What is the difference between bail and bond; do you pay !0% of the bail amount to have someone released?

Answer 1

You pay a percent!

Answer 2

Bail is what the court often requires for you to be released. The idea is that you put up a certain amount of money, which you forfeit if you do not appear. The monetary incentive thus makes it more likely that you will appear.

Not everyone can afford the full amount of the bail. So they often get loans. The most common is a bond. Basically, you pay a certain percentage to a private bondsman. That bond company then guarantees the full amount to the court. The bond fee is like an insurance premium -- you pay the premium (fee), and the bond company guarantees payment of the full amount due.

If you skip bail, the bond company needs to pay that full amount to the court, and can hold you liable for the total bail amount. But even if you show up, the bond company keeps the percentage you paid as their fee. Just like an insurance company gets to keep your insurance premiums, even if they never need to pay out.

Answer 3

The word bail as a legal term means:

Security, usually a sum of money, exchanged for the release of an arrested person as a guarantee of that person's appearance for trial.
As a verb: to secure the release of an arrested person by providing bail.
Release from imprisonment on payment of such money.
As a verb: to release a person under such guarantee.
The person providing such payment.

Traditionally, bail is some form of property deposited or pledged to a court in order to persuade it to release a suspect from jail, on the understanding that the suspect will return for trial or forfeit the bail ("skipping bail", or "jumping bail", is also illegal). In most cases bail money will be returned at the end of the trial, if all court appearances are made, no matter whether the person is found guilty or not guilty of the crime accused. In some countries, including the US, granting bail is common. Even in such countries, however, bail may not be offered by some courts under some circumstances; for instance, if the accused is considered likely not to appear for trial regardless of bail. Countries without bail imprison the suspect before the trial only if deemed necessary.


In finance, a bond is a debt security, in which the issuer owes the holders a debt and is obliged to repay the principal and interest (the coupon) at a later date, termed maturity. Other stipulations may also be attached to the bond issue, such as the obligation for the issuer to provide certain information to the bond holder, or limitations on the behavior of the issuer. Bonds are generally issued for a fixed term (the maturity) longer than one year.

A bond is just a loan, but in the form of a security, although terminology used is rather different. The issuer is equivalent to the borrower, the bond holder to the lender, and the coupon to the interest. Bonds enable the issuer to finance long-term investments with external funds.

Answer 4

A judge sets bail. A bail bondsman issues a bail bond to the court to secure your release.

A bail bondsman has a line of credit with a court thanks to insurance. The bail bondsman charges you a premium - usually 10% of the bail amount - which causes the bail bondsman to transfer your bail from the line of credit to the court. If you make all your court appearances and your case is disposed - the bail is credited back to the line of credit. If you fail to appear, you become responsible for the full bond. A bail bondsman will take a down payment - usually 3% and place you on the installment plan for the rest. If your case is disposed and you still owe money on the plan, your bail bondsman can only take you to court - NOT revoke your freedom.

In my case, my bail was $100K and my family gave $2.5K down to secure my release. I'm working on paying back the other $7.5K - which is now $5,475.