Tampa, FL Public Conduct: Public Urination (2026)

Tampa Code § 14-52 prohibits urinating or defecating in or on any public place unless the waste goes into a receptacle provided for that purpose that stores or disposes of it sanitarily and is enclosed from public view: the same three-part test applies separately to dumping, throwing, discarding, or otherwise disposing of urine or feces already collected elsewhere. The ordinance carves out a narrow exception for children under six years old and for persons with physical or mental impairments who cannot control their bodily functions, but subsection (c) shifts responsibility onto that child's or person's parent, guardian, or custodian, who must immediately clean up and sanitarily dispose of the waste or be charged with the violation themselves.

Subsection (d) closes an obvious loophole: intoxication by alcohol or the use of illegal or non-prescribed drugs does not count as a qualifying 'impairment,' so a person who is drunk or high in public gets no benefit from the exemption. The section, adopted by Ordinance No. 2013-96, § 3 on July 18, 2013, is enforced by Tampa Police Department officers responding to complaints or observing the conduct directly, and subsection (e) ties the penalty to the Code's general penalty section, § 1-6. That means a conviction can carry a fine of up to $500, up to 60 days in jail, up to six months of probation, or a combination, with each day of a continuing violation treated as a separate offense.