Arrest calls tend to come with a phone buzzing on the nightstand at 1:45 in the morning. The first thing families want to know is whether anything can be done before morning, or whether their son, husband or sister has to sit there until the courthouse opens.

Usually, something can be done tonight. This page explains what is open overnight in Kern County, where people are actually booked now, what can hold up a night-time release, and exactly what to do if you’re the one making calls at 2 a.m.

Quick facts: bail at night in Kern County

Can you post bail at night?

Yes, once booking is complete and bail is set

Where people are booked

Kern County Inmate Reception Center, Lerdo Justice Facility, 17801 Industrial Farm Road, Bakersfield — 661-391-3100

Sheriff’s jail main line

661-391-7800

Release after bail

The Sheriff’s Office says the release process can take up to 8 hours

Taft arrests

Taft PD jail, 320 Commerce Way — 661-763-3101

We’re available

24 hours a day, every day — Se Habla Español

Can you bail someone out of jail at night?

Yes. California law lets the officer in charge of a jail accept bail in the amount set by the county’s bail schedule or a warrant and order the person released — no judge and no open courthouse required (Penal Code § 1269b). Jails don’t close at 5 p.m., and neither does that authority.

There are two ways to do it. You can post the full bail amount yourself as cash bail, which is refunded after the case ends if every court date is made (subject to the court’s process). Or you can use a bail bond: a licensed agent posts a bond for the full amount and you pay a premium. The premium is most commonly 10% of the bail amount. It isn’t fixed by statute; each surety files its rates with the California Department of Insurance and its agents charge the filed rate, and many file as low as 8% for qualifying cases. Ask what filed rate applies to your case. Unlike cash bail, the premium is the fee for the bond and is not refunded.

At night the bond is usually the realistic choice, since few people can raise the full bail after the banks close. For us, a 3 a.m. bond is ordinary work. For any emergency at any hour, our 24-hour emergency bail bonds page has everything in one place.

What’s open overnight — and where people are booked now

A lot of families still say “Central Receiving” when they mean the county jail. That has changed. According to the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, the old Central Receiving Facility at 1415 Truxtun Avenue is now called Metro Court Holding and no longer houses anyone; it holds people only on court days. Booking and release for new arrests now happen at the Inmate Reception Center at the Lerdo Justice Facility, on the Lerdo complex north of Bakersfield.

The Sheriff’s Office doesn’t publish bail-posting hours on its website. If you plan to post cash bail yourself in the middle of the night, call 661-391-3100 or the jail main line at 661-391-7800 first and ask where and how to pay. If you’re using a bond, we handle the posting.

Arrested in Taft or west Kern?

The Taft Police Department runs its own short-term jail at 320 Commerce Way, and bail can be posted there — cash, money order, certified check, or a bond (no personal checks). Someone arrested by Taft PD may be sitting in Taft, not Bakersfield, and won’t show in the county search yet. Posting before a transfer is usually the faster way home. See our Taft jail guide. Arrests by sheriff’s deputies outside Taft city limits generally go to Bakersfield.

What can slow down a night release

When a night release drags, it’s almost always one of these:

• Booking isn’t finished. Fingerprints, warrant checks, medical screening and property all come before bail can be accepted. Until booking is complete, there may be nothing to post against.
• The charge needs a judge. Kern’s bail schedule sorts charges into categories, and many lower-level charges are handled at the jail without a judge. But certain serious or violent felonies, some domestic-violence and protective-order charges, criminal threats and stalking go to Magistrate Review or wait for arraignment. Those can’t be bailed out on the schedule overnight.
• A hold. A probation or parole hold, or a warrant from another county, can keep someone in custody even after bail is posted on the new charge. We check for holds before you pay.
• A source-of-funds hold (PC 1275.1). If an officer believes bail money came from a crime, a declaration can stop release until a judge rules, and the defendant then has to show the money is clean. A loan is a permitted source. If a magistrate doesn’t act on the declaration within 24 hours, the person can be released once bail is posted.
• A request to raise bail. An officer can ask a judge to set bail above the schedule (PC 1269c). Under Kern’s protocol, once that request reaches the booking officer, the person isn’t released until a magistrate reviews it.
• Volume and shift changes. Busy nights mean more bookings ahead of yours. The Sheriff’s Office says the release process after bail can take up to 8 hours. It varies, and nobody can honestly promise a time.

For how bail amounts are set before anyone sees a judge, read how the Kern County bail schedule works.

