Bail:
money given as an assurance that a person released from custody will return to court at the appointed time. Bail is some form of capital which is deposited or pledged to a court in order to convince it to release an accused from a jail facility, on the understanding that the accused will return for trial or forfeit the bail, skipping bail is illegal and will result in further penalties.
Bail Bondsman:
the person who agrees to be responsible if the person bailed out of jail does not return at the appointed time.
Bond:
a formal document that gives bail for someone to be released from custody.
How Bail Works:
Bail Bond Agencies enable you to have a friend/relative freed from jail without requiring you to personally post the entire bond amount. A Bail Bond Agency will typically collect a specific percentage of the total bail amount (as prescribed by law) from you and guarantees the Court that the defendant will appear to all hearings as required.
Bail bond agencies typically collect 10% of the bail amount from you as a "Premium." To have a friend/relative freed from jail, you pay this amount or arrange financing with us. (At BailAnytime we accept cash, credit cards, personal checks and also provide quick financing.)
Once we receive the payment, we can arrange to have your friend/relative freed from jail.
Essentially, the Bail bond process works as follows:
- You contact us at Our 24 Hour TOLL FREE number 1-800-304-BAIL
- Your BailAnytime Bail Bond Agent will ask you for specific information about your friend/relative who is detained, including the following:
- What is the person’s full legal name?
- What is the person's date of birth?
- What county, city and state is the person being held in?
- What is the booking number?
- What is the charge?
- How much is the bail amount?
- (Your Agent may also require some basic information about the accused his or her personal history, including where they work/school, previous arrests, and residency information.)
- You provide BailAnytime with a percentage of the total bail amount (typically only 10%) or arrange financing and BailAnytime Bonding will cover the additional 90% of the bail amount. (We accept cash, credit cards, and checks and can also provide quick & easy financing with 3 or 6 month payment plans.)
- We will contact the jail facility and determine exact bail information and arrange to have your friend/relative released.
- Your BailAnytime Agent will contact you as soon as arrangements have been completed. Please have patience. Many detention facilities (especially those in large metropolitan areas) are very slow in processing and often have their telephone lines overloaded with calls.
What is collateral? What are acceptable forms of collateral? And, is it always required?
Collateral is some property that the defendant, or defendant's representative, gives to the bail bond agent's legal control. This collateral is a way of ensuring that the defendant will complete their obligation to the court (that is, showing up to all required court proceedings). In case the defendant doesn't show up for a court proceeding, the bail bond agent may sell the collateral to cover the amount the bail bond agent paid to post the defendant's bail.
Acceptable forms of collateral tend to fall into four basic categories: cash, cars, real estate, and credit. This isn't an exhaustive list; please contact us for more information.
Sometimes, collateral is not required. Your signature may be the only guarantee necessary, especially if you own a home. However, not needing collateral depends on the size of the bond, the type of charge(s) and other factors such as if you have a good job and have good credit.
What happens if a defendant does not post bail (or get a bail bond)?
If bail is not posted, then the defendant is required to stay in jail until the trial is over. This also means that the defendant cannot return to work, and possibly cannot be as involved in preparing their defense for their upcoming trial.
What are the advantages of hiring a bail bond agent versus the defendant posting bail themselves?
Money immediately required to post bail is less with a bail bond agent. If the defendant were to post bail without a bail bond agent, then the defendant would be required to pay 100% of the bail. With a bail bond agent, the money required immediately is 10-15% of the total bail amount. The rest of the bail would be secured by the defendant's collateral.
There's more privacy in working with a bail bond agent.
Instead of the defendant providing personal information to various individuals in trying to get money transferred, the defendant (or representative) Bail bond agents save time since they already are familiar with the process. Because bail bond agents have filled out the required paperwork many times, they can help ensure all parts of the bail process are completed accurately in a timely fashion.