If you’ve been charged with a crime, the court will take you into custody while awaiting trial—this means you will be sent to jail or a holding cell. If you want to be released from custody, you can make use of your state’s bail bond system. This is basically an arrangement that allows you to post bail as a promise to the court that you will return once your trial starts.

Here’s a simple step-by-step guide on how a bail process works:

• Court Sets a Bail Amount

Bail refers to insurance money or property deposited to the court in exchange for temporary release. If the defendant breaks their promise to return to court, the bail will be forfeited. Many states have preset bail amounts and conditions. Typically, a bail should be high enough to discourage the defendant from simply forfeiting.

The court and defendant can enter one of these main bond types:

• Cash bond. The defendant is required by the judge to deposit the full bail amount up front. It can only be refunded once the trial ends without issue. If the defendant incurs fines as part of their verdict, the court has the right to deduct the cost before refunding the bail money.
• Percentage bond. The defendant is required to pay only a percentage of the bail amount, usually set at 10%. The remainder of the full amount shall only be paid if the defendant fails to show up in court.
• Property bond. In lieu of cash, the defendant can pledge assets that meet the bail amount set by the court. Non-attendance to the trial can result to seizure or foreclosure.

In some cases, the court can prohibit the defendant from being released on bail. This usually happens if the defendant is a flight risk, or someone who has a tendency to flee and abandon their court duties. Someone is likely to be considered as a flight risk if they are unemployed, have no known family or community connections, have a previous criminal record, or have a history of skipping trial.

• Defendant or Surety Posts Bail

A surety is someone who pays the bail amount on behalf of the defendant. It can be a family member, a friend, or a professional bond agent. Most defendants hire bail bonds services such as bailbondsbros.com to take care of the procedure. They offer 24-hour assistance from lawyers and experts for a non-refundable fee, which usually amounts to 10% of the bail.

The defendant or surety can post bail in court or at the jail where the defendant is held. Once a receipt has been issued, the defendant is released immediately.

• Defendant Attends Court Trial

If the defendant fails to show up at the scheduled trial date, the court will issue a warrant of arrest and schedule a forfeiture hearing. The court has the right to keep the full bail amount unless the defendant can provide a valid reason at the hearing. If a bond agent posted the bail, they can hire bounty hunters to apprehend the defendant in order to recover their losses.