Simply put, it’s a “get out of jail” loan for someone who cannot afford to post the full bail amount set by a judge.

The bond is the contractual agreement made between the bail bonding company, the defendant and their cosigners guaranteeing that the defendant will appear for all their court dates. 

For Tennessee residents, the premium fee can be no less than 10% of the set bond amount.

However, non-residents of Tennessee can be charged anywhere from 10% to 15% of the set bond amount.

In addition, there is a flat $12 bond tax and a $25 administrative initiation fee. Example: Bail is set at $1,500 your 10% premium fee is $150 + $12 bond tax + $25 administrative initiation fee = $187

No, not everyone can co-sign.

Favorable co-signers are financially stable individuals with a steady job, and able to provide proof of their employment. Most commonly the co-signer tends to be a family member or close friend to the person in need of the bail bond.

But there can be multiple co-signers.

Unfortunately, no. The premium fee you pay is non-refundable. This fee is what the bail bonding company charges for their help and the risk they take by posting the bail.

It’s likely that a judge may issue a failure to appear (FTA) resulting in a bench warrant for the defendant’s arrest. 

If you’re reading this, you might be the person needing a bond or someone thinking about co-signing a bail bond and wondering what that means for you.

If you’re the potential co-signer, you should understand that you’re signing an agreement that the defendant will be at all of their required court appearances and if they fail to be in court you agree to pay the bail bonding company the full bail amount.

If you’re the defendant that needs a bail bond or out on a bond, be proactive and make the appropriate arrangements in your schedule to be prepared, presentable and present for court.

However if you failed to be in court, do the right thing and don’t leave your co-signer stuck in a financial bind. Especially since they didn’t leave you stuck in jail when you needed a bond!