What is an NC Bail Bond Agent?
A Bail Bond Agent is someone who is licensed in North Carolina who will act as a surety and pledge money or property as bail
for the appearance of a criminal defendant in criminal court. Generally, your criminal lawyer is ethically forbidden from negotiating any sort of arrangement between you and the Bail Bond Agent. In some cases, especially with low secured bonds, the defendant himself or the defendant’s family or friends may be able to post the bond. At the end of the case, whether the defendant is convicted, found not guilty, or the charges are dismissed, the family or friends who posted the bond get the entire amount back, less some small administrative or processing fees.
However, if the secured bond is set high, the defendant, or his family or friends may not have enough money to post the bond. In that case, the defendant or his family will go to a licensed bondsman.
A Bail Bond Agent is someone who is licensed by the North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance and whose license is registered with the Clerk of Superior Court in the county in which the bond is being made. For instance, Bail Bond Agents wishing to post bonds in Mecklenburg County needs to have his license registered with a Mecklenburg County’s Clerk of Superior Court. A bondsman almost always works as an agent for
an insurance company or other financial institution that has enough money to post the full bond amount. If you have questions about the bonding process, ask your criminal lawyer. Your criminal lawyer can help you understand the process.
The Bail Bond Agent takes a percentage of whatever is paid to him by the defendant or the defendant’s family. The rest of the money paid by the defendant or the defendant’s family goes to the insurance company.
What’s the difference between posting your own bond and hiring a Bail Bond Agent?
If you or your family post the entire amount of the secured bond, or post property, like a home, then at the conclusion of the case,
after the defendant has been found guilty or not guilty or the charges are dismissed, the money is returned to the defendant or his family, assuming the defendant made all his court appearances and abided by the terms of his bond. If you pay a bondsman, that fee goes to the bondsman. Even if you make all of your court appearances, that money is not returned. It is the price paid so that the defendant or his family do not have to come up with the entire secured bond.
How does the bonding process work?
You will be required to fill out forms that require disclosure of property owned, work history, driver’s license information, family contacts, and references. In addition, the bondsman as part of the bond writing process gets your permission to take you into custody if he goes “off bond”
because you have failed to meet some condition of your release (for instance, if you’ve missed a court date). This includes entry into your home if need be to return you to custody. In addition, the bondsman for significant bonds will require a number of sureties. These are people who are not asked necessarily to post money or property, but do sign on to pay the entire bond amount if the defendant skips. Once the bondsman completes the paperwork and, if necessary, interviews with the sureties or the family, he will either have the power to
write a bond in that amount, or get authorization from someone with greater bond writing powers to write the bond. Within several hours of the bond being written, the defendant should be released from custody.
A Bail Bond Agent is someone who is licensed in North Carolina who will act as a surety and pledge money or property as bail
for the appearance of a criminal defendant in criminal court. Generally, your criminal lawyer is ethically forbidden from negotiating any sort of arrangement between you and the Bail Bond Agent. In some cases, especially with low secured bonds, the defendant himself or the defendant’s family or friends may be able to post the bond. At the end of the case, whether the defendant is convicted, found not guilty, or the charges are dismissed, the family or friends who posted the bond get the entire amount back, less some small administrative or processing fees.
However, if the secured bond is set high, the defendant, or his family or friends may not have enough money to post the bond. In that case, the defendant or his family will go to a licensed bondsman.
A Bail Bond Agent is someone who is licensed by the North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance and whose license is registered with the Clerk of Superior Court in the county in which the bond is being made. For instance, Bail Bond Agents wishing to post bonds in Mecklenburg County needs to have his license registered with a Mecklenburg County’s Clerk of Superior Court. A bondsman almost always works as an agent for
an insurance company or other financial institution that has enough money to post the full bond amount. If you have questions about the bonding process, ask your criminal lawyer. Your criminal lawyer can help you understand the process.
The Bail Bond Agent takes a percentage of whatever is paid to him by the defendant or the defendant’s family. The rest of the money paid by the defendant or the defendant’s family goes to the insurance company.
What’s the difference between posting your own bond and hiring a Bail Bond Agent?
If you or your family post the entire amount of the secured bond, or post property, like a home, then at the conclusion of the case,
after the defendant has been found guilty or not guilty or the charges are dismissed, the money is returned to the defendant or his family, assuming the defendant made all his court appearances and abided by the terms of his bond. If you pay a bondsman, that fee goes to the bondsman. Even if you make all of your court appearances, that money is not returned. It is the price paid so that the defendant or his family do not have to come up with the entire secured bond.
How does the bonding process work?
You will be required to fill out forms that require disclosure of property owned, work history, driver’s license information, family contacts, and references. In addition, the bondsman as part of the bond writing process gets your permission to take you into custody if he goes “off bond”
because you have failed to meet some condition of your release (for instance, if you’ve missed a court date). This includes entry into your home if need be to return you to custody. In addition, the bondsman for significant bonds will require a number of sureties. These are people who are not asked necessarily to post money or property, but do sign on to pay the entire bond amount if the defendant skips. Once the bondsman completes the paperwork and, if necessary, interviews with the sureties or the family, he will either have the power to
write a bond in that amount, or get authorization from someone with greater bond writing powers to write the bond. Within several hours of the bond being written, the defendant should be released from custody.