Report Pretrial Release Violations & Bail Forfeiture

Introduction

The majority of defendants charged with a crime are afforded the opportunity to be released prior to trial, provided they agree to return for future court dates and do not commit new crimes. The United States Constitution and almost every state constitution specifies that “[e]xcessive bail shall not be required.” 

A defendant may secure pretrial release through cash bail, bail bond, property bond, or in some cases, on the person’s own recognizance. Each state has its own procedures for setting bail and release. A violation of the release terms may result in bail forfeiture or a new criminal offense.

Learn more on this page about the purposes of bail and consequences for pretrial release violations.

Purpose

States’ objectives on the purpose of bail vary, but common purposes include securing defendant’s appearance at court, preventing new crimes and protecting public safety.

For some states, the only stated purpose of bail is to secure the defendant’s attendance in court. Mississippi’s statute makes this clear: “The purpose of bail is to guarantee appearance and a bail bond shall not be forfeited for any other reason.” Miss. Stat. § 99-5-25.

Other states' statutes reflect a broader purpose. For example, Florida's statute reads: “The purpose of a bail determination in criminal proceedings is to ensure the appearance of the criminal defendant at subsequent proceedings and to protect the community against unreasonable danger from the criminal defendant.” Fla. Stat. § 903.046 (1).

Violating bail--whether by nonappearance or a conditions violation--may result in bail forfeiture, a separate criminal offense, revocation of release, or other sanctions. Commonly, defendants satisfy financial conditions of bail through the services of a bail agent or surety. If a defendant fails to appear at court on time, the bail agent or surety may have to pay the full amount of the bond.

Use the interactive maps in the tabs to learn which states allow bail forfeiture for a conditions violation, criminalize a defendant’s failure to appear, impose strict liability for bail jumping crimes, and more.

Forfeiture

Every state has a process—statutory or court rule—by which a court may forfeit a defendant’s bail if the defendant fails to appear at a specific time and place when ordered by the court. However, not all states statutorily authorize bail forfeiture for breach of a release condition other than nonappearance. In fact, certain state statutes, including Colorado, Kansas, Mississippi, and Vermont, prohibit forfeiture of bail for a violation of release other than nonappearance.

Fewer than half of the states statutorily allow bail forfeiture for a conditions violation that is not related to appearance. In the remaining states, statutory language was not identified, but the court may (arguably) use its inherent authority to revoke bail in light of a conditions violation to protect the integrity of the judicial process.

Pennsylvania law provides that, if the surety is a third-party, cash or security may only be forfeited when the condition violation is for failure to appear.

All states allow forfeiture for nonappearance. Those in blue also allow forfeiture for violations other than nonappearance; while states in gold prohibit forfeiture for a violation other than nonappearance.

Select the state on the map for statutory citations or court rules on bail forfeiture.

Criminal Offenses

In nearly every state, nonappearance not only results in forfeiture of bail, but is also considered a separate crime. This crime is commonly referred to as “bail jumping” or “criminal failure to appear.” Only three states do not have a separate crime for nonappearance—Maryland, Mississippi, and Wyoming. Ohio and Montana limit nonappearance crimes to those where a defendant is released on his or her own recognizance (as opposed to release on security or bond).

The majority of states with a separate crime of “bail jumping” or “failure to appear” require the act of nonappearance to have been done knowingly, willfully, or intentionally. Fewer than 10 states have strict liability for nonappearance.

The penalties for the criminal offense of nonappearance are often tied to the offense level of the underlying charges. For example, if a person is found guilty of bail jumping on a felony charge, the penalty will often be a lesser felony. The same applies to misdemeanor bail jumping. At least four states require that any conviction for bail jumping be served consecutively to any sentence imposed for the underlying charge

Only a handful of states—including Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, and Wisconsin—also have a separate crime for conditions violations other than nonappearance. Generally, a conditions violation results in sanctions, such as new or increased conditions or increased bail. If the violation of release conditions is commission of a new offense, common penalties include revocation of current release, denial of release for new offense, or upon conviction, enhanced or consecutive sentencing.

In Minnesota, the statutory penalty for "bail jumping" is one-half the maximum penalty for the underlying felony offense. Rhode Island applies the same felony sentence as the underlying offense with a maximum 10-year sentence.

This map identifies states that criminalize "bail jumping" for nonappearance only (green), nonappearance and conditions violations (blue), or neither (grey). Click on the state to learn more about criminal penalties associated with bail violations. (Note: *This map does not identify criminal contempt statutes or protection order conditions violations.)

Sureties

State laws often require that notice of the forfeiture be sent to the defendant and to their surety. Once the surety is notified, they can produce the defendant, provide the court with an excuse deemed acceptable for the defendant’s non-appearance, pay the forfeited bond, or face the consequences of not paying it. Laws in at least 38 states provide specific time frames, or grace periods, between (a) when the surety is notified the defendant has defaulted and (b) when they must respond or judgment on the forfeited bond becomes final. 

Defenses to Forfeiture

State laws give sureties the opportunity to either defend the non-appearance of the defendant or to subsequently produce them to the court. Every state provides for some measure of judicial discretion in determining whether an excuse for non-appearance is reasonable. Some states, through statute, provide heighted guidance for courts. For example, Alabama, California, Indiana, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah set the forfeiture aside if the defendant has died and New Hampshire allows the same if their failure to appear is caused by an “act of God.” Other commonly enumerated reasons either requiring or allowing the court to set aside forfeiture include failure to appear by reason of physical or mental incapacity, confinement in a detention facility and deportation. 

Remission of Paid Forfeiture

Even after a surety has paid a judgment on a forfeited bond, courts can remit some or all of the funds to the surety under certain conditions. For example, in Alabama if a defendant is “substantially procured” by the surety and the “administration of justice” has not been impacted, the court may pay some or all of the fee back to the surety. The defendant must have been returned within six months of the payment judgment of forfeiture. In South Dakota, the paid bond can be remitted if “justice does not require the enforcement of the forfeiture.” Many states broadly authorize or leave remission to the discretion of the court.

Suspension of Ability to Act as Surety

At least 23 state laws enable officials to prevent sureties from executing future bonds if they have failed to pay the final judgment of forfeiture on previous bonds. In Arkansas, for example, once a bail bonding company’s pending debts exceed $100,000, or the amount of their posted security deposit, their license is suspended. Connecticut’s code enables the state Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection to suspend any license of a professional bondsman if they fail to pay a forfeited bond. Many other states enumerate failure to pay forfeiture as a reason that the license for a bail agent or insurer may be suspended. 

The table below provides more information on state statutory regulations of bail forfeiture procedures.