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Bail Bondsmen

Every year, millions of people are released from pretrial detention by commercial bail bondsmen (also called bail or bond agents). A bail bondsman is a person or company that puts up money or property on behalf of an arrested person so that he/she can stay out of jail until the criminal trial is over. If you do not have enough cash or property to bail yourself or someone else out of jail, you may wish to hire a bail bondsman.

Bail attorneys work side by side with bail agents to get their clients released from jail as quickly as possible. If you or a loved one has been arrested, you should speak to a bail attorney right away about engaging the services of a bail bondsman.

Taking Your Case

Bail bonding is by nature a risky business. Therefore, bail bondsmen like to assess the risk of each case before agreeing to sign on. Some of the bail factors bail bondsmen will consider include:

  • Employment history
  • Criminal history
  • Severity of the crime
  • Type and value of collateral
  • How cooperative the defendant appears
  • The amount of bail required

Bail bondsmen often impose conditions (e.g., maintaining employment) to further minimize their risk of loss. If the defendant does not comply with the conditions, the bail bondsman can return the defendant to jail.

Types of Bail Bondsmen

Bail bonds are a financial guarantee that ensures the defendant will appear in court. If the defendant "skips bail" the money or property pledged will be forfeited. If a defendant is unable to make bail, or does not wish to tie up his/her funds on bail, he should contact one of the following types of bail bondsmen:

Professional Bail Bondsman. This type of bail bondsman promises the court to pay a defendant's bail if the defendant fails to show up. This promise is backed by the bondsman's money and/or assets. Bail bondsmen usually require collateral before posting the bond and charge a non-refundable fee for their services. Bail bondsmen are licensed and regulated by the jurisdiction(s) in which they operate.

Surety Bondsman. A surety bondsman is a bail agent of an insurance company that backs bail bonds. With this added insurance, surety bondsmen are usually authorized to write larger and/or more bonds than other professional bondsmen. In fact, most federal and immigration bonds can only be written by surety bondsmen.

Accommodation Bondsman. This may be a friend, family member or other person who is financing the bond as a personal favor to the defendant. Just as professional bondsmen are responsible for making sure the defendant appears in court, so is the accommodation bondsman. However, unlike a licensed bondsman, it is unlawful for an accommodation bondsman to accept compensation.

To learn more about the types of bail bondsmen, you may wish to speak to a bail attorney.

Bounty Hunters

Bail bondsmen are liable to the court for the full amount of the defendant's bail bond. Therefore, when a defendant disappears (commonly called skipping or jumping bail) many bail bondsmen will hire professional bail enforcement agents, or "bounty hunters," to find the defendant. If the bail enforcement agent is successful, he/she is paid 10 to 20 percent of the total value of bail. The bail bondsmen will pass that cost on to the client. Though state laws vary, bounty hunters generally have greater rights than local police (e.g., can search property and arrest a bail jumper without a warrant). You can speak to a bail attorney to learn more about bounty hunting.

How Does It Work?

A bail bondsman is usually contacted by the defendant or his/her family, friends or attorney. If the bail bondsman accepts the case (see sidebar), he/she will post the bond to get the defendant released from jail. A bail bondsman can put together the funds immediately — the bond may be delivered to the court in a matter of hours.

It is then the bail bondsman's job to do whatever is necessary to make sure the defendant returns to court until the case concludes. To that end, it is common for the bail bondsman to do one or more of the following to limit his/her risk of loss:

  • Find a co-signor (family member, friend or other person with good credit)
  • Obtain collateral (cash, deed or other property) from the defendant or co-signor
  • Monitor the defendant (e.g., with electronic monitoring, periodic check-ins or even by hiring a guard to shadow the defendant)
  • Use a bail enforcement agent or "bounty hunter" (see sidebar) to locate a missing defendant

If the defendant misses a court date, the bail bondsman will arrest the defendant and return him/her to jail to avoid losing the bail money. To learn more about how bail bondsmen operate, speak to a bail attorney.

Bail Bondsman's Fee

A bail bondsman's fee is normally 8 to10 percent of the total value of the bond, but may be as much as 15 to 20 percent for federal and immigration bonds. In addition, bail bondsmen may charge a renewal fee each year that the case continues. The renewal fee is usually the same as the bondsman's initial fee (e.g., another 10 percent each year). The limitations on bail bondsmen's fees vary from state to state so you should check with a local bail attorney to find out the rates in your state.

Bail bondsmen also collect all reasonable and necessary expenses incurred to secure the defendant's appearance in court. You should ask for itemized list(s) of any additional charges as well as receipts. In fact, before engaging a bail bondsman it is a good idea to have an attorney review all of the contracts and stipulations with you to make sure you understand the costs, obligations and risks involved.

Bail Lawyers

A small number of states have banned bail bondsmen. In those states it is illegal for anyone to collect a fee in exchange for posting bail. To learn more about bail bondsmen and the laws in your state, contact a bail attorney.

[Last revision: April 29, 2011]



Did You Know?

In some states, courts allow defendants to post 10 percent of the bail amount instead of the total, eliminating the need for bail bondsmen.