Maricopa County, AZ Public Conduct: Public Urination (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing ordinance
- P-37, Human Waste Ordinance
- Named locations
- sidewalks, parks, bus stops, roadsides, empty lots
- Two violations
- public relief (37.1) and abandoned waste (37.2)
- Stated fine
- none specified in this ordinance text
- Exempt locations
- facilities specifically marked for that purpose
Summary
In unincorporated Maricopa County, Ordinance P-37 makes it unlawful to defecate or urinate anywhere in public that isn't specifically marked for that purpose, naming sidewalks, parks, bus stops, roadsides, and empty lots outright, and separately bans leaving feces, urine, or soiled toilet paper behind in any public spot not designated to hold human waste.
37.1 Defecation and urination shall not occur in any public location not specifically intended and marked for that purpose. This prohibition includes, but is not limited to sidewalks, parks, bus stops, roadsides, and empty lots. 37.2 No feces, urine, or soiled toilet paper shall be left or abandoned in any public location not specifically designated to hold human waste and/or hazardous materials.
Full Breakdown
Maricopa County's Human Waste Ordinance, numbered P-37, sets out two separate violations. 1 states that 'defecation and urination shall not occur in any public location not specifically intended and marked for that purpose,' and names five location types: sidewalks, parks, bus stops, roadsides, and empty lots. The 'not limited to' wording means the ban reaches any public place lacking a marked restroom or portable toilet, not just those five categories. 2 creates a second, independent offense: leaving or abandoning feces, urine, or soiled toilet paper in a public location that isn't designated to hold human waste or hazardous materials.
That means even if the underlying act happened somewhere permitted, walking away and leaving waste or soiled paper behind in an undesignated public spot is its own separate violation. The ordinance sits in the county's P-series of standalone ordinances, the same numbering series that carries the county's noise, fireworks, and construction-hours rules, and it operates alongside the Environmental Health Code's sanitation provisions rather than replacing them. 2 directly rather than against a separately numbered graduated-penalty clause.
Violations & Fines
37.1 and 37.2 are enforced as two distinct offenses: one for urinating or defecating outside a marked facility, and a second for abandoning feces, urine, or soiled toilet paper in an undesignated public spot. The ordinance text itself sets out no dollar fine, so a citation is written directly against Section 37.1 or 37.2 rather than a graduated penalty schedule like the county's noise or construction ordinances carry.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where exactly does Maricopa County's public urination ban apply?
Is leaving human waste behind a separate violation from urinating in public?
What's the fine for violating Ordinance P-37?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Maricopa County
Compare Maricopa County to another location·View the Arizona public conduct overview
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