Walking down the street in a normal town, one won’t find very many people with any knowledge whatsoever of the bail bonds industry. As a Ventura Bail Agency, we’ve been in this business for over 40 years and know the industry inside and out. So we thought we would put together a short list of four common questions and answer them for you. All answers are with regards to the laws of the state of California.
Question 1: How much does a bail bonds cost?
Answer: 10%
Explanation: All companies are regulated by the California Department of Insurance. It is they who mandate that every bail agency charge 10% of the total bail. There are companies out there that both advertise and charge less and in both instances, they are operating illegally. The one and only time that a company can charge less is if they utilize the Prop 103 loophole and charge 8% of the total bail.
So in the end, you will be charged 10% of the total bail, for example; say bail is set at $20,000, you would pay the company $2,000 to put up a $20,000 bail bond.