Elmwood Men's Correctional Complex Inmate Bail & Bonds

Look her up on Santa Clara County Inmate Search. Most new arrests go through the Main Jail at 150 West Hedding Street, San Jose, which has a North and a South building. The Elmwood complex in Milpitas holds men and women who are housed there after booking. Nothing showing yet? Dial the county's inmate inquiry line at 408-808-2804; callers report it is staffed weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The amount appears on the record in Santa Clara County Inmate Search. Fresh Santa Clara bookings sometimes take hours to post. If you still see no figure, call 408-808-2804. Keep her legal name, birthday, and booking number in front of you. Ask if she is eligible for release on her own promise, since Santa Clara County has a release program for some DUI and misdemeanor cases.

Sources disagree, so call first. Some say bail is paid at the Main Jail, and one lists the Administrative Booking window at 885 North San Pedro Street, San Jose. That source says to bring a California bank California bank cashier’s check, or a money order, naming as payee the Santa Clara County Judicial District, with her full name and booking number, and warns that a cashier's check must clear before release. Confirm the place and the payment types with 408-808-2804.

The Superior Court adopted its 2026 criminal bail schedule on January 27, 2026. Examples: second-degree burglary, $10,000; possession of a controlled substance under Health and Safety Code 11350, $10,000; assault with a deadly weapon as a felony, $25,000; first-degree burglary, $50,000; first-degree robbery, $100,000. A felony domestic violence charge under Penal Code 273.5 is $25,000, or $100,000 with a listed prior.

Murder is marked no bail on the schedule, which means a judge sets the matter at arraignment unless the person has no right to bail. See the full schedule.

A misdemeanor DUI is $5,000 if the blood alcohol is under 0.15 and $10,000 at 0.15 or higher, with more for priors. A battery charge is $10,000 and misdemeanor domestic violence is $10,000. Petty theft with a prior is $5,000 as a felony. A misdemeanor not on the list is usually a release on the person's own promise, but $10,000 if he was already on bail, probation, or supervised release.

After the first court date, a Santa Clara judge sets the amount, which can land above or below the posted figure. Penal Code 1269b has the court judges adopt the schedule each year and lets the jail release someone who pays it. In 2026 the California Supreme Court, in In re Kowalczyk, told courts to consider conditions short of cash and what a person can afford. Serious felonies need an open-court hearing first under Penal Code 1270.1.

Penal Code 825 sets 48 hours from arrest, excluding Sundays and holidays. Felony arraignments are at the Hall of Justice, 190 West Hedding Street, San Jose, and the county's other courthouses include Palo Alto and Morgan Hill. Call the court's information line to learn which room: ask the Public Defender at 408-299-7700 if you cannot reach the clerk.

The state insurance department says a fee of ten percent of the bond is most common, plus reasonable costs, and that agents must use rates filed with the state. The fee is generally kept even if charges are dropped. Get collateral, co-signer duties, and missed-court terms in writing. Questions go to the California Department of Insurance.

Yes, with limits. The court form for a property bond says free-and-clear equity has to equal double the bail or more, and a mobile home does not qualify. The people who sign must be California residents. They swear to the property's value, every loan or lien against it, and whether it already backs another bond. The owner signs in front of the judge or commissioner, and a lien goes on the property. If the defendant misses court, the property can be sold to pay the bail. The court releases, or exonerates, the property when the bond ends.

Ask the criminal division or a lawyer which county's property is accepted before gathering deeds. Real estate is slower than cash, so plan for days.

California's Constitution, article I, section 12, permits no-bail holds on death-penalty charges. Some violent felonies, sex felonies, and grave threats can also be held without bail, but only on clear and convincing proof that serious harm is likely. An out-of-county warrant, or a parole or probation hold, will keep her in as well. Ask his lawyer which reason applies.

Sometimes. If he learns of an arrest warrant, a lawyer can ask for an out-of-custody arraignment in the Felony Arraignment department at the Hall of Justice. A 2023 court page listed those hearings on the second and fourth Monday afternoons, so confirm the current schedule. A person without a lawyer can contact the Public Defender's pre-arraignment unit at 408-299-7700.

