Surety bonds are used in all sorts of places, from businesses to banks to construction contractors. In the most basic sense, a surety bond is a monetary promise that someone will fulfill their duty or action to another.

In construction, a surety bond may, for instance, guarantee that a hired contractor will perform the work described in their contract. If the contractor doesn’t complete the work, the surety either arranges for a new contractor to complete the work or refunds the money paid to perform it.

That’s the basic premise, but what you really want to know is how all this applies to bail bonds in Columbus, Ohio; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Dayton, Ohio.

Columbus bail bonds, much like bail bonds in Cincinnati or anywhere else, are surety bonds. They guarantee that someone who has been arrested on suspicion of a crime will appear in court when bailed out of jail.

Here’s how that works.

What Does it Mean to be a “Surety?”

Unlike a cash bond, which has only two parties (the court and the person paying the bond), surety felony bonds have three involved parties:

  • The obligee (the court, as the party requiring action to be performed)
  • The principal (the person who has been arrested and must appear in court)
  • The surety (the third party issuing the bond and guaranteeing that the principal will meet their obligations to the obligee – in this case, appearing on their court date)

In this case, a bail bond agent in Columbus, Ohio like HB Bail Bonds is acting as the surety company – they are posting the bail and therefore making a financial guarantee that the principal will show up in court at the appointed time.

So in short, a surety is a third party that guarantees (in the form of cash bail) that the principal will appear in court when they are bailed out of jail.

What if That Guarantee is Broken?

The role of a surety bondsman in Dayton, Ohio or Columbus or Cincinnati is to post a bail bond as collateral for the principal’s scheduled appearance in court. The felony bond conditions require your bail bond service, in Columbus, Ohio or elsewhere, to post the full amount of the bail.

As long as the principal fulfills their obligations (appears in court at the scheduled times), the bond is returned to the surety in full, regardless of the verdict in the case. However, should the principal fail to show up in court, thus breaking that guarantee, the bond is not returned to the surety.

To protect against this possibility, the bail bondsman takes a 10% fee and secures collateral (this could be a car, jewelry, house, etc.) from the principal or their family. The 10% fee is kept as profit regardless of the outcome, but if the principal does not appear in court, the bail bondsman will be out the entirety of the bond amount, and will look to recoup that cost from the posted collateral.

So, in a case where bail is set at $1,000, working with a bail bondsman in Columbus, Ohio means you can walk in with $100, and the surety bond company will cover the other $900 of the bond. As long as the principal appears in court, that’s all you’ll ever have to pay.

At the conclusion of the court proceedings, the $1,000 bail will be paid back in full to the surety company, and the $100 will be kept as a fee.

Contact HB Bail Bonds for Affordable Bail Bonds in Ohio

Whether you’re looking for affordable bail bonds in Cincinnati, Ohio, Dayton or Columbus, HB Bail Bonds is here for you. Our mission is to make it easier and more affordable to post bail for a loved one, even if you don’t have all the cash you need for the bail up front.

Contact us today and see how we can help.