The purpose of having a surety bond (SR) is to assure the defendant’s appearance in court.  Hopefully the article below will help you better understand how the process works.

First a friend, family member, lawyer, or the defendant themselves will call a bail bond company for bail bond assistance. If you do not know the Bond Amount, the Bondsman (Bail Agent) can find out for you.

Once the bail bondsman is contacted and the amount has been determined, he/she will try to collect as much basic information as he/she can, concerning the case.

For example:

a) Where the defendant is being detained,
b) What the defendant is charged with,
c) How long have they been in jail,
d) Employment information for the defendant and signor of the bond,
e) Residency information,
f) Criminal history, etc.

This information is gathered because although a surety bond is considered a type of insurance, it is also similar to getting a loan. You will pay eight percent (8%) of the full amount of the bond for the Bail Agent to put up the full amount of the bond to the court. Thus, it is like getting a loan for the full amount of the bond for 8% interest.
Next, if the person chooses to accept the obligation of purchasing a bail bond, they will need to review and sign a short series of documents, including:  The Bail Bond Indemnity Agreement, a Bail Bond Application Form, and receipt of payment.

Once all the necessary information is collected and approved, the bail agent can then begin the process of “posting” the bail bond. After which the defendant will be released and is free to go home.
Usually, process only takes only a few hours to complete the entire bail bond process.  About one to two hours max is standard.  But the bail bond process cannot begin until the jail system is done processing the defendant.  This can take longer than a few hours depending on the charges.

For all these services, the indemnitor is charged a premium.  In Indiana, the minimum fee is 8% of the full amount of the bail.  So if the bond amount is set at $10,000, the fee to post their bond would be $800.00.  The state of Indiana will charge an additional $5 fee for the Policeman’s Death Benefit Fund.  Bail Agents who write for insurance companies regulated by the state cannot offer payment plans for the premium (the 8%).  It is a felony crime for them to do so.

Bail bonds work when it requires the involvement of friends and family, or possible collateral. It greatly reduces the risk of someone failing to appear.  Because the bail bond company essentially “fronts” full amount of the bail, the indemnitor is financially responsible for the full bond amount if the defendant fails to appear for his court date.  If this were to happen, a warrant would be issued for the defendants arrest and the bail agent or a licensed recovery agent will locate, apprehend and surrender him back to court all at the indemnitor’s expense.