How much is bail for burglary

In California, each county court publishes a bail schedule, a list that sets a standard bail amount for each charge, so the same charge can cost very different amounts depending on where it's filed. California county judges put these countywide schedules in place under state rules. On these lists, first-degree burglary means the residential charge, while second-degree is for burglary of any place that isn't a home.

San Francisco's numbers are from its 2023 to 2024 schedule. The rest come from the newest schedule each court has made public.

The California Department of Insurance says the usual cost of going through a bail agent is 10% of the bond, on top of actual, necessary, and reasonable expenses. That charge is known as the premium, and it's what the agent gets paid for putting up the bond for someone. For Riverside's $40,000 bail on residential burglary, that usually means paying an agent 10% of that amount plus any necessary expenses, and that fee isn't returned once the person is released.

Agents have to stick to the rates their surety company filed with the state. There's one exception to the no-refund rule: if the agent returns the person to custody, you get the fee back, minus administrative costs. Since January 1, 2022, agents also can't charge you again to keep the bond going, and they're allowed to give back part of the fee if they choose.

Paying the scheduled amount is just one path out of custody. A judge can let someone go on their own recognizance, meaning the person walks free on a promise to show up in court, with no money changing hands. A judge can also set bail, attach conditions to a release, or keep the person in custody.

California allows these release types:

• Release on a promise to appear (own recognizance)
• Full payment of the bail amount
• A bond posted by a licensed bail agent
• Release that comes with conditions attached

Yes. The schedule is only a starting point. A judge may raise or lower the figure, or pick a different kind of release altogether. Courts walk through how this works on their own sites, for example the bail schedule page from Santa Clara County and the procedure Imperial County uses for requests to raise bail.

In Oklahoma, you can pay a licensed bail bondsman to post bail for you. The Oklahoma Insurance Department handles licensing and oversight of bail bondsmen. Someone can get out through cash, property, a surety bond, or personal recognizance. Oklahoma's bail laws don't spell out a standard fee, so ask the bondsman for the exact cost in writing before you agree to anything.

A few states deal with burglary arrests in ways that skip the standard bail bond.

• Illinois: as of January 1, 2023, money bail no longer exists there. People go free with conditions, or stay in custody only if the State requests it and a hearing takes place.
• Kentucky: since 1976, commercial bail bonding has not been allowed. Judges may let someone go with no money involved or through cash or property, and Pretrial Services speaks with each person after arrest.
• Wisconsin: courts may impose money conditions, and state law lays out the options: release on personal recognizance, cash bail, a deposit of 10% in cash, or release with conditions.