Who Is A Bail Bond Agent

A bail bond agent is defined as an individual that works for a commercial organization that supplies bonds to individuals that can not afford to pay for them on their own. For a fee, the agent will cover the bond amount. The individual is released from jail or holding on bail and is required to be present at any and all court appearances in their court case or trial. A bail bond agent is simply an individual that provides them with the ability to do so.

In most states, these agents for bail bonds can be used to obtain the bonds. The process is simple. Once the judge holds the arraignment for the case, the individual will be provided with the amount of bail that is needed to be released. This amount is determined by several circumstances including the seriousness of the crime, the laws of the state in which they are as well as the likelihood that the individual will flee. Once this bail amount is determined, the individual will be able to seek out funding.

In a standard case, an individual would post bail by himself or would have a family member or friend do so. But, when the funds are simply not available to do this, the funding must be obtained in a different manner or the individual will remain in jail throughout the time until their case is heard and determined. For individuals that wish to go free, a commercial bail bondsman can be called. For a fee of about ten percent of the amount of the bail set by the judge, the bond agent will cover the total cost of the bond. The individual is released on this bond.

The agent does have to cover the bond amount should the individual not be present at his court appearances, though. For this, the agent also has the right to track down and turn the individual in as well as attempt to collect collateral from them in order to pay for the loss of funds and fees. In the states of Illinois, Kentucky, Wisconsin and Oregon, this is not an option as it is a non commercial bail bond state.