Promotion of Prostitution: Texas Penal Code §43.03

The Texas Promotion of Prostitution law prohibits pimping activities, including both receiving money from prostitution and soliciting prostitution activities among other people.

The Texas legislature codified this criminal offense in Texas Penal Code Section 43.03. The punishment scheme for this offense increased substantially in the 2017 and 2019 legislative sessions. In 2023, the legislature amended the penalty subsection of the law, but it was only a minor, nonsubstantive change.

In addition to the Promotion of Prostitution charge, the state can charge you with the related offenses of Prostitution, Aggravated Promotion of Prostitution or, if the state attorneys think they can show the use of force or that a prostitute was underage, the state can charge you with Compelling Prostitution.

The Penal Code classifies the Texas Promotion of Prostitution law under Title 9 “Offenses Against Public Order and Decency,” Chapter 43 “Public Indecency.” These “public indecency” crimes are sex crimes, but they are not of a violent or assaultive nature. Learn more about the Texas offense of Promotion of Prostitution below.

What is the current Texas law about Promotion of Prostitution?

Texas law currently defines the offense of Promotion of Prostitution in Penal Code Section §43.03 as follows:^[1]

(a) A person commits an offense if, acting other than as a prostitute receiving compensation for personally rendered prostitution services, he or she knowingly:

(1) receives money or other property pursuant to an agreement to participate in the proceeds of prostitution; or

(2) solicits another to engage in sexual conduct with another person for compensation.

Under the (a)(1) version of the offense, you can be convicted for Promotion of Prostitution if the state’s attorneys can prove there was an agreement to split proceeds from prostitution activies, and you did actually receive some money from that agreement.

Under the (a)(2) version of the offense, you can be convicted of Promotion of Prostitution if the state attorneys can prove that you solicited any two other people to engage in sexual conduct for money or other compensation. While solicitation is not defined in the statute, it basically means asking someone if they are interested in a prostitute or selling sex.

The important exception to both (a)(1) and (a)(2) is found in that the law does not apply to “a prostitute receiving compensation for personally rendered prostitution services.”

What is the difference between Prostitution and Promotion of Prostitution?

Because subsection (a) of the law specifies that it applies to people “other than … prostitute[s] receiving compensation for personally rendered prostitution services,” Promotion of Prostitution specifically exempts most “prostitutes” from prosecution under the Promotion of Prostitution law. Only “pimps” can be prosecuted for Promotion of Prostitution.

Prostitution is the offense that makes it illegal to receive money for participating in sexual conduct, while Promotion of Prostitution makes it illegal to pimp, specifically taking a cut of money from prostitution activies and brokering prostitution deals through solicitation.

How can I be charged with a Promotion of Prostitution offense in Texas?

You can be charged with Promotion of Prostitution if the state attorneys thinkeach of the elements of either the (a)(1) or (a)(2) version of the offense above. You do not need to be guilty to be charged. All the state attorneys need is “probable cause” to charge you with the crime. Probable cause is a low standard of proof that requires little evidence – and in these cases, often only the word of the arresting officer.

What is the statute of limitation for Promotion of Prostitution in Texas?

Promotion of Prostitution offenses have a three-year limitations period.^[2]

What is the penalty for a Texas Promotion of Prostitution offense?

Section 43.03(b) describes the penalties for Promotion of Prostitution. The punishment for Promotion of Prostitution has increased in successive legislative sessions. Currently, and for all offenses occurring on or after September 1, 2019, Promotion of Prostitution in Texas is punished as a third degree felony, except that it is (1) a second degree felony if you have been previously convicted of Promotion of Prostitution; or (2) a first degree felony if the conduct you engaged in involved a person younger than 18 years of age engaging in prostitution, regardless of whether you knew the person’s the age.^[3]

Offenses that occurred prior to September 1, 2019

The penalty scheme in effect immediately prior to the current version described above governs offenses that took place between September 1, 2017, and September 1, 2019. The legislature passed two bills in 2017 that changed the penalty scheme from what it had been before 2017. One bill, HB 1808, made the following changes to the pre-2017 penalty scheme (the words in strikethrough were removed):^[4]

(b) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor, except that the offense is:

(1) a state jail felony if the actor has been previously convicted of an offense under this section; or

(2) a felony of the second degree if the actor engages in conduct described by Subsection (a)(1) or (2) involving a person younger than 18 years of age engaging in prostitution, regardless of whether the actor knows the age of the person at the time [of] the actor commits the offense.

Another bill, HB 29, made the following changes to the pre-2017 penalty scheme (the bracketed words below were added and the words in strikethrough were removed):^[5]

(b) An offense under this section is a [state jail felony] Class A misdemeanor, except that the offense is:

(1) a [felony of the third degree] state jail felony if the actor has been previously convicted of an offense under this section; or

(2) a felony of the second degree if the actor engages in conduct described by Subsection (a)(1) or (2) involving a person younger than 18 years of age engaging in prostitution, regardless of whether the actor knows the age of the person at the time of the actor commits the offense.

There is an Aggravated Promotion of Prostitution version of the Promotion of Prostitution offense as well, which is actually defined in a separate section of the penal code as its own offense and requires the state to prove that you were involved in pimping two or more prostitutes.

Can you get probation for Promotion of Prostitution in Texas?

The Texas Code of Criminal Procedure allows both judges and juries to grant probation for Promotion of Prostitution, and judges are also allowed to accept deferred adjudication plea deals.^[6]

Note, however, that no matter the offense, neither judges nor juries may recommend community supervision for any suspended sentence of over 10 years.^[7] Also, judges may not grant community supervision after a conviction if (1) the defendant used or exhibited a deadly weapon during the commission of the felony or immediate flight thereafter and (2) the defendant used or exhibited the deadly weapon himself or was a party to the offense and knew that a deadly weapon would be used or exhibited.^[8]

Do I have to register as a sex offender in Texas if guilty of Promotion of Prostitution?

The Promotion of Prostitution offense does not appear on the list of offenses requiring registration under Chapter 62 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure.^[9]

However, the legislature can add this offense to the list at any time. If that happens, people convicted of Promotion of Prostitution would have to register, even if the offense did not appear on the list at the time they accepted a deferred adjudication plea (even if later dismissed), pled guilty or were founty guilty.

What level of crime is Promotion of Prostitution in Texas?

The classification for a Promotion of Prostitution offense ranges from a third degree felony to a first degree felony, depending on the circumstances.

Learn more about the penalty range for this offense in the section above.

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Legal References:

^1. Texas Penal Code §43.03. This law is current as of 2024.^2. See Code of Criminal Procedure 12.01(9)^3. Texas Penal Code §43.03(b),
as amended by SB 1802, 86th Texas Legislature, Section 3, effective for offenses occurring on or after September 1, 2019^4. See HB 1808, 85th Legislature, Section 9, effective September 1, 2017^5. See House Bill 29, 85th Legislature (RS),Section 38, effective September 1, 2017^6. See Chapter 42, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Art. 42A.054, Art. 42A.056, Art. 42A.102 .^7. Art. 42A.053(c), Texas Code of Criminal Procedure^8. Art. 42A.054(b), Texas Code of Criminal Procedure^9. Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 62.001