Code of Alabama - Title 15: Criminal Procedure - Chapter 13 - Bail

• Article 1 General Provisions.
• Section 15-13-1 Definitions
  For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section: (1) ADMISSION TO BAIL. The...
• Section 15-13-2 Allowance as matter of right prior to conviction
  In all cases other than those specified in subsection (a) of Section 15-13-3, a defendant is, before conviction, entitled to bail as a matter of
• Section 15-13-3 Persons charged with capital offense
  (a) A defendant cannot be admitted to bail when he is charged with an offense which may be punished by death if the court is...
• Section 15-13-4 Prisoners entitled to opportunity to give bail; release of prisoner on own recognizance
  All judges or magistrates, when authorized by law to grant bail, shall take care that every prisoner in jail shall have an opportunity to give...
• Section 15-13-5 Discharge of defendant by sheriff or deputy after indictment for misdemeanor
  (a) If the offense charged in an indictment is a misdemeanor, the defendant must be discharged by the sheriff, or his deputy, on giving sufficient...
• Section 15-13-6 Fixing of bail for felony; discharge of defendant by sheriff upon posting of bail
  (a) When an indictment is filed in court charging the defendant with a bailable felony and the defendant fails to give bail in open court,...
• Section 15-13-7 Amount to be endorsed on writ of arrest
  When a writ of arrest is issued upon an indictment, the clerk issuing the writ must endorse thereon an order to the sheriff to take...
• Section 15-13-8 Limitation on number of applications; appeals to Court of Criminal Appeals; procedure upon order of Court of Criminal Appeals admitting defendant to bail
  (a) When an application for bail is made to any circuit judge and is refused, no subsequent application can be made, but the evidence in...
• Article 2 Entry and Return.
• Section 15-13-20 Entry in minutes when taken in open court; form of entry
  When bail is taken in open court, it must be entered in the minutes, and may be as follows: The State) Came into court the...
• Section 15-13-21 Form and requisites of bail not taken in open court
  When not taken in open court, the undertaking of bail must be in writing, signed by the defendant and at least two sufficient sureties and...
• Section 15-13-22 Qualifications for bail; bond required for bondsmen; qualification when sufficiency of bail doubtful
  (a) Each person signing as surety an undertaking of bail must be: (1) A resident of this state; and (2) Worth, exclusive of property exempt...
• Section 15-13-23 Lunatics and infants
  It is not necessary that lunatics or infants should themselves execute or acknowledge the undertaking of bail, but any other person may enter into an...
• Section 15-13-24 Judicial and ministerial officers prohibited from becoming surety for bail or signing bonds, etc
  It shall not be lawful for any judicial or ministerial officer of this state to sign as surety an undertaking of bail for any prisoner...
• Section 15-13-25 Return of undertakings to clerk of court
  All undertakings of bail must be returned by the court or officer by whom taken to the clerk of the court before which the defendant...
• Section 15-13-26 When new undertaking may be required
  The court before which any defendant is bound to appear may require him to enter into a new undertaking when it appears to the court...
• Article 3 Cash Deposit.
• Section 15-13-40 When deposit authorized in lieu of bail
  At any time after an order admitting him to bail, a defendant, instead of giving bail, may deposit with the clerk of the court in...
• Section 15-13-41 Deposit permitted after bail given and prior to forfeiture; exoneration of bail
  If a defendant has given bail, he may, at any time before the forfeiture of the undertaking, deposit the sum mentioned in the recognizance with...
• Section 15-13-42 Application in satisfaction of fine; refund of surplus
  When money has been deposited, if it remains on deposit at the time of a judgment for the payment of a fine, the clerk of...
• Section 15-13-43 Deposit of federal or state bonds in lieu of cash; sale of bonds
  In lieu of a deposit of money, a defendant may deposit negotiable bonds of the United States or of the State of Alabama of the...
• Article 4 Effect of Undertaking and Discharge of Bail.
• Section 15-13-60 Extent undertaking binds parties thereto
  The undertaking of bail binds the parties thereto, jointly and severally, for the appearance of the defendant on the day fixed in the bond or...
• Section 15-13-61 When bail not deemed discharged
  No bail undertaking shall be discharged by reason of the want of the qualifications required in this chapter, by reason of there not being the...
• Section 15-13-62 Exoneration of bail by surrender of defendant prior to conditional judgment; bail may arrest or authorize arrest of principal
  Bail may, at any time before a conditional judgment is entered against them, exonerate themselves by surrendering the defendant; and for that purpose, they may...
