Cullman County Detention Center Inmate Bail & Bonds

Nearly every adult arrest in the county finishes at one place: the county detention center at 1900 Beech Avenue SE, Cullman, AL 35055, phone 256-735-2400. The county directory says it holds people from the towns while they wait for court. The city of Cullman's court page points there too, so this is the place to call first.

Someone grabbed by city police might sit at the station for a little while, yet the booking itself happens on Beech Avenue. The sheriff's office is next door at 1910 Beech Avenue SE, Cullman, AL 35055, 256-734-0342. Unsure which agency made the arrest? It is printed on the booking sheet, and detention staff can look it up while you are on the line.

Begin with the county custody search. Try the legal surname, then any married or earlier surname, and compare birthdays so you land on the correct record. Fingerprints and photos come before a name reaches the screen, so an arrest from an hour ago may still be missing.

Still empty later on? Phone 256-735-2400. Staff can say whether booking wrapped up, whether the officer simply wrote a ticket, or whether a different county picked the person up. Alabama VINELink can text or email you for free whenever a release or transfer gets recorded.

Usually a magistrate fixes the first bond by reading the schedule that the county's judges keep. Later, a judge may push the figure up or down or tack on conditions. Detention officers never choose a number; they follow whatever order lands on their desk, and the circuit clerk files the paperwork.

Alabama Rule 4.3 sets the clock. No warrant? Then a judge has 48 hours to decide if probable cause existed. Held on a warrant with no bond posted? A first appearance is due no later than 72 hours. Domestic violence arrests can mean a wait of up to 24 hours before any bond is set. Court questions go to the clerk at 500 2nd Avenue SW, Suite 303, Cullman, AL 35055, 256-775-4660.

According to the sheriff, the county switched back to its secured bond schedule on November 30, 2022. Secured means real value stands behind the promise to come back to court: cash, a licensed bail company, or pledged land.

Going home without paying anything happens only when a judge signs off, such as on a signature bond. If the figure feels impossible, a defense attorney can ask the court for a smaller one. Get the exact total from the jail at 256-735-2400 first, since one person may carry a separate bond on each charge. For the state's rulebook in everyday words, open our Alabama bail laws page.

Rule 7.2 offers a suggested span for each class of offense. Judges in this county can still go higher or lower after weighing record, local roots and risk:

• City ordinance violation: $300 to $1,000
• Class C misdemeanor: $300 to $1,000
• Class B misdemeanor: $300 to $3,000
• Class A misdemeanor: $300 to $6,000
• DUI: $1,000 to $7,500
• Class D felony: $1,000 to $10,000
• Class C felony: $2,500 to $15,000
• Class B felony: $5,000 to $30,000
• Class A felony: $10,000 to $60,000
• Drug trafficking: $5,000 to $1,500,000

Murder bonds in this county skip the chart and get set one at a time. The full Rule 7.2 schedule shows every category.

The circuit clerk handles court bonds inside the county courthouse, 500 2nd Avenue SW, Suite 303, Cullman, AL 35055. Clerk staff answer at 256-775-4654 and 256-775-4660. Doors are open weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with a lunch break from noon to 1:00 p.m.

Outside those hours, ask the detention center at 256-735-2400 about its bonding window and the times it accepts payment. Before leaving home, find out which kinds of payment each office takes, cards included, and whether any added fees apply. Carry a photo ID plus the person's full name and case or booking number. Hang on to each receipt; it is your proof if a refund comes due.

Think of the kiosk in the lobby at 1900 Beech Avenue SE, Cullman, AL 35055 as a commissary machine. The sheriff detention center page describes it as a way to load an inmate's account through JailATM. It accepts exact bills of $5, $10, $20 or more, along with debit or credit cards, and it turns away coins, personal checks and foreign currency.

With a card, the billing details have to match the driver's license or the deposit bounces. Whatever lands on that account buys snacks and phone time; none of it counts toward bond. If the jail offers another way to post bond inside the building, have staff at 256-735-2400 walk you through it beforehand.