Every city in the valley brings adult arrestees to the county’s jail to be booked. Get the charge and report number from that police department, and keep checking Santa Clara County Inmate Search for the entry. Palo Alto, Morgan Hill, and other cities have their own courthouses for some cases, so ask the Public Defender at 408-299-7700 which court has the file.

Juvenile Hall, 840 Guadalupe Parkway, San Jose, is run by the Probation Department. Its line for parents is 408-278-5850, and to reach a child in an emergency call 408-278-5820. Probation's boys ranch in Morgan Hill, 408-201-7600, holds boys a judge has ordered locked up. A juvenile detention hearing is held before a judge decides on release. Records of minors are sealed, so the adult jail search leaves them out.

The county Public Defender is at 120 West Mission Street, San Jose, 408-299-7700. Its juvenile unit takes calls at 408-299-7040. The county also has an Alternate Defender Office, 408-970-2700, and an Independent Defense Counsel Office, 408-758-4250, which take cases the main office cannot. The judge assigns one; you cannot pick.

After the court mails notice, Penal Code 1305 gives 180 days plus five for mailing to get him back before a judge and cancel the forfeiture. Waiting wastes that time. Tell the bail agent and the lawyer right away.

Refunds go by mail to the person whose name was on the check, money order, or cashier’s check. The Superior Court says that happens within 30 business days after the case ends or the bail is exonerated. Keep the receipt and update the court if you move. An agent's fee is not refunded.

Real Santa Clara offices never want gift cards, digital coins, or a wire to an individual; report the caller instead of paying. Check instructions yourself with the Custody Bureau, 408-808-2804, or the court. The county does not release anyone because of a text message.

Generally, yes. The April 2026 Kowalczyk ruling says bail must be reasonable and attainable, building on Humphrey's ability-to-pay rule. At the Hall of Justice in San Jose, the public defender may request a smaller amount.

Santa Clara's criminal cases are mostly in downtown San Jose at the Hall of Justice, with branches in Palo Alto, Morgan Hill and elsewhere. Several buildings use the main court number rather than their own:

• Hall of justice (criminal): 190 West Hedding Street, San Jose, CA 95110 · 408-882-2700
• Downtown superior court: 191 North First Street, San Jose, CA 95113 (no separate line listed; use the main court number above)
• Old courthouse: 161 North First Street, San Jose, CA 95113 (no separate line listed; use the main court number above)
• Family justice center courthouse: 201 North First Street, San Jose, CA 95113 (no separate line listed; use the main court number above)
• Juvenile justice courthouse: 840 Guadalupe Parkway, San Jose, CA 95110 (no separate line listed; use the main court number above)
• Palo Alto courthouse: 270 Grant Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94306 · 650-462-3810
• South County courthouse: 301 Diana Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037 · 408-695-5014

The San Jose division of the Northern District of California handles it. County bail doesn't apply:

• A magistrate judge at San Jose federal courthouse, 280 South 1st Street, San Jose, CA 95113 sees him first.
• Pretrial Services interviews him.
• The judge sets release terms or detains; a short continuance is possible.
• Detained defendants are held by the Marshals.

San Jose Marshals: U.S. Marshals Service, 280 South 1st Street, San Jose, 408-535-5496.

Santa Clara has strict county rules on top of SB 54; the jail doesn't hold anyone for ICE. Only a serious or violent conviction allows the release time to be shared. A TRUTH Act notice comes before any ICE interview.

San Francisco ICE field office, 630 Sansome Street, Room 590, San Francisco, CA 94111, 415-365-8800 covers Santa Clara. 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

• Santa Clara County Inmate Search: name; shows main jail or Elmwood, bail, court date.
• VINELink (https://vinelink.vineapps.com/): California; facility.
• Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator (https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/): register number or name; pretrial: 408-535-5496.
• 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.

Call the Santa Clara criminal court at 408-882-2700. Give the full name and ask what bail is set right now.