urination in Miami?
Does using a public restroom violate the ordinance?
Sources & Official References
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Public Urination in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Miami-Dade County handle public urination.