It’s 2 a.m. and you just got the call: step by step

1. Get the basics while they’re on the line. Full legal name, date of birth, which agency arrested them (Bakersfield PD, CHP, Sheriff, Taft PD), and the city where it happened. Collect calls from jail are short.
2. Find out where they are. Search the Sheriff’s official database at kernsheriff.org/inmate-search. New arrests can take a few hours to appear. Our Kern County inmate locator guide walks through it, including what an empty result means.
3. Call a bail agent before driving anywhere. We can confirm booking status, the bail amount, and whether the charge is bailable on the schedule or needs a judge. No point driving to Lerdo if they’re still in Taft.
4. Decide whether a bond makes sense. If release without bail is likely, waiting may be smarter. If not, we’ll tell you the bail, the premium and the payment plan before you sign anything.
5. Sign the paperwork and arrange payment. We offer payment plans and easy-to-qualify terms. Call to ask about payment options.
6. We post the bond. Then the jail runs its own release process.
7. Plan the pickup. Lerdo is on Industrial Farm Road north of town. Have someone ready to drive out, and don’t leave until you know they’re actually walking out.

What to have ready

• A government-issued photo ID for whoever is signing (the co-signer)
• The arrested person’s full name, date of birth, and booking number if you have it
• Where they’re held and the charges, if known
• The co-signer’s address, phone and employer — standard for any bond
• A way to pay the premium or the first plan payment

Don’t have all of it? Call anyway. For the full checklist, see what information a bail bondsman needs.

Night vs. weekend

The night rules apply on weekends too, with one extra wrinkle: court timing. Someone who can’t be bailed on the schedule waits for arraignment, which must happen within 48 hours excluding Sundays and holidays. Saturdays count, so a Friday-night arrest often means a Monday or Tuesday court date. Full detail is on our weekend bail page.

Frequently asked questions

Can you bail someone out of jail at night?

Yes. California law lets the jail accept scheduled bail without a judge, and we write bonds at any hour. Once booking is complete and bail is set, a bond can be posted. The Sheriff’s Office doesn’t publish bail-posting hours, so call the jail first to confirm if you plan to post cash bail yourself.

Where are people taken after an arrest in Bakersfield?

To the Kern County Inmate Reception Center at the Lerdo Justice Facility, 17801 Industrial Farm Road. The old Central Receiving Facility downtown is now Metro Court Holding and no longer houses inmates. Taft PD arrests may be held at the Taft city jail first.

How long does it take to get out of jail at night after bail is posted?

It varies. The Kern County Sheriff’s Office says the release process can take up to 8 hours after bail is posted. Busy nights and shift changes can add time.

Why can’t I bail someone out right now?

Usually because booking isn’t finished, there’s a hold such as probation, parole or another county’s warrant, the charge requires a judge before release, or there’s a source-of-funds hold under Penal Code 1275.1.

Do I need a bail bond to get someone out at night?

Not always. Many people are cited and released or released on their own recognizance with no bail. If bail is set, you can post the full amount as cash bail or use a bail bond.

Does a bail bond cost more at night?

The bail amount doesn’t change with the hour, and the premium comes from the surety’s filed rate, not the time of day. The premium is most commonly 10% of the bail amount. It isn’t fixed by statute; each surety files its rates with the California Department of Insurance and its agents charge the filed rate, and many file as low as 8% for qualifying cases. Ask what filed rate applies to your case.

The Taft Community Correctional Facility is the large institution on the east edge of town, and its history explains most of the confusion around it. It opened in the early 1990s holding California state inmates, closed in 2011 during prison realignment, reopened in 2014, and closed again as the state wound down its contract facilities — accounts differ on the exact year.

According to local reporting in 2023, the city then spent roughly a million dollars on renovations — flooring, kitchens, plumbing, HVAC — hired about 50 staff, and reopened under an intergovernmental agreement with the United States Marshals Service, holding detainees for federal authorities rather than people arrested locally. Facility arrangements change, so call to confirm anything current.

That distinction is the whole point of this page.

Facility information

Name

Taft Community Correctional Facility

Address

330 Commerce Way, Taft, CA 93268

Phone

661-765-2840

Fax

661-765-2856

Inmate mail

PO Box 925, Taft, CA 93268

Operated by

City of Taft

Holds

Federal detainees under a U.S. Marshals Service agreement (per 2023 reporting)

Not to be confused with

Taft PD jail, 320 Commerce Way (local arrests) — or the former Taft Correctional Institution, which closed in 2020

Why bail works differently here

This is the part worth understanding before you spend any money.