Licensed bail agents work across the county. You pay a fee; the agent then vouches to the judge for every future appearance. Even if prosecutors drop everything, the agent keeps that fee. Many agents also want collateral, maybe a vehicle title, and a co-signer who owes the money if court dates get skipped.

Shop around, and insist on the fee, collateral and refund terms on paper before signing anything. Jail or clerk staff can hand you a list, yet they are not allowed to pick one. Licenses can be checked through the Alabama Professional Bail Bonding Board. For questions about when an agent can post, call the detention center at 256-735-2400.

Property can secure a bond here, though the rules differ depending on whom you ask. The county directory says the land must lie within Cullman County. State law goes further and lets any Alabama resident pledge Alabama land with enough value to cover the amount.

Phone the circuit clerk at 256-775-4654 and find out which version this court uses and what forms it wants. Plan on bringing the deed along with a recent tax valuation. The clerk's office is at 500 2nd Avenue SW, Suite 303, Cullman, AL 35055. When more than one name appears on the deed, each owner may have to sign, so sort that out before the drive.

City charges belong to Cullman Municipal Court, which meets in City Hall at 204 2nd Avenue NE, Cullman, AL 35055, phone 256-775-7136. Its office keeps weekday hours from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Under that court's posted rules, a first arrest on a city charge gets bonded through a bondsman or by pledging property. Once someone is arrested for failing to show up, the bond turns cash only and climbs higher with every missed date. A defendant who still cannot post a city bond may receive a signature bond after 72 hours behind bars. Check with the court office about the set amount and accepted payment before handing over money.

Most bond paperwork happens in the county seat, split among these offices:

• Circuit and District Court clerk: 500 2nd Avenue SW, Suite 303, Cullman, AL 35055, 256-775-4654, or the courthouse main number 256-775-4660.
• Cullman Municipal Court: City Hall, 204 2nd Avenue NE, Cullman, AL 35055, 256-775-7136.
• Cullman Police Department, for people city officers arrested: 601 2nd Avenue NE, Cullman, AL 35055, 256-775-7160, or 256-734-1434 at night.
• Detention center: 1900 Beech Avenue SE, Cullman, AL 35055, 256-735-2400.
• Sheriff's office: 1910 Beech Avenue SE, Cullman, AL 35055, 256-734-0342.

Hanceville shut down its police department and city court in 2026. Deputies make arrests there now, and the charges land in District Court. When a case comes from one of the other small towns, ask the circuit clerk where it was filed.

Bail is the normal rule, but not for every charge. In capital murder, when the proof is strong, a judge may say no to bond. Aniah's Law gives prosecutors a way to seek a no-bond hold, after a hearing, for listed violent offenses.

The May 19, 2026 ballot made the list longer. It now reaches attempted murder, soliciting or conspiring to commit murder, and shooting into a home, building or car with people inside. Separately, a hold placed by another agency can keep someone in after one bond is posted. The District Attorney for the 32nd Judicial Circuit handles these requests from 500 2nd Avenue SW, Room 207, Cullman, AL 35055, 256-736-2800.

Yes, through a written request from the defense attorney. Under Rule 7.4, good cause lets a judge rework the terms after hearing from each side. Give the lawyer useful facts: the home address, job, children or parents the person supports, medical needs and who will drive them to court. Circuit judges also must revisit the terms of anyone jailed longer than 90 days awaiting trial.

People without money for an attorney may request an appointed one. A judge rules after reading a sworn financial form, and help from relatives with bond does not disqualify anyone by itself. The clerk answers at 256-775-4660. Statewide, the Office of Indigent Defense Services backs that appointed-lawyer system: 100 North Union Street, Suite 680, Montgomery, AL 36104, 334-242-7059.

Minors skip adult bail entirely, and adult search results do not list them, so a blank screen is expected. The county lists a juvenile detention center on the Beech Avenue campus, 1900 Beech Avenue SE, Cullman, AL 35055, phone 256-735-2400. If that center is not used, a youth might end up at a regional placement, for instance the Neaves-Davis Center for Children, 817 Cook Avenue, Huntsville, AL 35801, 256-532-0300.

