Here are some laws of interest.  Remember, an ethical lawyer cannot cannot advise you as to how to break any laws, compiling such a matrix would be unethical, plus factually impossible.

The principal difficulty is that "lewdness" is essentially in the eye of the beholder, or I know it when I see it.  And the beholder is the DA and Judge.  Also, just because your immediate community (where you live) is full of whores, pimps, scroundrels, and a few lawyers, that does not mean there are no obscenty laws!

Think of this hobby as a game of chance.  You may get caught, or you may catch something.  But rolling the dice is a lot of fun.  LOL!

Here is a brief law primer, others have posted similar posts in the past:

In California, the Penal Code defines prostitution as "any lewd act between persons for money or other consideration." In order to be prosecuted, one must either solicit, or offer, another to "engage" in prostitution, or accept an offer to participate in acts of prostitution.  Secondly, there must be "some act" taken in "furtherance of the commission" of prostitution.  Finally, only one of the parties needs "specific intent," and therefore either the offeror's or offeree's intent satisfies the requisite intent for all involved parties.  Even with close scrutiny of California's prostitution statute and its interpretation by the courts, it remains ambiguous as to whether the statute requires actual, physical contact.

California's prostitution statute fails to provide a definition of "lewd acts." Other states, including Missouri, include definitions in the prostitution statute requiring bodily contact.  Similar to California, Missouri's statute describes prostitution as occurring when one "engages or offers or agrees to engage in sexual conduct with another person in return for something of value to be received by the person or by a third person."  To eliminate any ambiguity, however, the Missouri statute identifies "sexual conduct" as "any  [*534]  touching, manual or otherwise, of the anus or genitals of one person by another, done for the purpose of arousing or gratifying sexual desire of either party."  As a result, it is clear that Missouri's prostitution offense specifically requires physical contact. The absence of the touching element would therefore excuse the Web site user from criminal liability. However, Internet actors engaging in intercourse, oral copulation, or other sexual conduct, still may be liable for prostitution.

Most individuals commonly believe that prostitution consists of sexual intercourse in exchange for money. Because of the broad language in California's statute, however, acts not constituting intercourse do qualify as criminal behavior, and actual sexual intercourse is "not required to be guilty of an act of prostitution."  In order to appreciate what acts constitute prostitution, one must examine the California courts' interpretations of "lewd acts."

As defined by the California Supreme Court, the term "lewd conduct," as used in Section 647(a) of the California Penal Code, involves "the touching of the genitals, buttocks, or female breast for the purpose of sexual arousal, gratification, annoyance or offense."  Section 647(a)'s definition was later applied to Section 647(b) of the California Penal Code.  In Hill, the court held that a "lewd act" constitutes prostitution if "the genitals, buttocks, or female breast, of either the prostitute or the customer ... come into contact with some part of the body of the other for the purpose of sexual arousal or gratification of the customer or of the prostitute."  Thus, Hill suggests a touching is required.

Further, Pryor specifically holds that, under California's prostitution statute, "sexually motivated acts" require a physical "touching" for prosecution.  According to California's standard jury instructions for prostitution, a "lewd act" refers to "any act which involves the touching of the genitals, buttocks, or female breast of one person by any part of the body of another person and is done with the intent to sexually arouse or gratify."  Additionally, in October 2001, a California Court of Appeal held that "without sexual contact, there can be no prostitution."  

Judges can do anything they want.  To support the idea that the viewing of others engaging in sexual activities constitutes criminal behavior, a California Court of Appeal held that the acts of breast fondling, cunnilingus,  and fellatio  performed on stage between a paying member of the audience and a stripper constituted acts of prostitution.  While this case dealt with sexual relations between a paying customer and the performer, the California Supreme Court has not ruled on whether lewd acts between the performers themselves for consideration constitute prostitution.

Section 647(b) of the California Penal Code makes prostitution illegal, and it also prohibits the "solicitation of prostitution."  The act of "solicitation" refers to "an offer to pay or accept money in exchange for sex."  Solicitation, under the California prostitution statute, applies to both the customer and the prostitute.  Moreover, following the offer, or solicitation, there must be some "overt act in furtherance of that agreement," which eliminates ambiguous statements leading to false arrests.  

Cal Pen Code § 653.22 (2003)
Loitering with intent to commit prostitution; Determination of intent

  (a) It is unlawful for any person to loiter in any public place with the intent to commit prostitution. This intent is evidenced by acting in a manner and under circumstances which openly demonstrate the purpose of inducing, enticing, or soliciting prostitution, or procuring another to commit prostitution.
 
  (b) Among the circumstances that may be considered in determining whether a person loiters with the intent to commit prostitution are that the person:
 
  (1) Repeatedly beckons to, stops, engages in conversations with, or attempts to stop or engage in conversations with passersby, indicative of soliciting for prostitution.
 
  (2) Repeatedly stops or attempts to stop motor vehicles by hailing the drivers, waving arms, or making any other bodily gestures, or engages or attempts to engage the drivers or passengers of the motor vehicles in conversation, indicative of soliciting for prostitution.
 
  (3) Has been convicted of violating this section, subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 647, or any other offense relating to or involving prostitution, within five years of the arrest under this section.
 
  (4) Circles an area in a motor vehicle and repeatedly beckons to, contacts, or attempts to contact or stop pedestrians or other motorists, indicative of soliciting for prostitution.
 
  (5) Has engaged, within six months prior to the arrest under this section, in any behavior described in this subdivision, with the exception of paragraph (3), or in any other behavior indicative of prostitution activity.
 
  (c) The list of circumstances set forth in subdivision (b) is not exclusive. The circumstances set forth in subdivision (b) should be considered particularly salient if they occur in an area that is known for prostitution activity. Any other relevant circumstances may be considered in determining whether a person has the requisite intent. Moreover, no one circumstance or combination of circumstances is in itself determinative of intent. Intent must be determined based on an evaluation of the particular circumstances of each case.

Here is a rule of thumb which works almost 100% of the time.  If you think paying a provider for a particular service might be illegal, it probably is.

The rules you ask about vary from state to state and even from city to city, but you can probably tell the difference between a "legitimate" masseusse and a provider every time.  Technicalities are unlikely to get you off. (No pun intended there, folks.)

Questions related to what activities are legal and illegal are best determined by what jusidiction you live and operate in California.  Prostitution [Penal Code section 647(b)] is illegal everywhere in California.  Activities related to nude entertainment or escort services are usually regulated under local authorities (like County Codes or Municipal Codes). In San Diego all adult entertainment activities are regulated through the Vice Unit by the authority given within our Municipal Code (under Police Regulated Businesses).  

Strict conduct is required on all persons permitted by Vice to engage in adult entertainment activities. Violations will not only lead to revocation of your permit, but can also lead to fines and jailtime.