When someone is arrested on California state charges — a Taft PD arrest, a Sheriff’s arrest, almost everything we handle — bail is set from a county schedule, and a licensed bondsman can post a bond for a premium that is most commonly 10% of the bail amount (sureties file their rates with the California Department of Insurance, and 8% filed rates exist for qualifying cases). That’s the system this whole website is about.

Federal custody is a different system. There is no county bail schedule and no standard 10% commercial bond. Release is decided by a federal magistrate judge at a detention hearing, usually within a few days of the initial appearance, under the federal Bail Reform Act. The judge weighs flight risk and danger to the community and either releases the person on conditions — supervision, travel limits, sometimes a bond secured by property or a family member’s signature — or orders them detained.

We say this as a bail bonds company: on a federal detainer, we are usually not the right people. Where we can help is when someone also has a California state case — a Kern County charge, an out-of-county warrant, an old bench warrant — running alongside the federal matter. That part we handle every day. Call and we’ll tell you honestly which situation you’re in.

Sending mail and money

The facility handles inmate mail through a post office box rather than the street address:

• Mail: PO Box 925, Taft, CA 93268. Include your loved one’s full name as it appears on their booking record. Facilities return mail that doesn’t follow their rules exactly, so call first if you’re unsure about photos, books or enclosures.
• Money: funds are deposited through Access Corrections.
• Commissary: care packages and commissary orders go through Access Securepak.
• Legal visits: attorneys arrange meetings with detainees by email through the facility.

Vendor procedures and fees change, and so do visiting rules. Call 661-765-2840 and confirm before you send money or drive out.

Which facility do you actually need?

If your loved one was picked up by Taft police or a Kern County deputy in the last day or two, you want the city jail. Start with our Taft jail guide or the first 48 hours timeline, and if they’ve already been moved to Bakersfield, the Kern County inmate search walkthrough will find them.

Frequently asked questions

Is this the same as the Taft city jail?

No. The city jail is the Taft Police Department facility at 320 Commerce Way — short-term holding for people arrested locally. The Community Correctional Facility at 330 Commerce Way is a separate, city-operated contract facility housing federal detainees.

Is this the same as Taft Correctional Institution?

No. Taft Correctional Institution was a separate federal prison on Cadet Road, operated under contract by a private company for the Bureau of Prisons; it closed in 2020. The similar names and the same small town make this a common mix-up.

Can you bail someone out of this facility?

Generally not. Federal detainees are released on conditions set by a federal magistrate judge, not by posting a 10% California bail bond. If there’s also a state case or warrant in the mix, that part we can help with.

How do I find out if someone is being held here?

People held for federal authorities won’t appear in the Kern County inmate search. Call the facility at 661-765-2840. If you’re not certain your loved one is there at all, call us and we’ll check the local and county systems.

What are visiting hours?

Be careful here: an old state corrections listing for this address still shows weekend visiting hours, but those date from when the state ran the facility and no longer apply. Rules for federal detainees are set in coordination with the holding agency. Call 661-765-2840 before making the drive.

The hardest part of the first night is not knowing what’s happening. Someone you love was arrested in Taft an hour ago, nobody is telling you much, and the county inmate search is coming back empty. Here is the actual sequence, start to finish, so you know what’s going on and when you can do something about it.

The single most important thing to understand: there is a window. Early on, your person is in Taft, minutes from your house, and bail can be posted locally. Once they are moved to Bakersfield everything takes longer. Most families lose that window simply because nobody told them it existed. How long it lasts is worth a phone call — see below.

The timeline

Why the county inmate search shows nothing

This is the question we get most from Taft families, and the answer is reassuring. Someone sitting in the Taft city jail has not been booked into a county facility, so they generally will not appear in the Kern County inmate database at all. An empty search result usually doesn’t mean something went wrong — it means they’re still in Taft.

Once they’re in the county system you can find them here:

1. kernsheriff.org → “Inmate Search” — the Kern County Sheriff’s official database, and the one to trust.
2. kerninmatesearch.org — an unofficial site some families find easier to navigate; always confirm what you find there against the Sheriff’s database.

What we need from you

You don’t have to drive anywhere, and you don’t have to have everything figured out. One phone call starts it:

1. Their full name and date of birth. Enough for us to find the booking record.
2. Where they were arrested, if you know — in town or out in the county. It tells us which building to call.
3. We pull the record and tell you the charges, the bail amount, and whether there are any holds, before you commit to anything.
4. You sign by phone or online. No trip to Bakersfield.
5. We post the bond at whichever facility they’re in.

