While you’re awaiting trial, a judge may determine that you are eligible for bail. If so, the judge will require you to post bail in order to be released from jail, to ensure that you will show up in court on the required dates and times throughout the legal process. But, what happens to bail or bail bond money if charges are dropped or a case is resolved in some other way than an acquittal?
What Happens to Bail Money If Charges are Dropped?
You probably correctly assume that if you go to court and are acquitted of the charges against you, you will receive a refund of the bail you paid to the court. But, there are various other possibilities. Your charges might be dropped. What if you take a plea bargain? Or, what if your case goes to trial and you are found innocent? What if you’re found guilty?
What happens to bail money if you paid directly to the court?
If you paid bail to the court and then the charges against you are dropped, you will, of course, receive a full refund of your bail money. However, you shouldn’t count on receiving your money back immediately. It can sometimes take as long as six weeks or even longer for a refund of bail money to be processed through the bureaucracy of the court system. If there are any unexpected obstacles, you may have no choice but to reapply for the refund and continue waiting even longer.
What happens to the bail money if you used a bail bond agent?
Many defendants do not have access to enough cash to pay bail set at a very high amount. So, a bail bond agent can pay the bail or post a bond with the court on your behalf for a fee. The maximum fee allowed by state law is 20% in Utah. For example, if the judge sets your bail for $2,000, a bond agency can cover that amount with the court for you so you can be released from jail. Let’s say the bond company fee is just 10%. You pay the bond company $200 for putting up the bail for you with the court and for their work to have you released from jail.
Paying a bail bond agency to provide bail for you prevents you from staying in jail until the end of the legal process or paying the bail money to the court yourself. Being out of jail enables you to live at home and better prepare for your trial — without having a huge amount of money tied up in court during the process.
Then, at some point, the legal process will be completed in your case — whether your charges were dropped, you pleaded guilty, or your case went to trial and you were either found guilty or innocent. Whichever one of the above outcomes occurs, the court will return the $2,000 to the bail bond agency that the agency gave the court on your behalf to get you out of jail. The bond agency keeps the 10% fee you paid for their work and risk in providing a bail bond for you to be released from jail.
Do you get bail bond money back if charges are dropped?
Any actual bail money (vs. just a bond certificate) provided to the court on your behalf by the bond agent will be refunded directly to the bond company. You will not receive a refund of the fee you paid to the bond company. That fee was for the work they did in providing the bond for you so that you could be released from jail during the legal process instead of staying in jail while awaiting the outcome.
What happens to bail money if found not guilty?
Do you get bail money back if not guilty? Yes, if you pay bail and are found not guilty, your bail paid to the court will be returned to you. In fact, as discussed above, whether you are found guilty or innocent of the charges against you, you will receive a full refund of the bail you paid directly to the court, minus any court costs, associated fees, or other costs that may be deducted by the court.
How long does it take to get your bond money back?
As explained above, sometimes it can take as long as 6 weeks or longer to receive the refund of your bail money back from the court after the conclusion of the legal process in your case.
Also, Good To Know About Your Bail
Judges typically set bail at amounts higher than they believe the defendant can easily afford to lose to help make sure defendants will not fail to appear. So, a bail bond agent can become your most important resource while you’re waiting in jail to make bail. Remember that the fee you pay is simply to compensate the bail bond company for the work of processing and posting the bail bond for you so you can be released from jail as quickly as possible.
Get Out of Jail as Quickly as Possible – Bad Boys Bail Bonds
The fee for Bad Boys Bail Bonds is just 10%. We’re not in this business to try to make a fortune providing bail bonds. We’ve been here in this kind of service business for over 30 years because we enjoy helping people and we’re good at meeting this particular type of need for people in jail in Utah. We’re here for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year!
Pay only a 10% fee. No collateral required. No hidden fees.
For more information or to get a bail bond, call Bad Boys Bail Bonds at (801) 566-1108 anytime 24/7, or use our online bail bond request form.
- Information to Have Handy When You Call a Bail Bond Agent in Utah - July 18, 2022
- What Happens to Bail Bond Money When Charges are Dropped? - May 23, 2022
- What To Do When Your Loved One Is Arrested With Drugs - January 5, 2022
