What is a Surety Bond Bail?

When the money is put up by a bail bond company, this is referred to as a surety bond.

A surety bond bail is backed by a bondsman or an insurance company. When a surety bond is issued, the defendant has to pay a small percentage of their full bond amount; usually, this is around 10%.

There are usually three parties in total that are involved in the issuance of a surety bail bond; the defendant, the arresting agency and the bondsman or company. When a defendant doesn’t show up for their scheduled court date, the surety then becomes the bounty hunter.

A bondsman has the right to revoke their surety bond bail at any time they want. If they believe a defendant will skip their bail, they can revoke their bond and have them returned to the arresting agency at any time.

If they skip bail, the bail bond company will then pay the bond to the agency that arrested the defendant. The bondsman then will attempt to recover the amount of the surety bond bail from the securities placed on the account.

Typically, courts will accept surety bond bail from providers that are licensed by the state. To receive a surety bond, bail the defendant or someone acting on their behalf must pay a small percentage of the bail to the bondsman up front. This is a percentage that is set by the state law and typically ranges from 10-15%. The bondsman then will tell the court that the defendant will show up as agreed or they will pay the full bail. The court will accept the bond, and the defendant is allowed to leave jail.

When a friend or relative is involved in the process as a cosigner of the bail bond, the bail bond company hopes that the defendant then will feel compelled to show up in court, since it’s their friend or relatives collateral on the line.

The process of surety bond bailworks to help ensure the defendant maintains their scheduled court date. Otherwise, not only is the defendant at risk but also the bail bond company that pledged to the court that the defendant would be available. In the event this happens, a bounty hunter may be hired to find the defendant and bring them in.