When a person gets arrested and booked for a serious crime, they must wait in jail until a bail hearing. At the bail hearing, the judge will set the bail amount. If the person cannot afford bail, they must wait in jail until their court date. But there’s a better option, hire a bail agent.

When contacting a bail agent, have as much information as possible, including the full name of the person in jail, what jail they are in, their booking number and the charges. Most bail agents are on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and will likely answer the phone regardless of the time of day. If you are near the jail, the bail agent will usually meet you there to post the bond. But in some cases, they may be willing to come to your home. If you are not in the same city as the defendant, all paper work and payments can be handled electronically or over the phone.

The bail agent will typically charge between 10% and 15% of the total bail amount. This can be higher or lower depending on the circumstances and the location of the arrest. For example, if you have a $5,000 bond and the bail agent charges you a 15% premium, you will pay a $750 fee to the bail agent. You will not get this money back.

The bail agent may also ask you to sign over a collateral. Collateral is property like a house, car, art or jewelry that helps guarantee that the defendant will show up in court. The bail agent will post the bond once the premium has been paid and any collateral has been signed over. Then the defendant will be released from jail. The process of bailing someone out can take a short time or several hours depending on how crowded the jail is. After the person has been released, they must show up for all court proceedings and meet any conditions set by the bail agent.

If the defendant fails to appear in court, the bail agent will be required to pay the full bail amount, which in our example will be $5,000. When this happens, or when the defendant violates the bail conditions, the bail agent will locate the defendant and take them back to jail. Keep in mind that if the defendant does not make their court date, you could lose any collateral that was signed over with the bond. But as long as the defendant complies with the terms set by the bail agent and shows up for all court dates, you shouldn’t have anything to worry about. Regardless of whether the defendant is found innocent or guilty, the bond is exonerated or completed once the trial is over.