How much of a bond do you have to pay?
If you’re wondering, “How much of a bond do you have to pay?”, then you’ve come to the right place. And hopefully, you might even be a little relieved by the answer.
Let’s break down the answer to the question, “How much of a bond do you have to pay?”
What percentage of bond do you have to pay?
A bail bond is usually around 10% of the total bail amount set by the court. This means that if your bail is set at $10,000, your bond should cost around $1,000.
Read more about bail bond rates and how much they can cost.
While there may be additional fees accompanied with the bond, they should all be disclosed up front.
When should you get a bail bond?
If you have enough money saved up to pay for the total bail amount, then you can pay the total amount to the court instead of working with a bail bond company. Here are a few things to consider if you’re debating this option:
- Do you trust the defendant? If you don’t and the defendant skips court, then you won’t get your bail money returned. In this case, it might be a good idea to work with a bail bond company. You won’t have to put up the full bail amount (only 10%), and you’ll have a bail bond agent who will take actions to return the defendant to court (usually with the help of a bounty hunter).
- Is the total bail amount low? If so, then you may not want to work with a bail bond company. Since your bail amount is returned after the court process is over (and if the defendant shows up to court), then you could potentially save money this way. While you will have to spend money initially, you will eventually get it back.
- Is the total bail amount high? Even if you can afford the total bail amount, odds are your money will be wrapped up for a while. If you can’t afford to have that money unavailable for a long period of time, then you may want to work with a bail bond company.