You will get your bail money back if you paid cash bail and made all your required court appearances. You will not get your bail money back if you paid cash bail and missed a court date. You also will not get any money back if you posted bail by means of a bail bond.
In the criminal court system, bail is money that must be posted with the court in order for an inmate to be released from jail. The purpose of bail is to help ensure that you show up for future court appearances.
People may have to pay bail in either misdemeanor or felony cases. Your specific bail amount will vary depending on the crime involved. In general, the more severe the crime, the larger the full bail amount.
1. Will I get my bail money back with cash bail?
It depends on whether or not you make all of your court appearances.
In order to be released from custody on cash bail, you must pay bail in full to the court or the agency that arrested you. Depending on the policies of the particular court, you may pay your bail via:
- cash,
- traveler’s check,
- money order,
- personal check, or
- bank cashier’s check.
If you attend all of your court appearances, you will generally receive a full refund following the resolution of your case. If you fail to appear for a court date, you forfeit your money to the court.1
2. What about money used to secure a bail bond?
You generally will not get this money back, even if you make all of your court appearances.
Since most people do not have the means to post cash bail, bail bonds are more frequently used. Bail bonds are sometimes referred to as “surety bonds.”
With a bail bond, a bail bondsmen (also called a bail bond agent) or bail bond company acts as a surety and posts your bail for you in exchange for a non-refundable bond premium. The premium is a percentage of your total bail amount.2
So, if a state sets maximum bail premiums at 10%, and your total bail amount is $50,000, you will pay the bondsman $5,000. The bond company then pays the remaining $45,000 to the court on your behalf.
Again, your bond premium is non-refundable. This means there is no bail refund or return of your premium, even if you make all of your court appearances.
Note that many bondsmen may also require collateral with surety bail arrangements. “Collateral” is something of value that you offer the agent to assure you will not leave town or avoid the court. If you do, the agent has the right to keep or sell your collateral.
3. Is bail money returned with a property bond?
In general, no. A property bond means you allow the court to place a lien on your property as a condition of your release from jail.
If you fail to appear in court as instructed, the court is authorized to institute foreclosure proceedings against you and seize your home.
If you make all of your court dates, the court lifts the lien and you keep your property.
Since you never make a monetary payment when posting bail with a property bond, there is technically no bail bond money to return.
4. What is an “O.R. release”?
The criminal laws of most states say that an O.R. release is a pretrial release from jail in a criminal case based on a person’s written promise to appear for future court appearances.3
With an O.R. release, you are released from custody without the need of posting bail or securing a bail bond.4
Sometimes a judge may automatically grant O.R. release in minor misdemeanor cases (for example, in simple DUI cases) where the defendant is not a flight risk or risk to public safety.
But if a judge does set a bail amount, you or your criminal defense lawyer can ask for O.R. release at your arraignment or during a bail hearing.
O.R. release is sometimes referred to as “R.O.R.” or “own recognizance release.”
Legal References:
- Black’s Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition: “Bail.”
- See, for example, Accredited Security & Cas. Co., Inc. v. State, for Use and Benefit of Hillsborough County, 383 So. 2d 308 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1980).
- Black’s Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition – “Release on own recognizance.”
- See same.
