How Bail Bonds Work

What is a bail bond? Bail bonds are officially known as criminal court surety bonds and they are contractual undertakings. The contract is an agreement between the defendedant and cosigner, the courts, and the bail bond company.

What is the bail bonds process? When a person is arrested for a crime, the jail or magistrate may impose a bail amount that must be paid before the person will be released from jail. The accused can pay the full bail amount themselves to the court or they can pay a bail bond agent ten percent of the amount. The bail bond agent will then pay the jail the full bail amount in the form of a bail bond. The arrested individual is then released from jail until their trial date.

What does a bail agent or bondsman do? The bail agent, such as Smiley Bail Bonds, provides a guarantee to the court that the defendant will appear in court each and every time that they are required to do so by the judge. The individual paying the bail bond (co-signer) signs a contract agreeing to pay the full amount of the bond should the defendant fail to appear in court when summoned.

A note on fugitives:

Smiley Bail Bonds pays rewards to individuals who provide information leading to the capture of people wanted for the forfeiture of a bond.