• Section 15-13-63 Arrest of defendant by bail after conditional judgment
  After the entry of conditional judgment against any surety on an undertaking of bail, he may arrest the defendant as provided in Section 15-13-62, but...
• Section 15-13-64 Surrender of defendant to sheriff required to exonerate bail; when new bail allowed
  To exonerate the bail, the surrender of the defendant must be made to the sheriff of the county in which the court is held, to...
• Section 15-13-65 Return of cash deposit upon surrender by defendant
  If money has been deposited instead of bail and at any time before the forfeiture thereof the defendant surrenders himself to the officer to whom...
• Article 5 Forfeiture.
• Section 15-13-80 Failure of defendant to appear; forfeiture of money deposited in lieu of bail
  (a) The essence of all undertakings of bail, whether upon a warrant, writ of arrest, suspension of judgment, appeal or in any other case, is...
• Section 15-13-81 Conditional judgment - Entry; notice to defendant; execution and return of notice; alias notices
  (a) When an undertaking of bail is forfeited by the failure of the defendant to appear as required, except when money is deposited instead of...
• Section 15-13-82 Conditional judgment - When set aside or made absolute; when excuses for default heard
  (a) If the defendants appear and show sufficient cause for their default on bail, to be determined by the court, the conditional judgment must be...
• Article 6 Alabama Bail Reform Act of 1993.
• Division 1 General Provisions.
• Section 15-13-100 Short title
  This article shall be known and may be cited as "The Alabama Bail Reform Act of 1993."
• Section 15-13-101 Definitions
  As used in this article, the following terms shall have the following meanings, respectively, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. (1) APPEARANCE BOND. An appearance...
• Section 15-13-102 Definitions and purpose of bail
  As used in this article, "bail" is the release of a person who has been arrested and is being held in the custody of the...
• Section 15-13-103 Order and amount of bail
  Admission to bail is the order of a judicial officer of any court of the State of Alabama, or one of its subdivisions, that the...
• Section 15-13-104 Order of bail to be affixed to warrants
  Judicial officers shall see that the amount of bail is affixed to any warrants of arrests issued by the judicial officer at the time of...
• Section 15-13-105 Order of bail in warrantless arrest cases
  In cases where a defendant is arrested without a warrant and taken into custody and there is no standard bail schedule prescribed by the presiding...
• Section 15-13-106 Illegal commitment
  Except in capital cases where there is no right to release on bail, no person or defendant shall be committed to any jail in the...
• Section 15-13-107 Who may or shall accept, take, and approve bail and under what circumstances
  (a) Judges of any court within the State of Alabama may accept, take, and approve bail within the jurisdiction of their respective courts. (b) Circuit,...
• Section 15-13-108 Bail as a matter of right
  In all cases of misdemeanors and felonies, unless otherwise specified, the defendant is, before conviction, entitled to bail as a matter of right. All sheriffs...
• Section 15-13-109 Bail in probation violation cases
  In cases where the defendant has been placed on, or granted, probation and is arrested on a probation violation warrant, it shall be discretionary with...
• Section 15-13-110 Professional bondsmen - Right to interview
  Sheriffs, chiefs of police, jailers, or other law enforcement officers having custody of defendants who have bail set, shall, upon the request of the defendant...
• Division 2 Four Kinds of Bail and Their Definitions.
• Section 15-13-111 Kinds of bail
  For persons arrested and taken into custody, there shall be four kinds of bail used in this state. No other form of bail may be...
• Division 3 Bond Forms — Entry and Return.
• Section 15-13-112 Bond forms
  The Supreme Court of Alabama shall prescribe the different forms used for bail bonds and shall publish the forms in the Alabama Rules of Criminal...
• Division 4 Effect of Undertaking and Discharge of Bail.
• Section 15-13-113 Effect of undertaking: To what extent binds parties thereto
  The undertaking of bail binds the parties thereto, jointly and severally, for the appearance of the defendant in court on the day fixed in the...
• Section 15-13-114 Obligation of sureties continues during trial
  The obligation of the sureties continues throughout every stage of trial, from the time the defendant is entered thereon until the rendition of the verdict...
• Section 15-13-115 Obligation of sureties in probation cases
  The obligation of sureties is continued beyond the finding of a guilty verdict by the judge or by a jury in cases where the maximum...
