When an individual is arrested, the court may give the individual an opportunity to post bail in order to be released from jail instead of staying until his or her court date. Bail bonds work different from state to state, so an individual who is a resident of the state Indiana will benefit from knowing exactly how bail bonds work in Indiana.
What is Indiana bail?
Bail can be defined in a number of ways. It can mean the personal monetary guarantee of the jailed individual that he or she will appear in court on his or her court date. It can also mean the bondsman will assume all responsibility for the individual to appear in court. It can also simply mean the release of the individual from jail.
In any sense that the term is defined, bail allows the individual to be released from jail after the payment of a set amount of money. The purpose of bail is to be assured that the individual will return to court in order to receive the money back.
There are Three Types of Bonds in Indiana
A bond is simply an insurance policy to the court that the defendant will show up to all court appointments/hearings and that they will abide by the court orders (no drinking, driving, drugs, getting arrested, etc).
- Cash Bail: is where you pay the court 100% of the bond. This money is used to ensure you go to all of your court appointments and abide by the rules governing you by the court while you’re out on bail. You will get the entire amount returned to you after trial.
- Surety Bonds: If you don’t have the 100% of the cash bond you’ll pay a bondsman 10% of the bond. This is a service fee. You’re basically purchasing the help of someone to cover 100% of the cash bail for you. This fee is non-refundable. If you don’t show to court, the bondsman will hire a bounty hunter to track you down and place you back into jail. Thereby losing the coverage of the bond to help keep you out of jail.
- Transfer Bonds: This type of bond allows defendants to post bond through their local agents or transfer to a location where they are currently being held. These bonds are meant for someone held in a state other than the location where the bond is initially written or executed. Example: You have a warrant in Indiana but are picked up in Ohio. You would use a transfer bond to bond out of Indiana from Ohio.
How does the Indiana bail process work?
Jailed in Indiana? A person can be held for up to 15 days before any bond is set. The process of bail begins after the judge has informed you of the bail amount that you must pay before being set free. You must then contact a bail bondsman who is willing to pay that amount for you in order for you to be released. The bail bondsman fills out a contract for the individual needing to post bail.
Your Indiana bail bonds contract states that the bail bondsman agrees to pay the amount set by the court for bail if the individual will appear in court on his or her assigned court date. In most cases, you will be required to pay 10% of your bail amount to your bondsman. This fee is non-refundable, as it’s a service fee for posting the bond. You can use this bail bonds calculator to determine how much your bail will be.
Steps to Get Online Bail in Indiana
- A family member or another individual close to the jailed individual agrees to contact the bondsman and co-sign for his or her release. Co-signers must be a working individual who either rents or owns a home in the same area for a certain period of time. After all documents have been signed properly, the bail is then posted.
- If the jailed individual does not appear in court, the cosigner becomes responsible for all expenses of the bail bondsman, and the individual is then looked for to be re-arrested.
- When the defendant appears in court for their court date, the bail money will be released to the person who paid the cost. If you paid the money personally, you will receive all fees minus any fines that must be paid because of your crime. If the bail bondsman posted your bail, you will not personal receive any money back from your bail, this is a service fee.
It is recommended that you choose an Indiana bail bonds person who is accredited by the state. That is the only way to ensure that your bond will be paid and you will be released.
In Order to Secure a Bail Bond, Indiana Bondsmen Will Need the Following:
- Two (2) Forms of Valid Identification:
- Driver’s License, or
- State Picture ID, or
- Credit/Check Card, or
- Work ID, or
- Social Security Card
If you’re the defendant you’ll need to provide the same information as your cosignor. You’ll also need to provide the following to your bondsman:
- Proof of Income (e.g. A recent pay stub, or first page of your 1040 tax form if self-employed.)
- Proof of Address (e.g. A recent utility bill or phone bill in your name.)
Video: How Bail Bonds Work in Indiana When You Need a Bail Loan
How Bail Bonds Work in Indiana In the Middle of The Night
No one expects to get arrested, especially in the middle of the night when it usually occurs. How bail works in Indiana will show you that a defendant will need to pay a bondsman a 10% premium of the full bond to be released from jail. If the defendant doesn’t appear in court, the Indiana bail bondsman is liable for 100% of the bond to the court. Locate a bail bondsman in your area: Terre Haute, Indianapolis, Lafayette, Kokomo, Muncie, Greenwood, Bloomington and Fort Wayne
Check the Indiana State Bail listing here: https://www.isbaa.org/
Wondering how much bail is for a particular crime in Indiana? Here’s a bail schedule we found for Henry County Indiana. This is probably a good reference for other counties in Indiana when it comes to bail. Be sire to please consult with your attorney before any legal action. Here’s a link to a Indiana Bail Schedule: Henry County