Bail bonds work by allowing you to post bail that you would not have otherwise been able to afford.
The bail bondsman posts the full amount on your behalf. You pay the bail bondsman a percentage of the bail amount – usually 10 percent.
This payment is nonrefundable. The bondsman usually secures the bond with collateral.
In this article I explain in detail how bail bonds work in criminal cases. Also listen to our informative podcast on the subject:
What is a bail bond?
A bail bond is a court payment by a bail bonds company on your (a criminal defendant’s) behalf. This makes it a type of surety bond.
Bail is the amount of money that you have to post in order to be released from county jail before trial. If you post bail and then appear at all required court appearances and comply with the terms of your release, the bail money will be refunded. If you fail to appear at a required court date, you forfeit the full bond amount.
If you cannot afford to post the full bail amount yourself, you can hire a bail bondsman at a percentage of the bail amount. They will then post the full amount of bail for you. However, this percentage is nonrefundable, even if you comply with all of the terms of pretrial release.
What is the bail bond process?
After the judge sets bail, you can contact a bail bondsman. The bondsman, also known as a bail bond agent, will require you or a loved one to pay a percentage of the bail amount. The usual rate is 10 percent.
Once the bondsman has this payment, it will start the release process. The bond agent will often secure the remainder of the bail amount with collateral. This requires you to sign a contract forfeiting your property to cover the rest of the bail amount, should you skip bail.
If you do not have enough property to secure the bond, the bail bond agent may turn to your friends or family members for collateral. Once the bondsman has received the fee and is satisfied with the collateral, they will post bail on your behalf.
If you are unable to cover the fee, many licensed bail bonds agents offer payment plans and a wide range of payment options. These include:
- credit cards,
- debit cards, and
- cash bail money.
Most jails have bail bond companies within a couple of blocks.
What does a bail bondsman or bail bond agent do?
A bail bondsman is a person or company that posts bail for you (the defendant in a criminal case). Bondsmen are for-profit entities that make money off the fees they charge for bail bond services and for posting bail. They also make money by suing to repossess any property that was used as collateral for the bail bond.
In some states, bondsmen can also make money by bringing you to court if you skipped bail. Also known as bounty hunters, these bondsmen can then collect a portion of the bond amount that you forfeited.
What happens if I forfeit bail?
If you get a bail bond and then forfeit bail by failing to appear in court, you will owe the bondsman the full amount of bail. The bond agent will also try to exercise their right to the collateral that secured the bail bond.
Bail bondsmen will often go to great lengths to make sure that you appear in court before bail is forfeited. They may even check in on you on the morning of your court appearance. They may try to physically take you to the courthouse.
If you miss the court date, an arrest warrant will likely be issued. The next time law enforcement encounters you, they will execute the warrant.
If the underlying offense was a misdemeanor, like a first-time driving under the influence (DUI) offense, police will rarely seek you out to serve the warrant. They will actively look for you if the offense was more severe.
What happens if I show up to all of my scheduled court appearances?
If you satisfy all of the requirements of your pretrial release, the bondsman will recover the full bail amount they posted. You are not entitled to the fee you paid to obtain the bail bond. That fee is nonrefundable.
Are there alternatives to a bail bond?
If you are being held in pretrial confinement on bail that you cannot afford, you can request a bail reduction at the bail hearing.
In California, if you are in custody, you are entitled to a bail review hearing within five days of when bail was first set.1 However, if the offense was for a serious or violent felony or a domestic violence offense, prosecutors need at least two days of written notice before the hearing.2
The bail hearing gives you and your criminal defense attorneys the opportunity to ask for:
- a reduction in bail, or
- a release on own recognizance.
The criminal justice system in many states, including in California, gives judges lots of discretion in setting bail.3 However, judges in the state of California still have to consider the following factors when setting a bail amount:
- your ability to pay,
- the severity of the offense,
- your criminal record,
- whether the judge thinks that you will fail to appear in the future, and
- public safety.4
Additionally, there are certain severe felonies that require the bail cost to at least a certain amount.
Additional Reading
For more in-depth information, refer to these scholarly articles:
- SB 10: Punishment before Conviction: Alleviating Economic Injustice in California with Bail Reform – University of the Pacific Law Review.
- Assessing the Impact of Bail on California’s Jail Population – Public Policy Institute of California.
- Beyond Bail – Florida Law Review.
- Racial Bias in Bail Decisions – The Quarterly Journal of Economics.
- A Brief History of Bail – Judges Journal.
