Men's & Women's Transitional Facility Inmate Bail & Bonds

Type the name into San Mateo County Inmate Search first. The listing tells you if she is in and what bail is set. Very new bookings can lag, so look again an hour later. The jail desk in Redwood City answers at 650-363-4000 for anything the search cannot tell you.

Maple Street Correctional Center and Bradford Street main jail are both run by the Sheriff's Office. People can be moved between them, so a transfer is not a sign of trouble.

Back to questions ↑

Bail appears with the booking details in San Mateo County Inmate Search. An empty bail line usually means intake isn’t finished. Phone 650-363-4000 giving her legal name and birth date, then ask if a judge raised or lowered the posted amount.

Back to questions ↑

The Bradford Street main jail is at 300 Bradford Street, Redwood City, CA 94063. A cashier window sits in the jail lobby. Bring photo ID and the person's booking details. Call 650-363-4000 for the window's hours before you drive over.

Back to questions ↑

The county's service directory lists cash, check, or money order. A check needs proper ID and cannot be more than $300. For a larger bail, plan on cash or a licensed bail agent. Ask the desk about any other payment type before you go, and keep the receipt.

Back to questions ↑

San Mateo’s superior court publishes its bail amounts online. These examples come from the schedules that took effect in summer 2026: simple battery as a misdemeanor, $5,000; drunk driving under Vehicle Code 23152(a), $5,000; second-degree burglary as a felony, $10,000; assault with a deadly weapon as a felony, $25,000; first-degree burglary, $50,000.

A judge can change these numbers, and they are not the only possible figure. Special-circumstance murder has no bail under the schedule. For any other charge, check the schedule on the court's bail page or ask at the jail.

Back to questions ↑

Under Penal Code 1269b, San Mateo’s judges approve a new schedule yearly, and once that sum is posted, Maple Street can release her. After the first court date, a judge may go higher or lower. In 2026 the California Supreme Court, in In re Kowalczyk, said courts must look at what a person can pay and at release without money first.

For violent or serious felonies and certain domestic violence charges, Penal Code 1270.1 requires a hearing in open court first. Both sides get two court days of written notice. The scheduled amount does not work for those cases.

Back to questions ↑

California’s insurance regulators say ten percent is the most common fee, along with fair expenses. Each agent has to stick to the rates his insurer filed in Sacramento. Dropped charges rarely bring that premium back. Get all the terms on paper and read them first. Complaints go to the Department of Insurance.

Back to questions ↑

A property bond works, though it takes time. The equity in the property must be at least twice the bail (Penal Code 1298), and more than one property can be added together. You need a recent title report, an appraisal by a state-certified appraiser less than six months old, proof of fire insurance, a deed of trust and a promissory note signed by every owner. The deed of trust gets recorded wherever the land is located. County Counsel reviews the papers at 650-363-4250, then the presiding judge signs an order, and a certified copy goes to the jail for the release.

Allow several days. A bail bond from a licensed agent is faster. Questions about the court forms go to the criminal division at 650-261-5100.

Back to questions ↑

Penal Code 825 requires a prompt court date, at most 48 hours after arrest, with Sundays and court holidays left out. At that hearing the judge may keep, cut, or deny bail, or let her out on her promise. Arrest late on a Friday and the first hearing can fall on Monday or Tuesday.

Court staff at 650-261-5100 can tell you the hearing date and room once the person is booked.

Back to questions ↑

San Mateo has one Superior Court with several buildings, all reached at 650-261-5100. Criminal cases are handled at the Southern Branch, Hall of Justice, 400 County Center, Redwood City, and the Northern Branch, 1050 Mission Road, South San Francisco. The Central Branch is at 800 North Humboldt Street, San Mateo. Ask for the arraignment courtroom when you call. Criminal division staff work Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Back to questions ↑

California's Constitution, article I, section 12, permits holding someone without bail when a death-penalty charge is well supported. Some violent felonies, sex felonies, and serious threats qualify as well, but only with clear and convincing proof that release would put others in danger of serious injury. Holds from parole, probation, or another county keep a person in too.

Special-circumstance murder carries no bail on the local schedule. To learn why her record reads that way, phone the criminal division at 650-261-5100.