• Section 15-13-116 Surrender of principal in open court
  When the defendant is before the court pertaining to the case(s), the sureties of such bail may surrender the defendant in court by notifying the...
• Section 15-13-117 Authorized arrest of defendant by surety and exoneration of bail prior to conditional forfeiture
  The sureties of bail may, at any time before a conditional forfeiture is entered against them, exonerate themselves by surrendering the defendant to the jail...
• Section 15-13-118 Arrest of defendant by surety after conditional forfeiture
  After the entry of a conditional forfeiture against any surety on an undertaking of bail, the surety may arrest the defendant as provided in Section...
• Section 15-13-119 Surrender of defendant to his or her original custodians necessary to exonerate bail; when new bail is allowed
  To exonerate the bail, the surrender of the defendant, other than that in Section 15-13-116, shall be made to the original custodian of the county...
• Section 15-13-120 Substitution of bail
  After a defendant has been released on either one of the four different types of bail, as set out in Division 2, Section 15-13-111, and...
• Section 15-13-121 Bail not discharged by irregularities or by want of qualifications
  No bail shall be discharged by reason of the want of qualifications required in this chapter, by reason of there not being the requisite number...
• Section 15-13-122 Bondsman's process - Detainer
  In instances in which the surety or sureties have in their possession a bondsman's process for the defendant and the surety wishes to place a...
• Section 15-13-123 Surety discharged - Failing to accept detainer
  In all cases where any law enforcement officer, as described in Section 15-13-122, who has custody of a defendant for which a surety presents to...
• Division 5 Arrest by Principal's Sureties, Procedure of Arrest, Bondsman's Process.
• Section 15-13-124 Bondsman's process
  A bondsman's process is that document which is issued by the clerk of the court that has jurisdiction over the defendant and sureties for the...
• Section 15-13-125 When the clerk shall issue a bondsman's process
  The clerk of the court having jurisdiction over the defendant shall issue a bondsman's process to the sureties on such bail upon their request. The...
• Section 15-13-126 Return of bondsman's process
  (a) All bondsman's processes, when executed by sureties or other lawful authorized persons, shall be returned by the sheriff, chief of police, or other authorized...
• Section 15-13-127 Bondsman's processes have certified copy of undertaking attached
  The clerk shall see that all bondsman's processes have a certified copy of the undertaking attached to them. If there has been a conditional forfeiture...
• Section 15-13-128 Form for bondsman's process
  The following shall be substantially the form to be used for a bondsman's process. BONDSMAN'S PROCESS STATE OF ALABAMA COUNTY OF ___________. (or) CITY OF...
• Section 15-13-129 Arrest of principal by out-of-state surety
  All bondsmen or sureties from out of the State of Alabama who come to this state to make an arrest shall be exempt from having...
• Division 6 Forfeiture - Proceedings Thereon.
• Section 15-13-130 Cash bail - Undertaking of bail: Basis of and when forfeited
  The basis of all undertakings of bail, whether upon a warrant, writ of arrest, suspension of judgment, writ of error, or in any other case,...
• Section 15-13-131 Proceeding in forfeiture of bail - Not cash - Conditional forfeitures order
  (a) When a defendant fails to appear in court as required by the undertaking of bail and no sufficient excuse has been provided to the...
• Section 15-13-132 Conditional forfeiture notice to defendant and sureties
  A notice of the rendition of the judgment set forth in Section 15-13-131 shall be issued by the clerk of the court and served according...
• Section 15-13-133 Provisions of sureties address for service
  It shall be the sole responsibility of any defendant or surety on bail to notify in writing the clerk of any court to which bail...
• Section 15-13-134 Service of forfeiture notice
  A conditional forfeiture notice may be served by any law enforcement officer, at the law enforcement office in the same manner as a summons in...
• Section 15-13-135 Returns "not found" or certified mail returned
  If the notice is not served on any of the parties to the undertaking, such other notices as are necessary, may, from time to time...
• Section 15-13-136 Failure to issue and serve conditional forfeiture in 90 days
  In forfeiture cases where the clerk of the court has failed to issue the conditional forfeiture notice as stipulated in Section 15-13-132 and where there...
• Section 15-13-137 Conditional judgment set aside, reduced, or made absolute
  If the defendants appear and show sufficient cause for the default to be determined by the court, the conditional judgment shall be set aside. If...
• Section 15-13-138 Conditions for which it shall be mandatory for the court to set aside forfeiture
  The court shall set aside the conditional forfeiture in its entirety for the following reasons or under the following circumstances: (1) If the sureties can...
