A judge sets a bail amount. If the defendant cannot pay the bail amount on their own, they can seek help from a Bail bondsman in the form of a Bail Bond.

To post a Bail Bond, a defendant is usually required to pay a Bail bondsman 10% of the bail amount.

The Bail bondsman will then secure the rest of the bail amount in the form of collateral. If the defendant does not have enough collateral, the Bail Bondsman might seek out relatives and friends to assist in covering the bail.

Often times, an additional cash payment plus full collateral is required for a Bail Bond to be posted.

What happens next depends on if the defendant appears in court after being released.

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• If defendant fails to appear in court: The Bail Bond is forfeited and the court requires the remaining 90% of the bail to be paid. The Bail Bondsman will use the defendant’s collateral (house, property, cars, etc) to pay the court the remaining bail amount.
   

• If a defendant does appear for court: Upon conclusion of the court case, the Bail Bond is dissolved and the collateral is returned to the person who posted it. The Bail bondsman keeps the 10% cash fee as profit.