If you, or someone you know, are ever arrested, there is the possibility that you will be given the option to pay bail. A bail payment allows you to leave jail and return home until your court date. When you pay bail, you are assuring the court that you will appear for your trial and any subsequent appearances that may be scheduled. If you show up for all of your court dates, you will usually receive a refund on your bail money. However, it isn’t unusual that a person cannot afford to pay for bail on their own, as it tends to be designed this way by the system. Often, the bail will be low enough to make getting help to pay it worth it so you don’t have to stay in jail, though that help may not be able to come from friends or family members as they may not have enough money either. In these cases, bail bonds are available.
Bail bonds come through bonding agencies, which are those that put up your bail money for you. However, you must be able to provide about 10% of your bail cost yourself, which the bail bonds agency takes as its fee for posting your bail. You may also need a cosigner and/or collateral in some cases. The bail bonds agency then pays your bail and will be reimbursed by the courts once you have shown up for all of your court dates. The 10% fee that you paid to the bail bonds agency will not be returned to you, as that was your payment to them for fronting the money for you to get out of jail.
Bail amounts are generally set based on the seriousness of the crime you are accused with. A very serious charge may involve tens of thousands worth of bail money or more, whereas a minor charge may only be only a couple thousand. Fees on bail bonds over a certain amount may be a slightly lower percentage. In most parts of the country, bail bonds are available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, so even if you’re arrested in the middle of the night on a Sunday, you should be able to obtain a bail bond.
The benefits of bail bonds, besides being allowed to leave jail, include freeing up space and resources in jails and allowing you to possibly continue to work and have an income while you are waiting for your trial. And of course, it will allow you time to prepare for your trial and work with your lawyer. So if you find yourself in the position of having been arrested, but cannot afford the bail amount, remember that there are bail bonds in Oklahoma available for you as assistance.