• Section 15-13-139 Remission after final judgment of forfeiture
  In forfeiture cases where the sureties have paid the amount of the forfeiture into the court or in cases where the forfeiture has been made...
• Section 15-13-140 Reasons for default heard at any time, and allowed without costs
  Reasons for default shall be heard by the court on application, at any time when not engaged in other business. When a conditional judgment is...
• Section 15-13-141 Revocation of authority to execute bail by clerk
  In all cases where a conditional forfeiture has been made final by any court of the state or any of its subdivisions and there has...
• Division 7 Qualification of Bail - Judicial Public Bail.
• Section 15-13-142 Judicial public bail - Authority of release person
  Only a judicial officer may release a person on judicial public bail. The judicial officer shall have jurisdiction over the case and defendant in order...
• Section 15-13-143 Procedure for bail hearings
  A judicial public bail hearing may commence by a motion from any judicial officer having jurisdiction over the defendant or by the defendant's application as...
• Section 15-13-144 Notice to prosecutor
  Prior to the hearing, the judicial officer shall have the clerk of the court give a minimum notice of 72 hours to the district attorney...
• Section 15-13-145 Defendants who may be eligible
  Any person charged with a felony, misdemeanor, or violation shall be eligible for a judicial public bail, if: (1) The person is not charged with...
• Section 15-13-146 Judicial public bail release
  Any person charged with an offense other than an offense exempted by Section 15-13-145, may be ordered released pending trial on judicial public bail upon...
• Section 15-13-147 Determination of conditions of release
  In determining the restrictions and conditions of release that will assure the appearance of a person as required, and safety of any other person or...
• Section 15-13-148 Additional conditions
  A judicial officer ordering the release of a person on any condition may at any time amend the order to impose additional or different conditions...
• Section 15-13-149 Order of release
  A judicial officer authorizing the release of a person shall issue an appropriate order containing a statement of the conditions imposed, and shall advise the...
• Section 15-13-150 Cumulative punishment
  Nothing in this chapter shall interfere with or prevent the exercise of power to punish for contempt by the courts.
• Section 15-13-151 Evidence
  Information stated in, or offered in connection with, any order entered pursuant to this article need not conform to the rules pertaining to the admissibility...
• Division 8 Property Bail, Qualifications, Value of Property, Property Owners as Surety.
• Section 15-13-152 Qualification for property bail
  The qualifications for property bail are that each surety be a resident of the state, and an owner of real property therein, and that any...
• Section 15-13-153 Value of property determined by approving authority
  Any person having the authority to approve and accept property bail shall determine the sufficiency of the bail. As to the value of the property...
• Section 15-13-154 False information on property affidavit
  Any person or owner of property who willfully or intentionally provides false information on a property affidavit, as set out in Section 15-13-152, and the...
• Section 15-13-155 Property owners as surety - Limited
  A property owner shall not execute or become surety for more than four different persons in any one year, other than immediate family members, unless...
• Section 15-13-156 Filing of lien in default cases - Release
  (a) Clerks of all courts of the state and its subdivisions may file the "lien and affidavit" form in the probate court of the county...
• Section 15-13-157 Collection - Property bail forfeitures
  The clerks of all courts of the State of Alabama and its subdivisions shall make every effort to collect forfeitures. All clerks may issue executions,...
• Division 9 Cash Bail.
• Section 15-13-158 Cash bail: Deposit with clerk
  At any time after an order admitting a defendant to bail, the defendant or another person may deposit with the clerk of the court in...
• Division 10 Qualification and Regulation.
• Section 15-13-159 Qualifications - Professional surety company
  No professional surety company shall execute or become surety on any appearance bond in this state, unless it has an order granting authorization to become...
• Section 15-13-160 Qualifications - Professional bail companies
  No professional bail company shall execute or become surety on any appearance bond in this state, unless it has an order granting authorization to become...
• Section 15-13-161 Filing original documents - Circuit clerk
  Professional surety and professional bail companies shall file all corporate surety bonds, escrow agreements and other original documents required pursuant to Division 10 with the...
• Section 15-13-162 Surety bond and escrow agreements - Forms
  All corporate surety bonds and escrow agreements shall contain essentially the language set out in forms provided and approved by the Alabama Supreme Court. Corporate...
• Section 15-13-163 Revocation by circuit judges
  The presiding judge of the circuit court may, and on verified motion of the prosecutor shall, subpoena the representatives of the professional surety company or...