Taft arrest at a glance

What bail costs

The premium is most commonly 10% of the bail amount — $1,000 on a $10,000 bail. It is not fixed by statute: each surety files its rates with the California Department of Insurance and its agents charge the filed rate, and many sureties file as low as 8% for qualifying cases. Ask what filed rate applies to yours. We offer payment plans and easy-to-qualify terms, and you’ll know the exact figure before you agree to anything. Run a quick estimate with our free bail bond calculator, or read how to post bail in Kern County.

Frequently asked questions

How long before they’re moved to Bakersfield?

Sources differ — the city’s website says 96 hours, the department’s own manual says 48. Past whichever applies, anyone still in custody is transported to the county jail, where new arrests are booked at the Sheriff’s Inmate Reception Center at the Lerdo Jail Complex. Medical or detox needs can trigger an earlier transfer. Call 661-763-3101 to ask.

Do I need to drive to Bakersfield to post bail?

No. If they’re still at the Taft jail, we post the bond there. And either way you don’t need to be present — paperwork is handled by phone or online.

Can I do anything in the first hour?

Call us. We often can’t post a bond until booking is done and bail is set, but we can confirm where they are, watch for the bail amount, and have the paperwork ready to go the moment it posts. That preparation is usually what saves the window.

What if they were arrested outside Taft city limits?

Then a Sheriff’s deputy made the arrest and they went straight to Bakersfield — the Taft Substation is not a booking facility. This includes Ford City, South Taft and Taft Heights, which are unincorporated. Skip the Taft jail and start with the county inmate search.

What if there’s a hold?

An out-of-county warrant or a probation or parole hold can keep someone in custody even after bail is posted. We check for holds before you pay anything.

Most people in Taft assume an arrest means an immediate trip to Bakersfield. It usually doesn’t — at least not right away. The Taft Police Department operates its own jail, and for the first day or two after an arrest, that’s where your husband, wife, son or daughter is sitting: a few blocks off Kern Street, not an hour up the highway.

That matters more than it sounds. It means you can often post bail in Taft, in person, and drive them home the same night. It also means there’s a clock running. This page explains what the Taft jail is, how bail works there, what the hours are, and what changes the moment someone is transferred to Bakersfield.

Quick facts: the Taft Police Department jail

Facility

Taft Police Department Type I Jail — pre-arraignment holding

Address

320 Commerce Way, Taft, CA 93268

Phone

661-763-3101 — the department’s main line; there is no separate published jail number

Visiting hours

5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., Monday through Sunday

Length of stay

Short-term — see below; then transfer to Bakersfield

Bail accepted

Yes — at the facility

We’re available

24 hours a day, every day — Se Habla Español

What a “Type I” jail actually means

California sorts local lockups into types. Under state regulation (15 CCR §1006), a Type I facility holds people for no more than 96 hours after booking, excluding holidays — a short-term lockup, not a jail where a case is served out. The City of Taft describes its own facility as “a Type I Jail facility for pre-arraignment prisoners.”

How long in practice? Sources disagree, so ask. The city’s website states a maximum of 96 hours. The Taft Police Department’s own jail manual sets a stricter internal limit — “prisoners will not be held over 48 hours” — and directs that anyone remaining past that point be transported to the county’s jail in Bakersfield. The manual names the Central Receiving Facility, which is now a court-holding facility that no longer books anyone; transfers now go to the Sheriff’s Inmate Reception Center at the Lerdo Jail Complex. Either way it is short-term, and either way the answer for your situation comes from a phone call to 661-763-3101, not from a number on a website.

Can you post bail at the Taft jail?

Yes, and this is the single most useful thing to know about the facility. The Taft jail accepts bail on site. Under the department’s procedures, bail may be posted by cash deposit, money order, certified check, or by a bondsman — and personal checks are not accepted. Bail is receipted on a three-part form; cash is deposited with City Hall, while money orders, certified checks and bonds go to the appropriate court.

So if a licensed bondsman posts a bond at 320 Commerce Way inside that window, your loved one is released from Taft — no Bakersfield trip, no county intake, no waiting on the transport schedule. You pick them up in town.

Once the transfer happens, that option closes. Bail then has to be posted at the county facility in Bakersfield, and release runs on county timelines — typically 2 to 6 hours after the bond is posted, sometimes longer on a busy weekend night. Neither path is unusual and we handle both, but the first one gets people home considerably faster.

