You have decided to contact a bail bond company to assist you in the release of your friend or loved. This was due to the bail amount being too high or other reasons explained below in the “Cash Bail vs. Jail Bonds” section of this article. The bail bond company has agreed to help you, but in return, you have qualified for the jail bonds by an application process which consists of an application, bail bond agreement, and payment of premium for the bail bonds service, usually 10% of the total bond amount.

You are guaranteeing the total amount of bail posted and the arrestee’s (defendant’s) appearance in court. Thus, you may be required to secure the bail bond with collateral, like a home or other assets. Of course, this all depends on the arrestee’s criminal history, seriousness of charges, and bail amount. You will enter into a bail bond agreement, agreeing to pay the total amount of bail to the bail bond company if the jail bond is forfeited by the court. Forfeited means, the defendant failed to appear in court as required by the law. Remember, the jail bond (bail bond) is a promise to appear, also known as an appearance bond. To resolve a forfeiture, one of several things must occur. The defendant needs to go back to court voluntarily or involuntarily within a prescribed time frame. For example, in California, the defendant has 186 days to appear in court after the forfeiture of the bond. Failure to do so will require immediate payment of the total bail amount by the co-signer.  This money will go to the county where the defendant’s case was filed and is lost! This does not excuse the defendant from the responsibility of the case, and warrant will be issued for their arrest.