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Does New York County have bail?
When is bail set in New York County New York?
Yes, but the state of New York only applies bail in violent or felony cases. Non-violent and most misdemeanor cases always qualify for release on own recognizance. Tioga County recognizes most types of bonds.
Bail for lesser offenses is set at the time of booking. If bail is required for felony cases, it will be set by a judge at the first court hearing. This hearing, also called an arraignment, generally takes place on the next available court date excluding weekends and holidays.
Bail is what the arrested in New York County must pay or do to stay out of jail until the first court appearance.
The agreement to bail acts as a promise that the arrested will return to court for court dates and trial. Bail usually refers to a dollar amount, but bail can also mean something that has to be done, or a condition such as reporting to an officer of the court, a curfew, restraining orders or attending a treatment program.
Bail is usually a significant enough amount of money and/or condition that the person will be negatively impacted and has incentive to return to court and not flee. A flight risk usually means that the person would flee the area, and not necessary that they are going to take an airplane.
If a judge in New York County feels that the arrested will return to court for further proceedings, the arrested could be released under a conditional release without needing to pay bail money. This is called Released on Own Recognizance, or ROR.
Conditions for ROR might be to obey all court orders and laws, maintain contact with the lawyer, report changes in residence or have no contact with the victim. Family support will show the court that there are people who will make sure that the defendant makes it to court.
If the judge or bail schedule determines that the defendant would be a danger to the public if they were released, bail can be denied, and the person will be detained in the Bellevue Hospital Prison Ward until the case is resolved or goes to trial.
Bail can be denied if the defendant did not comply with bail conditions from a previous arrest. Bail is usually denied in cases of violent offenses.
Bail and bond are used interchangeably to mean the same thing but technically, they are different. The bail is the amount to be paid and a bond is a signed document promising payment of the bail amount with certain conditions. Think of a bond as a loan to pay for the bail.
The bond payment is always written to the court in your municipality, New York County or district directly and does not go through the defendant. Chances of obtaining a bond from a bond company or clerk of court are better if family is involved.
The thought of being in jail can cause the arrested to panic and try to secure a bond immediately.
DO NOT panic and take the time to understand all the options.
More courts are now trying to work with defendants to make bail work and might provide non-monetary options or even reduce the bail.
Payments to a bond company are not refundable. It is a long process to get back property title or money that was given to the clerk of court or bondsperson to secure the bond. This could put your loved ones into a difficult financial situation.
Another reason not to unnecessarily rush into securing a bond is that if the court notes that you came up with the money to pay a bond company, they may assume you have resources to pay a defense attorney and decline public defense.
On the other hand, as anyone who has ever been involved in their criminal defense understands, fighting your case while ‘out on the streets’ gives you a much better chance of either winning, or getting a more favorable sentence.
Based on a review of information from the arrest, the judge or bail officer will determine and notify the accused of which types of bonds are available to them.
To describe the types of bonds, let’s use an example of buying your neighbor’s car. Your neighbor decides the price of the car and how they would be paid.
Similarly, the court (meaning a police or bail officer, clerk of court, bail magistrate or judge) determines the bail amount and how it would be paid.
Here are different options that the seller of the car or the court might consider:
You could pay full asking price for the car in cash. This is similar to paying cash bail. The full amount of bail would be paid to the town or county clerk or at the jail. Cash, cashier’s checks and credit cards are usually accepted.
You could sign an agreement on your own or with another person to pay for the car at a future date knowing that your neighbor would know where to find you if you stopped payment. This would be similar to a cash bond or a personal recognizance (PR) bond which are bonds to where someone representing the defendant signs paperwork promising to pay the bail amount if the defendant does not show up to court. There is no money due up front.
If the defendant does not show up, the full amount of the bail will be due to the court and the people who signed the paperwork will be responsible for paying the court and the court will send the sheriff’s department to arrest you.
Cash bonds and PR bonds are types of unsecured bonds because you are not securing it with any money down. In bond terms, a surety is a person who will be responsible for making sure that you will show to court and will be responsible to pay the bond if the arrested person does not show up.
Surety can be family, friend or a bondsperson. Your attorney cannot act as a surety.
You can put a deposit down for your neighbor’s car and sign an agreement that the car will be paid off at a later date. Cash percentage in lieu of bonds is when the defendant pays a percentage of the bail amount, usually 10%, to the court which then holds the money until the case is over.