What bail costs

The premium on a California bail bond is most commonly 10% of the bail amount — $1,000 on a $10,000 bail. That rate isn’t fixed by statute: each surety company files its rates with the California Department of Insurance, and its agents must charge the filed rate. Many sureties have a filed rate as low as 8% for qualifying cases (for example, where the defendant is represented by a private attorney), and California law permits an agent to rebate part of the premium. Ask what filed rate applies to your case.

We offer payment plans and easy-to-qualify terms, and we’ll tell you the exact number before you commit to anything. For a quick estimate, try our free bail bond calculator.

Visiting someone at the Taft jail

The jail manual lists visiting hours as 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday through Sunday. Meals are served in three windows — early morning, midday, and early evening — so visits are scheduled around the last of those.

This is a small facility with a handful of staff, so call 661-763-3101 before you drive over. Hours can shift with staffing, and if your person was transferred to Bakersfield earlier in the day, you’ll want to know that before you’re standing at the counter.

What happens if they’re transferred

If they stay in custody, your loved one is driven northeast to the Sheriff’s Inmate Reception Center at the Lerdo Jail Complex, 17801 Industrial Farm Road in Bakersfield — north of the city. (Older guides, including the Taft jail manual, name the Central Receiving Facility downtown; it is now the Metro Court Holding Facility and no longer books or houses anyone.) The Reception Center is the county’s intake point. From there, most people who aren’t released quickly move on to the Lerdo Pre-Trial Facility north of town.

Once someone is in the county system, you can track them through the Kern County inmate search:

1. kernsheriff.org → “Inmate Search” — the Kern County Sheriff’s official database, and the one to trust.
2. kerninmatesearch.org — an unofficial site some families find easier to navigate; always confirm what you find there against the Sheriff’s database.

Taft jail vs. the county facilities

Other Taft-area facilities and agencies

A few nearby places get confused with the city jail, so it’s worth separating them:

• Taft Community Correctional Facility — 330 Commerce Way, 661-765-2840. Right next door, but a different kind of facility with a different population. Not where someone goes straight after an arrest.
• Kern County Sheriff’s Office — Taft Substation — 601 Gardner Field Road, 661-763-8550. This is the patrol base covering the west Kern communities outside Taft city limits: the city of Maricopa, plus Fellows, McKittrick, Derby Acres, Dustin Acres and Valley Acres. It is a patrol base, not a booking facility, so deputies transport arrestees to Bakersfield. If a deputy made the arrest outside Taft city limits, your person went to Bakersfield, not to Commerce Way.

Which court will handle the case?

The Taft courthouse on Lincoln Street operates on a limited schedule and does not hear the full range of cases, so where a Taft case is heard depends on the case. Don’t guess — the release or court paperwork names the courthouse, department, date and time.

If the paperwork isn’t clear, call the Kern County Superior Court to confirm which location has the case, or call us at 661-324-6009 — we track court dates for our clients and can look it up. Missing a first appearance because you drove to the wrong courthouse is a genuinely avoidable problem. See also our Kern County courthouse locations page.

Frequently asked questions

Does Taft have its own jail?

Yes. The Taft Police Department operates a Type I jail at 320 Commerce Way. It’s a short-term holding facility, not a county jail, and people are moved to Bakersfield if they stay in custody. Sources differ on the exact limit — the city says 96 hours, the department’s own manual says 48 — so call 661-763-3101 to ask.

Can I bail someone out directly from the Taft jail?

Yes. The facility accepts cash, money orders, certified checks and bail bonds — not personal checks. Posting before the transfer to Bakersfield is the fastest way home.

Why can’t I find my loved one in the Kern County inmate search?

If they were arrested in Taft city limits within the last day or so, they may still be at the Taft PD jail and not yet booked into a county facility, so they won’t show in the county database. Call the Taft jail at 661-763-3101 to confirm.

How long does release take?

From the Taft jail, release after a bond is posted is usually quick — it’s a small facility. From the county jail at Lerdo, the Sheriff says release can take up to 8 hours after bail is posted.

What if there’s a hold?

An out-of-county warrant or a probation or parole hold can keep someone in custody even after bail is posted. We check for holds before you pay anything.

Are you available in the middle of the night?

Yes. We’re open 24 hours a day, every day, including holidays, and the Taft jail accepts bail on site; call 661-763-3101 first to confirm when it can be posted.