Not many people know exactly how the bond process works. Most of the time, a person will call the bond office, to have someone they know released from jail. They are often suffering from shock and disbelief. The same people are often a little perplexed in understanding the processes involved in getting a person out on bond. There are a few options available to those who are placed in jail and what option choices both of you have to a decision about.

A judge will set a bond when someone you know is in jail. There are three options for both of you to decide upon:

You can choose to let them stay in jail until a court date has been set. The jail time is determined on the extent of the offence. It generally is a period of 2-4 for minor demeanors. Those who have committed a felony, the setting of a court date can take a little longer. This is generally between 3-6 months.

The second option is to pay the bond in full. This payment is made by the person in jail or someone that they know. Once the decision for paying the bond is made, the money is held as collateral to ensure that they will appear in court for all of their court dates. The perpetrator is then released from jail.

If the person that was in jail, makes the scheduled court appearances as set out by the judge, the monies paid for the bail bond are then returned to the payor, minus the court costs, plus a handling fee of $50.00. If the situation arises in which the person bail jumps (misses their court date), the monies paid is then, forfeited to the courts.

In order to choose this option, you must have the finances to do so. The average bond ranges from $1500 to $5000 for minor offenses. It is important to note that a bail bond can be much higher for those who have been charged with a more serious offense. No matter what the bail bond charge is, many people find it extremely difficult in coming up with a large amount of cash within a one day period.

The third and final option is to hire the services of a bondsman. A bail bondsman will help a person to be released from jail, by paying the full amount of the bond to the courts. The service fee that is charged by the bail bondsman is usually a percentage of the bond. The length of time that is takes for a person to be released from jail depends on several factors. One of these factors can be dependent on which jail the person is being held in. Those who are incarcerated in the Denton county jail, often spend an additional 1.5-2 hours in the jail, after the bail bond fee has been paid.