What Happens to Your Bail When Charges are Dropped
It doesn’t matter if you’re dealing with a relatively minor misdemeanor or an extremely serious felony charge, learning that the charges have been dropped is always cause to celebrate. Now you don’t have to worry about how many billable hours your lawyer will put into the case. No more worrying about how much time you could conceivably spend in jail. Nor do you have to be concerned about how you’re going to manage to arrange your work schedule around upcoming court dates. Once those charges are dropped, you’re free to resume your normal life.
That leaves just one more issue on the table. What happens to the bail money you posted when you were originally arrested?
That answer depends on how you handled your bail.
If you paid the full amount of the bail yourself, all you have to do is get yourself over to the courthouse. They’ll tell you how to proceed and return the full amount of the bail to you. It’s so easy. Once you have that money tucked into your pocket, you’re free to resume your normal life.
If you used a bail bond, things will proceed differently. You already paid us a 10% fee. This is a fee that you don’t get back. It’s possible that if you had a payment plan, you may even owe us a few more payments before you can put the entire situation behind you.
What you will get back is any collateral you used to secure the bail bond. The other good news is that once the charges are dropped, your contract with us is over.
There are several reasons why you should turn to Valencia Bail Bonds after you’ve been arrested. Reasons we’re the first call people make after their arrest include:
- 20% discounts for some applicants
- Flexible payment plans
- Simple contracts
- 24/7 service
- Phone consultations
- Online consultations
- Zero worry about hidden fees
- Zero down bail bond
- Zero-interest bail bond
- Fast service
- Discretion
Learn more about Valencia Bail Bonds and the California bail program by calling 661-523-8444 or clicking the Chat With Us now link.
What Happens When You’re Arrested
The first thing that happens when you’ve been arrested is that you’re booked and processed. There are several steps to this process and it can take some time. Exactly how long it takes for you to be fully booked and formally charged with a crime largely depends on whether the jail is understaffed or not and how many other arrests there have been.
The process of being fully booked includes:
- Fingerprinting
- Taking mugshots
- Recording important information
- Possibly a body search
Once that process is complete, you will likely be taken to a holding cell.
There are several things you shouldn’t do during the booking process and a few things you should.
The things you should do include:
- Answering any general questions, such as your birthday and address, the booking officer asks
- Let them know of any health concerns you have, including any medications you must take, especially if they have to be taken at specific times
- Ask a few questions about how to contact loved ones and your lawyer
- Cooperate fully
- Request contact information for local bail bonds agencies
Things you shouldn’t do during the booking process
- Resist (this won’t help and could actually lead to additional charges being filed against you)
- Argue
- Discuss any detail about the charges that have been filed against you (you don’t want to accidentally say something incriminating)
Once you’ve been booked and placed into a holding cell, it’s time to take the next step. Most people opt to contact their lawyer, a loved one, and then a bail bonds agency. These are important calls to make. The lawyer will help you through the legal ins and outs of your arrest. Your loved ones need to know what happened and where you are (don’t disclose any details of the case). The bail bonds agency will post the bail bond needed for you to be released from jail.
When it comes to a bail bonds agency in California, you can’t go wrong when you choose Valencia Bail Bonds. We’ve been working with people like you for several decades and have become adept at quickly bailing individuals just like yourself out of jail. We promise we’ll work quickly as we can to get you released.
Reasons Valencia Bail Bonds should be your very first call after you’ve been arrested include:
- 20% Discount to approved applicants
- Phone/online approvals
- 0% Interest payment plans
- No hidden fees
- 24/7 Bail bond service
- No collateral is required for working signers