Questions About Posting Bail?

The bail bond premium is the cost to post a bail bond, which in many states is restricted by law to 10% of the bond amount. Paying for the bail bond premium is usually paid by cash, check, PayPal or credit card. Contact A-Affordable Bail Bonds to learn more.

The terms bail and bond are often used interchangeably. Though they’re related, they’re not the same thing. It’s essential to understand the difference, especially if you need to help someone get out of jail.

• Bail: This is the amount needed to release someone who’s been arrested from jail. The bail amount is determined by a judge based on several factors, such as the severity of the defendant’s crime, their flight risk, and criminal history. This can be provided by a spouse, friend, relative, or bail bond agent. Some defendants may be denied bail.
• Bond: When bail is posted by a bail bond agent it’s called a bond. Allowing defendants the opportunity to leave jail before their trial on bond helps ensure that they will abide by the conditions of their release and appear for all their court dates.

As a cosigner, you are responsible for ensuring that the defendant attends all court dates relating to the case. If the defendant misses a court date, you will be expected to help the bondsman find the defendant and get them back into court right away. If the bondsman has to search for or arrest the defendant in order to get him or her back into court, the cosigner must pay the bondsman’s expenses for finding the defendant. If the cosigner and bondsman are unable to find the defendant and return him or her to the court within a set amount of time, the cosigner must pay the full amount of the bond in addition to any costs associated with searching for the defendant, as noted above.

Before signing any contracts or promissory notes, make sure you read through them carefully and be sure that you understand them. Ask the bail agent or company, like A-Affordable Bail Bonds, if you have any questions prior to signing these types of documents. Always get copies of all documents you sign at the time you sign them. In the state of Washington, all bail bond companies are required by state law to supply copies of these documents to the defendant and all cosigners on a bond.

A surety bond will cost you a 10 percent of the bond amount, an agent’s fee, and a sheriff’s fee. You will not get any of these fees back because they are nonrefundable regardless of the guilt or innocence of the defendant and are fully earned upon the posting of the bond.

Call A-Affordable Bail Bonds toll free at (866) 695-8950 and we would be happy to assist you with the bonding process. We post bonds in every county throughout the state of Washington, whether we have a physical office location there or not, as many of our independent bail agents work from home and travel in order to serve clients in nearby areas. Typically, there is a short process to clearing an individual as a cosigner, followed by dispatching an agent to post the bond at the jail and fill out some paperwork with the defendant and cosigner. With advances in technology, we are also able to complete bonds via phone, fax, or email in many cases and we would be happy to discuss those options with you.

If you don’t have the cash to cover the full bond amount and sheriff’s fee, you may wish to hire a bondsman to bond yourself or someone else out of jail. A surety bail bond through a bail bond company like A-Affordable Bail Bonds typically costs 10 percent of the total bond amount, plus any additional fees. This can vary company to company, however. A-Affordable Bail Bonds is also authorized to provide a discounted rate of eight percent for active military, union members, and clients who have hired a private attorney to represent them. Also, as mentioned above, sometimes the court keeps a cash bond in part or in full to cover a defendant’s court fines and fees. If you are bonding someone out of jail and you don’t want to take the chance that all or part of your cash will be used to pay the defendant’s court fines, fees and restitution, you might want to hire a bail bondsman.

A surety bond is an agreement made between a person and a bondsman. The bondsman agrees to post the necessary bond so the defendant can be released from jail. This agreement is backed by an insurance company contract signed by the person and the bondsman on behalf of the insurance company. There has to be enough cash or collateral to cover the full amount of the bond in case the defendant misses his or her court date. Only a person who has been licensed by the Washington Department of Insurance may post a surety bond.