The amount is returned to the person who paid the 10% after the case is over. In most cases, the full amount is not returned if there are court fees or fines due. This is a type of surety bond if another person signs the bond paperwork.
You could sign an agreement that if the car were not paid off, that your neighbor would get your house or something of value.
A property bond is a bond that the courts might consider in which the bond is pledged in land or home real estate (mobile homes are not accepted).
Usually, the property must be in the same state as the courts, and it must be worth at least 1 ½ - 2 times the amount of the bond.
There are multiple court fees involved to execute a property bond with the courts and a tedious process to get the property deed back. This is another type of surety bond if another person or a bond company is used to secure the bond.
You could also go to a local bank and take out a car loan offering property or anything of value for collateral. You may get someone to co-sign on the loan and offer their property. The ban charges fees, interest and could keep your property if you did not pay the loan back, or even on time.
A professional bondsperson makes money, at least 10% of the bond amount by providing you with a “loan” called a bond. The percent that they charge is fixed by the state and cannot be negotiated. The defendant or surety does not get that 10% or more back even if the terms of the bail are met.
With a property bond, the property deed would need to be signed over to the bondsperson and everyone on the deed would need to be involved.
Since the bondsperson signed off, to be responsible that you show to court as your surety, they can send a bounty hunter to bring you to court if you flee. A bondsperson does not have to give you a bond if the defendant seems to be too much of a risk.
Ask the bondsperson to explain all the costs: percentage, fees or court fees. There is never a reason to rush through signing the paperwork with a bond company. Make sure that everything told to you is in writing and that you understand what you are signing. Ask questions, and if you feel rushed or don’t understand the contract with the bond company, you might want to call another one.
(There have been phone scams where a bond company calls and informs a person that their family member has been arrested and they ask for financial information. A bondsperson will not call asking for money without involvement of the arrested.)
New York only applies bail in violent or felony cases. Non-violent and most misdemeanor cases qualify for release on own recognizance.
New York County recognizes most types of bonds.
Bail is set by officers during booking for misdemeanor offenses. A judge sets bail for felony arrests.
Bail for lesser offenses is set at the time of booking. If bail is required for felony cases, it will be set by a judge at the first court hearing. This hearing, also called an arraignment, generally takes place on the next available court date excluding weekends and holidays.
Yes, if bail has been assessed, your attorney may file a motion to have it reduced.
The person posting bail should be a relative or close friend, called a surety, because they are promising and taking responsibility that you will return to court to get their money back.
A surety is not responsible for court fees or paying off personal debts for the defendant. A professional bondsperson who is approved by the State of New York could be the surety and execute a bond to the court on your behalf.
Yes, New York does offer online bail payment. Please contact the jail for specific information on how to pay bail. Go to the Bellevue Hospital Prison Ward for more information about the jails in New York County.
Most all jail and courts accept cash, a cashier or bankers’ check. Some accept a credit card with fees. Please contact the jail for specific information on what methods of payment are accepted. Go to the Bellevue Hospital Prison Ward for more information about posting bail in New York County.
Bail money is returned to the person who paid the bail; in whole or in part once the case is finished. There may be fees, restitution (money to pay for damage caused by the crime) or fines that come out of that amount. If you used a bondsperson, you would not get your 10% back. Property is returned by the court or bondsperson after the appropriate requests and formal paperwork are completed with the court.
Most non-violent crimes do not require bail. If bail is assessed cash, or a minimum down payment, will be required.
A cash bond or a personal recognizance (PR) bond are bonds where someone representing the defendant signs paperwork promising to pay the bail amount if the defendant does not show up to court. There is no money due up front.
If the defendant does not show up, the full amount of the bail will be due to the court and the people who signed the paperwork will be responsible for paying the court and the court will send the sheriff’s department to arrest you.
Cash bonds and PR bonds are types of unsecured bonds because you are not securing it with any money down. In bond terms, a surety is a person who will be responsible to make sure that you will show to court and will be responsible to pay the bond if the arrested person does not show up. A surety can be family, friend or a bondsperson. Your attorney cannot act as a surety.
The Bellevue Hospital Prison Ward or court in this jurisdiction can provide you with a list of approved and licensed bond companies, but they cannot recommend a specific company. You are not obligated to use the first company available and can call several companies to compare what kind of bonds that the bondsperson is willing to execute.
The percentage of bail that the bond company can charge is set, usually at 10%, by the state and cannot be negotiated.
