DeKalb County Jail Inmate Bail & Bonds

Search the full name in DeKalb County Inmate Search. The record shows custody and the bail line. A booking from the last hour may not appear yet. The jail's general information line, 404-298-8145, is staffed around the clock, and the Inmate Family Hotline is 404-298-8090.

The jail is at 4425 Memorial Drive, Decatur, and Sheriff runs it.

The DeKalb County Bail Bonding Office is inside the jail at 4425 Memorial Drive, Decatur, GA 30032. The Sheriff's Office lists hours of 7:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. every day, including weekends and holidays. Call 404-298-8195 before you drive.

Those are the posted hours, so ask the office what happens for a payment late at night.

For a cash bond the Sheriff's Office takes U.S. currency, cashier's checks, traveler's checks, and USPS or Western Union money orders. It does not take personal checks. You pay the full face value of the bond plus a $20 fee that is not refunded and is required by state law.

The sheriff's page does not say whether cards are taken. Ask at 404-298-8195.

The sheriff lists authorized companies on its Sheriff's bonding page, several on Memorial Drive near the jail, and says it does not recommend any of them. For a bond of $10,000 or less, the sheriff lists the company fee at 12 percent, and for a bond over $10,000, 15 percent. The sheriff's page says that fee comes back only if the company surrenders the defendant on its own before the court date. State law (O.C.G.A. 17-6-30) sets the outer limit: a company may take no more than 15 percent of the face amount, plus a $50 minimum for each bonded charge, so ask any company that quotes more to explain it.

Get the fee and the contract in writing before you sign.

Yes, at the jail's bonding office. Every owner on the deed must be there unless a valid power of attorney is on file. Bring a state ID, a certified copy of the recorded deed (a security deed does not count), this year's property tax statement, and a mortgage statement or proof the loan is paid off.

The office charges a $20 bond form fee and a $7.50 property affidavit fee, both cash only and not refundable. If the bond is $10,000 or more, the county places a lien on the property. Call 404-298-8195 for the full list.

The surety is the person whose name is on the bond receipt. The sheriff's page says anyone can post a bond: the arrested person, a relative, a friend, or a bonding agent. The surety, not the jail inmate, gets any cash refund, so the right name must go on the receipt.

After the case ends, the surety goes in person with a valid state ID and the white copy of the receipt to the Civil Process Unit, Room B110, 556 North McDonough Street, Decatur, on weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. A bond release form is needed. For a felony it comes from the District Attorney's Office, and for a misdemeanor from the Solicitor's Office. The refund is a check made out to the surety.

Fees paid to a bonding company follow its contract and the sheriff's rule in the bonding answer above. For a property bond, the surety collects a Notice of Bond from the Superior Court Real Estate Office to start the release.

No DeKalb bond schedule is posted for the public, so this page lists no dollar figures. A judge sets bail after weighing the charge, record, and ties to the area, and Georgia bars excessive bail (O.C.G.A. 17-6-1). Look up the amount in DeKalb County Inmate Search.

A judge does. Many cases start in the Magistrate Court, and the county's judicial system page lists 404-371-2261 for the Magistrate Court and 404-371-4901 for Superior Court administration. All the county courts share the courthouse at 556 North McDonough Street, Decatur, GA 30030.

Superior court judges alone can bail certain serious offenses, such as murder, rape, and armed robbery (O.C.G.A. 17-6-1(a)).

A no-bond line may mean no judge has set an amount yet, or that a probation, parole, or other county hold blocks release. A person held on a superior-court-only charge can ask that court for bail, and a hearing must be set within ten days of the petition (O.C.G.A. 17-6-1). A lawyer is the person to file it.

On a warrant arrest, within 72 hours of the arrest (O.C.G.A. 17-4-26). A person not told when and where the hearing will be must be released. Call the jail hotline at 404-298-8145 to find the date.

Under O.C.G.A. 17-6-12, a long list including DUI, burglary, aggravated assault, and family violence is bail restricted. A person charged with one cannot be freed on a signature. The release must be by cash, a bonding company, or property the sheriff approves.

The DeKalb Circuit Public Defender is at 320 Church Street, Decatur, open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call 404-371-2222. Ask the judge for appointed counsel at the first appearance if you cannot afford one.

DeKalb has many city police departments, including Decatur, Dunwoody, and Brookhaven. Some may hold a person briefly before the transfer to Memorial Drive, but the departments do not publish which ones do. Get the report number from the arresting department and check DeKalb County Inmate Search again later.

Juvenile records are private, so DeKalb County Inmate Search will not show a child. DeKalb County youth go to the DeKalb Regional Youth Detention Center, 2946 Clifton Springs Road, Decatur, GA 30034, 404-244-2185. The Juvenile Court line is 404-371-7140, and the state's main number is 404-508-6500.

The judge can issue a warrant, and the bond can be forfeited. A bonding company may arrest and surrender the person. Call the court and a lawyer on the same day.

No jail or bonding office frees anyone for gift cards or a payment app transfer. Pay only at the bonding office or through a company on the sheriff's list, and use the numbers on this page.

A federal charge goes to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, not to a county court. DeKalb County cases are heard in the Atlanta Division, Richard B. Russell Federal Building & US Courthouse, 75 Ted Turner Drive SW, Atlanta, GA 30303-3309; the clerk's line is 404-215-1600. A federal magistrate judge decides on release, often within a day or two of arrest. Deputy U.S. Marshals move people to and from court, and the person may be housed in a county jail under contract. Once sentenced, look the person up with the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.