April 19, 2021 08:20 PM UTC

What Is a Bail Bondsman?

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• by: Phoner

Perhaps you’ve heard of bounty hunters on TV or in movies, but do you actually know what a bail bondsman is? There’s a reason they go after certain individuals who have skipped bail. To get a better understanding of how bail bondsmen work, it’s easiest to break down the bail system.

What Bails Are For

Bails are an amount of money set by a judge for the release of a person accused of a crime. To get out of jail, they must pay the bail, which acts as insurance for them to return for their court hearing. If they skip the court date, they do not get their bail back. Upon arriving at court, they have kept their end of the bail deal and their money is returned.

How Bail Bondsmen Work

People frequently can’t afford to pay the bail to be released from jail. When this happens, they can turn to a bail bondsman to pay the bail for them. This doesn’t come without a price, as the bondsman will need a guarantee that the people they release will turn up for court. A certain percentage must be paid in cash to the bondsmen, who then pays the entire bail. The bondsman gets collateral, such as property and possessions, from the person they get released. You can locate a bondsman with a simple search for Lancaster County bail bonds or the county that you are in.

How Bondsmen Collect

A bondsman gets paid with the percent they take up front. When the individual returns to court, the money is returned to the bondsman, and they keep the amount paid directly by the individual as their fee. If the person does not come to court, the bondsman uses the fee and any collateral to pay the courts. By showing up to court, you can avoid paying the largest amount.