Bail bonds
How the whole thing works
From the first phone call to the moment someone walks out. Written for people who have never done this before, because most of the people who call us have not.
Call (800) 299-9981Any hour. Hablamos español.
Why are there three separate custody systems?
A county jail, the federal system, and immigration all hold people, and they keep separate records. Someone can be arrested by local police in the morning, held on a federal warrant that afternoon, and handed to immigration a day later. At each handoff the previous system stops listing them and the next one has not started.
Families end up calling one number at a time and losing days to it. We check all three at once, because we know where the gaps are. The money question only makes sense once the person has been found.
Four steps
The first two cost you nothing.
-
You give us a name Full legal name and a date of birth is usually enough. Country of birth matters if immigration is involved. If you only have part of it, call anyway.
-
We find them, and tell you which system they are in County, federal, or immigration. This determines everything that follows, including who you actually need. No charge for this.
-
We put the bond in writing What kind of bond, the exact cost, what collateral is required, what happens if a court date is missed, and what we cannot do. You read it before you owe anything.
-
We post it After that, release timing belongs to the facility, the court, or ICE. We will tell you what we are seeing and what to expect. We will not give you a guaranteed time, and you should not trust anyone who does.
Three kinds of bond
You do not need to know which one applies before you call. That is step two.
Immigration bonds
ICE custody. Whether a bond exists at all is decided by ICE, DHS, or an immigration judge, not by us.
How it works →Federal bonds
United States District Court. A judge decides release at a detention hearing, and money is only part of it.
How it works →Criminal bonds
State and county cases. The court sets bail, and most states cap what an agent may charge for the bond.
How it works →What happens after I call, hour by hour?
Two cases shaped like the ones we take most often. Every case runs differently and none of these timings are promises. They are here so you know what normal looks like.
Someone is picked up by immigration in Las Vegas
-
Tuesday, early morning
He is stopped outside his apartment on the way to work. No local arrest, no charges filed, nothing that will ever appear in a county system. His wife knows only that he never reached the job site.
-
Tuesday, midday
She calls the Clark County Detention Center. Not there. Henderson, not there. North Las Vegas, not there. This is where most families lose two days, because all three answers are correct and all three are useless. He was never in the county system to begin with.
-
Tuesday, evening
He does not appear in the ICE detainee locator either. That is normal and it does not mean something has gone wrong. The record has to be created and propagated before the public system returns him.
-
Wednesday
He surfaces in the ICE Online Detainee Locator, held at the Nevada Southern Detention Center in Pahrump, about 60 miles from Las Vegas. If the Pahrump beds are full, this is instead the day we find him in California, Arizona, or Utah.
-
Next
Whether a bond exists at all is decided by ICE, or by an immigration judge if the case is in front of one. If a bond is set, we can post it. If no bond is set, the right next call is a licensed immigration attorney rather than a bond company, and we will tell you that.
-
Once the bond is accepted
The bond goes through ICE's electronic system, ICE processes it, and the facility coordinates the release. How long that takes depends on the facility, the hour the bond landed, and transport. Some releases happen the same day. We will tell you what we are seeing, but nobody can give you a time.
Someone is arrested in Los Angeles County on a Friday night
-
Friday, late
Arrested locally, held at the station, then transported. Most people arrested in the county pass through the Inmate Reception Center on Bauchet Street in downtown Los Angeles before being assigned onward to Men's Central Jail, Twin Towers, or another facility.
-
Overnight
Booking: fingerprints, photographs, and a property inventory of everything in his pockets. He will not appear in the public search during this window. Again, absence is not information.
-
Saturday morning
He appears in the LASD Inmate Information Center with a bail amount attached, taken from the county bail schedule rather than set by a judge who has looked at the case.
-
The decision most families are never told about
You can post the schedule amount now, or wait for arraignment, where a judge can lower it or release him without money at all. A Friday night arrest usually means arraignment does not happen until Monday. Sometimes waiting saves thousands of dollars. Sometimes it means two more nights in custody for nothing. Which one it is depends on the charge and the history, and we will tell you what we think before you spend anything.
-
After the bond is posted
The jail processes the release on its own schedule. It is hours, not minutes, and releases out of the Reception Center frequently happen in the middle of the night. Arrange the ride before you need it.
Common questions
No. The lookup is free. If anyone asks you to pay just to find out where someone is being held, that is a warning sign.
Usually several hours after booking, sometimes more than a day, and in federal cases often much longer. Not finding them immediately does not mean anything has gone wrong.
No. We find people in custody and we arrange bonds. We do not give legal advice and we do not represent anyone in court. When a case needs a lawyer we connect you with licensed attorneys, and we will tell you plainly when we think you need one.
Then there is nothing for us to post, and we will tell you so rather than take a deposit. That situation is a legal question, and the right next step is a licensed attorney. We can connect you with one.
Yes. Most of the paperwork is handled remotely, and a good part of our work is for families who are nowhere near the facility. Call and we will tell you what has to happen in person, if anything.
Fair question, and this industry has earned it. Two rules will protect you from most of it: never pay by Cash App, Zelle, Venmo, gift card, or wire transfer, and never send money before you have the cost in writing. We will never ask you for either.