How Bail Bonds Work in Delaware USA

To understand how bail bonds Delaware works, it all begins from the moment of your arrest. The arrest is followed by a trip to the jail where you are processed into the court system. The ordeal generally takes one to three hours depending on a number of factors. How bail bonds work in Delaware starts at the end of the processing where you will face a judge who will set the trial date and the level of the bail that must be paid. At this point of the legal process, you have three choices:

1. Stay in jail until the trial date
2. Pay the bail to the court
3. Hire a bail bonds agent

Since most people cannot spend weeks or months in jail waiting for their court date and the bail is often far more money than they have available, it’s not surprising that most people call a bail bond agent.

The Bail Bonds System in Delaware

In Delaware, all bail bond agencies have to follow the same rules when it comes to charging their customers and working with the court system. Once a person hires a bail bond agent, they have to pay them a pre-set fee that is actually determined by the state and then the agent enters into a contract with the court to assure that their client will be there at the trial date.

If the defendant does show up for the trial date, the contract is then concluded with the bail bond agent. However, if the defendant does not show up for the trial date, then the court charges the agent the full amount of the bail money. It is at this point that the agent will usually hire a bounty hunter to find and bring to court the defendant at which time, the court then returns the money to the agent.

Charges & Fees of Delaware Bail Bonds

By law, a bail bond agent in Delaware cannot charge more than 10% of the total amount of bail that was set by the court. For example, if the court sets bail at $1,000, then the agent cannot charge more than $100. However, the money charged is non-refundable even if the trial gets cancelled. As a side note, the 10% fee is the only amount a bail bond agent may legally charge as they cannot go under that amount.

If the defendant cannot come up with the 10%, then many bail bond agents have the ability to loan the money instead. Generally speaking, the agent will require some form of collateral such as real estate property or perhaps the title to a vehicle in order to cover the amount of the fee. There is usually an interest rate charged by the agent where they do have some leeway.

Once the loan has been made, the defendant is then released from jail and held by the promise of the bail bond agent that they will show up for their trial date.

For more information about how bail bonds work in Delaware, you should contact the Delaware Division of Insurance which oversees the Delaware bail bonds process.