• Division 11 Miscellaneous.
• Section 15-13-164 Misrepresentation as surety
  Any person who becomes surety on any bail for a defendant in this state and receives something of value or charges a fee therefor, and...
• Article 7 Bail for Persons Arrested for Certain Domestic Violence Offenses or Violation of Protection Order.
• Section 15-13-190 Procedures upon arrest; conditions of release or bail
  (a) A person arrested for domestic violence in the first degree, pursuant to Section 13A-6-130, domestic violence in the second degree, pursuant to Section 13A-6-131,...
• Article 8 Alabama Bail Bond Regulatory Act.
• Section 15-13-200 Short title
  This article shall be known and may be cited as the Alabama Bail Bond Regulatory Act.
• Section 15-13-201 Definitions
  For the purposes of this article, the following terms shall have the following meanings: (1) BOARD. Alabama Professional Bail Bonding Board. (2) PROFESSIONAL BONDSMAN. Any...
• Section 15-13-202 License required; examination; continuing education
  An individual may not hold himself or herself out to the public as a professional bondsman, operate as a recovery agent, or use any term,...
• Section 15-13-203 Alabama Professional Bail Bonding Board - Creation; composition; adoption and enforcement of rules; compensation
  (a) The Alabama Professional Bail Bonding Board is created to administer and enforce this article. The board shall consist of all of the following members:...
• Section 15-13-204 Alabama Professional Bail Bonding Board - Liability
  (a) Pursuant to Section 36-1-12, the members and employees of the board are granted immunity from civil liability and may not be liable for damages...
• Section 15-13-205 Alabama Professional Bail Bonding Board - President and vice president
  At the initial meeting of the board and each time a new member is appointed to the board, the members of the board shall select...
• Section 15-13-206 Alabama Professional Bail Bonding Board - Alabama Bail Bond Board Fund
  (a) There is created in the State Treasury for the use of the Alabama Professional Bail Bonding Board a fund to be known as the...
• Section 15-13-207 Alabama Professional Bail Bonding Board - Rulemaking authority; canons of ethics and professional standards; personnel
  (a) The Alabama Professional Bail Bonding Board may adopt rules necessary to implement this article and accomplish its objectives subject to the Alabama Administrative Procedure...
• Section 15-13-208 Alabama Professional Bail Bonding Board - Meetings; quorum
  (a) The board shall establish regular and special meetings for the purpose of transacting its business as provided by rules adopted by the board. Notice...
• Section 15-13-209 Licensing violations
  (a) Except as otherwise provided in this article, it shall be unlawful for any individual to act as a professional bondsman or recovery agent without...
• Section 15-13-210 Application for licensure
  An application and all information on an application for licensure as a professional bondsman shall be treated as confidential and shall be filed with the...
• Section 15-13-211 Licensure requirements
  Each individual applicant shall meet all of the following criteria, demonstrating that he or she: (1) Is at least 21 years of age. (2) Has...
• Section 15-13-212 Denial of licensure; application for reconsideration; issuance and display of license
  (a)(1) If an application for a license is denied, the board shall notify the applicant in writing and specify the grounds for denial. If the...
• Section 15-13-213 Identification card
  (a) The board shall issue to every bondsman licensee an identification card, which shall be issued in credit card size, be permanently laminated, and contain...
• Section 15-13-214 Civil penalty for false statements to board
  Making a false statement to the board shall be punishable by a civil penalty not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) and assessment of the...
• Section 15-13-215 Suspension, revocation, etc., of license; renewal of suspended license
  (a) The board may suspend, revoke, or refuse to issue or renew any license issued by it upon finding that the holder or applicant has...
• Section 15-13-216 Application of Administrative Procedure Act
  The Administrative Procedure Act shall govern all matters and procedures respecting the hearing and judicial overview of any contested case.
• Section 15-13-217 Examination; continuing education; certification; costs and fees
  (a) A professional bondsman or recovery agent commencing business in any judicial circuit in this state on and after June 1, 2020, shall attend a...
• Section 15-13-218 Effect of criminal or civil actions under article
  No criminal or civil action taken under this article precludes a prosecution or action under any other law of this state.
• Section 15-13-219 Sunset provisions
  The board shall be subject to the Alabama Sunset Law, Chapter 20 of Title 41, as an enumerated agency as provided in Section 41-20-3, and...

Last modified: May 3, 2021