A juvenile judge decides whether going home is safe, and the law gives 72 hours to hold that detention hearing. Intake and probation run through the circuit clerk's family division at 500 2nd Avenue SW, Suite 303, Cullman, AL 35055, 256-775-4654. Charges like murder or trafficking can put a 16-year-old or 17-year-old on the adult docket, held in the Beech Avenue adult jail.

Failing to appear usually brings a fresh arrest warrant, and the judge can begin forfeiting the deposit or pledged land. Rule 7.6 gives the defendant and every surety notice and an opportunity to respond before that forfeiture is final. On a city charge, the replacement bond becomes cash only and rises each time.

Act before deputies come knocking. Reach a lawyer, then call whichever court set the missed date. State cases: the circuit clerk at 500 2nd Avenue SW, Suite 303, Cullman, AL 35055, 256-775-4654. City cases: the municipal court at 204 2nd Avenue NE, Cullman, AL 35055, 256-775-7136. Ask about a new date and whether turning in voluntarily makes sense.

Cash you deposited with the court can be returned after the case closes and the bond has done its job. Rule 7.6(e) lets the court discharge the bond and send back the deposit. The clerk normally subtracts fines, court costs and fees the defendant owes first, so the refund may come in lower than the original payment.

Whatever a bondsman charged is not refundable. Guard the original receipt and note the case number on it. If you move, update the clerk so the refund check reaches you. Ask about refunds at 256-775-4654 or in person at 500 2nd Avenue SW, Suite 303, Cullman, AL 35055.

Forget the local bond chart if the case is federal. Those prosecutions belong to Alabama's Northern District federal court in Huntsville, at 660 Gallatin Street SW, Huntsville, AL 35801, 256-534-6495. Steps tend to run in this order:

1. An arrest by federal agents, or a transfer out of Beech Avenue.
2. A magistrate judge runs the opening hearing.
3. Pretrial services looks into jobs, relatives and prior charges.
4. Prosecutors decide whether to seek detention.
5. The judge sets conditions under 18 U.S.C. § 3142 rather than naming a cash price.

For as long as the case runs, the Marshals decide which contract jail houses the defendant. Reach them at 1729 5th Avenue North, Room 240, Birmingham, AL 35203, 205-829-6611.

No. A detainer survives the state bond being paid. Form I-247A is the written request for Beech Avenue staff to hold a person as long as 48 hours past the moment they would have walked out, giving officers time to collect them. If nobody from ICE arrives within that window, the jail should let the person go.

This county falls in the territory of ICE's New Orleans Field Office, 181 James Drive W, St. Rose, LA 70087, 504-318-2360. Short ICE stays in Alabama have used:

• Baldwin County Corrections Center, 200 Hand Avenue, Bay Minette, AL 36507
• Etowah County Detention Center, 827 Forrest Avenue, Gadsden, AL 35901
• Pickens County Detention Facility, 188 Cemetery Street, Carrollton, AL 35447

Look the person up on the ICE Online Detainee Locator System using the A-number plus birth country.

Fraudsters like to phone frightened relatives within hours of an arrest and push for quick payment. Nobody at the jail will ever demand gift cards, app transfers or wired money for a release. Ignore any callback number that arrives by text or shows on caller ID.

End the call and dial the detention center on your own at 256-735-2400, or the sheriff's office at 1910 Beech Avenue SE, Cullman, AL 35055, 256-734-0342. Confirm the person is there, the true bond amount and who may accept it. A genuine bondsman hands over a written contract and receipt. Pressure to pay within minutes is itself a red flag.

A sentence often means leaving Beech Avenue for good. Three free searches help you follow along:

• State prison: the ADOC custody search takes a name or six-digit AIS number. It covers current prisoners and omits youthful offender files.
• Federal prison: the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator shows people serving federal time. Before a federal sentence, phone the U.S. Marshals at 205-829-6611.
• County jail: the county custody search still covers anyone held on Beech Avenue.

When a prison is assigned, our Alabama state prison pages give mail and visiting details for it.