17 Jan Make Sure You Understand How Bail Bonds Work in California

We understand how this can be a stressful and confusing situation. Let us reduce your stress as our professional and fully licensed bail bondsmen walk you through the bail bond process, answering all your questions.

Contrary to popular belief, understanding the bail bond process is quite simple. Of course, there is going to be its share of legal print, but overall, it’s very understandable. We’ll go over the basics right now for you.

Question: What is a bail bond for?
Answer: A bail bond is a written promise that the defendant will pay a fixed amount of money for his or her release from jail. The fixed amount will be 10% of the full bail amount.

Question: Does the full fixed amount need to be paid upfront before the defendant can be released?
Answer: No. The bail bond company will calculate a workable payment plan; the defendant will be released from jail and following that, payments on the bail bond will continue to be made.

Question: What are the contingencies?
Answer: The defendant is required to show up for all court dates. If the court has additional mandates, like attending counseling, staying away from someone, or someplace, and not leaving the state, for example, the defendant will need to abide by these as well.

Question: What if they don’t?
Answer: The bail bond will be revoked, and the defendant will be taken back into custody. In addition, the full bail amount may need to be paid off.

Question: Is the money refundable at the end of the trial, if my loved one obeyed all his or her orders?
Answer: No. Think of the fixed price for the bail bond as a fee for the bail bond services. But, most people use bail bonds to bail out of jail because, in the long-term view, it is more affordable for them.