When a person is arrested for a crime, he or she is held in jail until: 1. Their court date or 2. They are released on bail. Bail is the amount of money the judge determines must be paid to be released. When you can’t afford to pay bail, a bail bond (AKA surety bond) is an insurance contract through a licensed bail bonds company that guarantees the court full payment of the bond is the defendant fails to appear in court.
It depends on the severity of the crime. Lesser offenses, like misdemeanors, have set fees or “bail schedules,” where you can post bond right after being processed. More serious offenses require an appearance before a judge to set bail, which may take up to three days.
After an arrest, the judge sets a bail amount that must be paid prior to the defendant’s release from jail. If the defendant doesn’t have enough money to pay the full amount, whether from personal savings, friends or family, a bail bond company can be hired to post bond.
No one wants to sit in jail. Hiring a bond agent enables the defendant to get out of jail with a lot less money. In Ohio, a bond company only charges a 10% fee and may be able to set up flexible payment plan vs. having to pay the full amount directly to the court.
If the bond amount is very high or the alleged crime is very serious, you may need to provide some form of collateral in addition to paying the 10% premium.
Collateral could be cash, property, a car or any other asset. The purpose of collateral is to help guarantee the defendant appears in court.
The premium must be paid to the bondsman first, then we will post bond and the defendant will be released from jail.
When you call a bail agent you’ll need to know the defendant’s full name and date of birth, the location of the jail, the booking number and charges, and the bond amount.
Bail agents are available 24/7, so our response time is quick. Even though we can post bail fast, it really depends on how crowded the jail is at the time the defendant is waiting to be released.
Technically it is a loan, but think of it as more of an insurance policy. We do not pay a portion of the bail money, rather we take liability of the full bond amount insuring the court that if the defendant does not appear in court we can pay the full amount of the bond. Our fee for doing so is 10% of the bond amount.
A bail bondsman in Ohio charges a 10% premium of the full bond amount. For example, a $10,000 bond will cost a $1,000 premium.