Post Bail:
Bail must be paid in full for an individual to be released from custody, and those who wish to pay bail are known as “sureties.” Bail can be paid in person at Department of Correction facilities, or online, depending on eligibility criteria.
How to Pay Bail Online:
Individuals must meet the following criteria to be eligible for online bail payment:
• A judge has set credit card bail as a form of bail payment for that individual
• A judge has not set any surety conditions (e.g. Judges may require sureties be interviewed
before posting bail)
• The Department of Correction (DOC) has logged the individual’s bail conditions into their
Inmate Lookup Service.
o There may be a short waiting period after arraignment before the individual's information is
logged into DOC’s system.
For more information about this individual’s online bail eligibility, please contact his/her attorney.
After arraignment (when bail is set), eligible bail can be paid online from any computer, phone, or tablet. The online payment system can be used to pay bails of any amount.
Online bail payment is available for individuals shortly following arraignment, once the individual’s information is logged into DOC’s system. Online bail may be paid while the individual is still in the courthouse after arraignment, in transit, or housed at a DOC facility. After the date of the arraignment, bail may be paid online at any time except for subsequent court dates following arraignment. On court dates following arraignment, bail must be paid directly at the courthouse’s cashier window.
To pay bail online:
IMPORTANT – If the person you are paying bail for has a warrant, hold, or additional case, he/she may not be released until those additional issues are resolved.
BEFORE you authorize your payment, you will be asked to indicate whether you still want your payment to be processed even if the individual is found to have a condition that prevents his/her release.
AFTER you have authorized your payment, DOC will conduct a check for any additional warrants, holds, or open cases that would prevent an individual from being released after bail has been paid.
You will receive an email confirmation informing you of whether your bail payment was approved or denied, and whether the individual has been cleared for discharge from DOC custody.
You will receive a refund from the Department of Finance roughly eight weeks after the case for which you paid bail has been resolved. The court sends a refund order to the Department of Finance within six weeks. The Department of Finance sends a check to the surety (or sureties) within two weeks of receiving the refund order from the court.
REMEMBER: If the person you paid bail for does not attend all of his / her court appearances, the bail amount may be forfeited.
How to Pay Bail in Person
You can pay bail in person 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at any of the following Department of Correction facilities, regardless of where the individual is housed:
• Brooklyn Courts
o 120 Schermerhorn, Brooklyn, N.Y.11201
o Room 101C 1st Floor
o For Bails and Inmates Accounts: 7 days a week between 8:30 a.m. and 1 a.m.
• Manhattan Detention Complex
o 125 White St, New York, NY 10013
• Queens Detention Complex
o 126-02 82nd Avenue, Kew Gardens, NY 11415
• Vernon C. Bain Center
o 1 Halleck St, Bronx, NY 10474
• Rikers Island
Note: For individuals housed at Horizon Juvenile Center, bail may be paid at Horizon or at any of the above locations. Horizon cannot accept payments for individuals housed at other facilities.
Bail can be paid at the Bronx Criminal Court, Lower Level – Room M-05C, 7 days a week between 8 a.m. and 1 a.m.
To post bail, you must present personal identification and provide the New York State Identification (NYSID) or Book and Case number of the person to be bailed.
Bail will be accepted in any of the following forms:
U.S. cash for the full amount;
Cashier's/Tellers's check, in any amount not exceeding the bail figure;
Money order from Federal Express, U.S. Postal Service, Travelers Express Company, Western Union, or a private bank -- up to $1000
Credit or debit card
Note: Cashier's checks, teller's checks, and money orders should be made payable to the “New York City Department of Correction.” While the amount of each money order may not exceed $1,000, you can pay with multiple money orders or a combination of money orders, checks, and cash. The total amount you pay must exactly match the bail amount. No change will be provided.
How Not to Pay Bail in Person
Not acceptable for bail purposes:
Personal checks, whether certified or not;
Check/money order for amounts exceeding the $1,000 limit or for which a refund ("change") would be required;
Any other form of payment that is not listed as an acceptable form above.
Anyone over the age of 18 who can produce a valid government-issued photo ID can post bail. Accepted forms of ID include a Photo Driver's License, Passport, or Motor Vehicle issued ID.
In many circumstances, if the defendant has the resources, they can post their own cash bail from jail.
Surety Bonds are arranged by a third party, typically a New York state licensed Bail Bond firm.
Juveniles may only be bailed or bonded out of custody by a parent or legal guardian.