Back to questions ↑

City police departments in the county book their adult arrests, and most people are then taken to Redwood City. Some city stations may hold people briefly before transfer, so get the report number and current location from that city’s police, then search San Mateo County Inmate Search to find out if she has been moved to Maple Street yet.

Back to questions ↑

San Mateo County Probation runs Juvenile Hall at 222 Paul Scannell Drive, San Mateo, CA 94402, for young people held in custody. The office line is 650-312-5327, answered weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Superior Court's Juvenile Branch is at the same address. Records of minors are sealed and won’t show in the adult search. For the hearing time, phone the court at 650-261-5100 for the hearing time. After the petition is filed, Welfare and Institutions Code section 632 sets a detention hearing by the close of the following court day.

Back to questions ↑

San Mateo has no public defender office; the court instead assigns the county bar’s Private Defender Program to anyone who qualifies. That covers felonies, misdemeanors, and juvenile cases. Its office line is 650-298-4000. If she can’t hire counsel, she should say so to the judge at arraignment. A lawyer can also ask for lower bail or release.

Back to questions ↑

A San Mateo judge can order the bail forfeited. Under Penal Code 1305 the person or bail agent gets about 180 days after notice is mailed, plus five days for mail, to bring the defendant in and get the forfeiture undone. Later the court may enter a judgment on the bond. Reach her lawyer and the bondsman that day.

Back to questions ↑

After the final ruling, the court exonerates the bail and mails back the cash, minus whatever fines or fees the judge ordered. A bondsman never returns his premium. Save the Redwood City receipt; it carries the case number. Ask the criminal division at 650-261-5100 how to request the refund.

Back to questions ↑

Redwood City’s court and Maple Street will only take bail through their own windows and official channels, never through gift cards, digital coins, or somebody’s private account. Stick to official lines: Maple Street at 650-363-4000 and the court at 650-261-5100. A caller rushing you is a red flag. Hang up, then phone Maple Street on your own.

Back to questions ↑

In most cases, yes. In re Kowalczyk (2026) says bail must generally be reachable. Redwood City judges who believe release is unsafe must hold a hearing under the state constitution's strict test rather than setting impossible bail.

Back to questions ↑

San Mateo's main criminal court is the Hall of Justice in Redwood City; South San Francisco handles northern county matters:

• Southern branch hall of justice: 400 County Center, Redwood City, CA 94063 · 650-261-5100
• Central branch: 800 North Humboldt Street, San Mateo, CA 94401 · 650-261-5100
• Northern branch: 1050 Mission Road, South San Francisco, CA 94080 · 650-261-5100
• Juvenile branch: 222 Paul Scannell Drive, San Mateo, CA 94402 · 650-261-5100

Back to questions ↑

San Mateo's federal cases go to the Northern District of California in San Francisco:

• A magistrate judge at San Francisco federal courthouse, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102 hears the first appearance.
• Pretrial Services prepares a report.
• The judge then picks release terms or a detention order.
• Held people stay with the Marshals.

Marshals: U.S. Marshals Service, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, 20th floor, San Francisco, 415-436-7677.

Back to questions ↑

SB 54 bars it. San Mateo may share a release date only when the person has a serious or violent conviction. A TRUTH Act notice is required before ICE interviews.

San Francisco ICE field office, 630 Sansome Street, Room 590, San Francisco, CA 94111, 415-365-8800 covers San Mateo. Detainees go to:

• Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center: 425 Golden State Avenue, Bakersfield, CA 93301
• Golden State Annex: 611 Frontage Road, McFarland, CA 93250
• California City detention site: 22844 Virginia Boulevard, California City, CA 93505

Back to questions ↑

• San Mateo County Inmate Search: name; booking and bail.
• VINELink (https://vinelink.vineapps.com/): California; facility.
• Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator (https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/): register number or name; pretrial: 415-436-7677.
• CDCR Inmate Locator (https://inmatelocator.cdcr.ca.gov/): CDCR number or name.
• ICE Online Detainee Locator System (https://locator.ice.gov/odls/): A-number or name and birth country; else 415-365-8800.

Back to questions ↑

Phone the San Mateo court at 650-261-5100. Bail can change at arraignment, so check before you pay.

Back to questions ↑