San Bernardino, CA Public Conduct: Public Urination (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing chapter
- Municipal Code Ch. 9.28
- Covered locations
- Parks, streets, alleys, public places
- Exception
- Proper receptacle in enclosed restroom
- Charge level
- Misdemeanor or infraction
- Max misdemeanor penalty
- 6 months jail, $1,000 fine
Summary
San Bernardino bans urinating or defecating in any public park, street, alley, highway or other public place, or anywhere in view of one. City Code Chapter 9.28, Offenses Against Public Decency, makes it a misdemeanor or infraction enforced by the Police Department.
It is unlawful for any person to urinate or defecate in any public park, street, alley, highway, public meeting, assembly or other public place, or in the immediate neighborhood thereof and in view from the same places; provided that this section shall not be applicable to the act of urinating or defecating in a proper receptacle in a restroom or bathroom in any enclosed structure.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-2: Supplement contains: Local legislation current through Ord. MC-1666, passed 8-5-2026).
Full Breakdown
010 flatly prohibits urinating or defecating in any public park, street, alley, highway, public meeting, assembly, or other public place, and extends the ban to the immediate neighborhood of those places where the act would be in view from them. The only carve-out is for using a proper receptacle inside a restroom or bathroom within an enclosed structure, so portable job-site toilets and building restrooms remain lawful, an open lot, alley, or parked-car door does not. The chapter traces back to Ordinance 1657 from 1941, was amended by Ordinance 2552 in 1964, and was last updated by Ordinance MC-978 in 1996, showing the prohibition has stayed on the books largely unchanged for over 80 years.
030), but those are distinct offenses from the urination and defecation provision. Enforcement runs through the San Bernardino Police Department, and a citation typically issues on an officer's direct observation of the act in a public place; no permit or notice-and-cure period applies because the conduct itself is the violation. 010, controls that choice and sets the available fines and jail exposure described below.
Violations & Fines
A violation of Chapter 9.28 is charged as a misdemeanor or an infraction at the discretion of the charging officer or City Attorney, per § 9.28.040. Under the general penalty schedule in § 1.12.010, an infraction carries a fine up to $100 for a first offense, $200 for a second within one year, and $500 for each further offense within that year; a fourth offense in a year is charged as a misdemeanor. A misdemeanor conviction under § 1.12.010 can bring up to six months in county jail, a fine up to $1,000, or both, and courts may also order reimbursement of the city's investigation and prosecution costs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is public urination illegal everywhere in San Bernardino?
What is the only legal way to urinate outside a private restroom?
Is a first offense a misdemeanor or just a ticket?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in San Bernardino
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Public Urination in Nearby Cities
How other cities in San Bernardino County handle public urination.