Audubon County Jail Inmate Bail & Bonds
Audubon County Bail and Bond, Audubon, Iowa
Getting out of the Audubon County Jail starts with the bond: the amount, who may pay it, and where it is paid so release can follow. Dial 712-563-2631 and the jail will say what is owed.
With about 5,509 residents, Audubon County is the third-smallest in Iowa, and its jail is small too: 12 beds in the county building at 318 Leroy Street, Suite 4, Audubon, IA 50025. The sheriff's department runs it and answers at 712-563-2631. Arrests in Audubon, Exira, Kimballton, Brayton and Gray all come here first, and the jail desk is the place to confirm a charge and a bond amount before anyone drives in with money.
How is the bond amount decided?
When court is closed, the jail follows Iowa's uniform bond schedule:
- class B felony: $25,000
- class C felony: $10,000
- class D felony: $5,000
- aggravated misdemeanor: $2,000
- serious misdemeanor: $1,000
- simple misdemeanor: $300
Once a magistrate or judge reviews the case, the court's own figure replaces the schedule.
↑ Back to the question listWhich arrests have to wait for a judge?
Some charges never get a schedule amount. These include forcible felonies, stalking, Iowa's three sexual abuse offenses, making or delivering meth or holding it to sell, a felon with a firearm, dangerous-weapon intimidation, and arrests for domestic abuse or for violating a protective order. In those cases the person stays in the Leroy Street jail until a judge sets bond, normally at the first appearance.
↑ Back to the question listWhat does the judge weigh?
Under Iowa Code 811.2 the court looks at the charge, the individual's record, ties to family and work, how long they have lived in the area, and any history of skipping court. It may add terms such as no contact with a named person or regular check-ins.
↑ Back to the question listHow can bond be posted?
Call 712-563-2631 first to confirm the amount and the forms of payment taken. The usual choices are:
- the full amount in cash, refunded at the end if every hearing is attended;
- a surety bond from an insurance company licensed in Iowa, for a fee that is kept;
Iowa has no licensed individual bondsmen, so be careful with anyone who claims to be one.
↑ Back to the question listDid Iowa change bail in 2026?
Yes. Senate File 2399 took effect on July 1, 2026. Release on a written promise alone is now limited to simple and serious misdemeanors that are not violent and do not involve drugs. Any judge who picks a lower figure than the schedule for the charge has to put the reason in writing, and the schedule is due for an inflation update by July 1, 2027.
↑ Back to the question listWhere is the clerk's office?
The Clerk of District Court is in the same building, at 318 Leroy Street #6, Audubon, IA 50025; call 712-563-4275 or email CountyClerk.Audubon@iowacourts.gov. The clerk takes court-ordered deposits, keeps the bond paperwork and later returns cash bonds.
↑ Back to the question listSkipping a hearing: what follows?
A no-show lets the court order the bond paid in and issue a warrant. The clerk then has to send a notice, and the forfeiture does not become final for 30 days, which leaves time to come in and explain. Missing court on purpose is also a separate crime, graded by the original charge.
↑ Back to the question listDoes Audubon return cash bail?
After the case closes and the person has appeared every time, the clerk refunds the deposit to whoever posted it, minus any fines or costs the court applies. The refund is mailed, so keep the clerk's office at 712-563-4275 updated with a current address. If the person stays in custody, our money guide covers account deposits.
↑ Back to the question listIs the process different under a federal or immigration hold?
Release on federal charges is decided by a U.S. magistrate judge, not the county. Audubon County belongs to the Southern District of Iowa's Western Division, which sits at the federal courthouse, 2146 27th Avenue, Council Bluffs, IA 51501; the district clerk's main office line is 515-284-6248, shared by every division. Iowa jails must honor ICE detainers under chapter 27A, so posting state bail may only lead to a transfer; check the ICE locator. To find who is in custody, see our inmate search page.
↑ Back to the question listDo juveniles get bond?
Usually they get a detention hearing instead. An Audubon youth who cannot go home right away is held at the Southwest Iowa Juvenile Detention Center, 629 6th Avenue, Council Bluffs, IA 51501, 712-328-4893, and that hearing is due inside 1 working day.
↑ Back to the question listHow do Bail Bonds work at Audubon County Jail
Bail at the Audubon County Jail
Iowa law makes no place for commercial bail bondsmen. Instead, Iowa Code chapter 811 recognizes full cash, bonds written by insurance companies authorized in Iowa, and sworn pledges of Iowa real estate by resident owners. Senate File 2399, in force from July 1, 2026, also struck the ten percent cash deposit that Iowa once allowed.
Suite 6 (712-563-4275) accepts Audubon County bail in cash, by money order or with a cashier's check in most cases.
Audubon County Jail
Address:
318 Leroy St., Ste. 4
Audubon, IA 50025
Phone:
712-563-2631
Frequently Asked Questions about Bail and Bonds in Audubon County
Bail for Someone in the Audubon County Courthouse Jail
The Audubon County Jail occupies part of the 1939 county courthouse, and anyone held there will want to know how release before trial works. Iowa's bail rules follow a fairly predictable sequence.
The bond schedule. A table of standard bonds kept by the Iowa Judicial Council, the uniform bond schedule, lets many arrestees pay and leave without waiting for a hearing, as Iowa Code section 804.21 allows. It isn't available on every charge: violent forcible felonies and a short list of others, some meth crimes included, have to go before a judge first.
Before a magistrate. Those still held appear without unnecessary delay before a magistrate in Iowa's Fourth Judicial District. Release terms are fixed at that hearing, and the defendant is told a review can be requested.
Weighing release. Section 811.2 lists the considerations: the offense, family and employment, money, character, time in the community, prior convictions and past court appearances. Recent legislation, Senate File 2399, bars recognizance release except for nonviolent, non-drug misdemeanors of the simple or serious grade, and any bail under the schedule has to come with a written reason.
Bail options under Iowa law. A money bond can be met with cash in the full amount, with a court-sized deposit the clerk holds, with a commercial surety, meaning an insurance company working in Iowa (section 811.3), or with Iowa real estate pledged under oath by resident owners, which places a lien on the land (section 811.4). The ten-percent-down cash choice disappeared from Iowa law on July 1, 2026, under that same Senate File 2399. Insurance companies charge for surety bonds, and only the forms named in the release order will be taken.
Posting in Audubon County. The Clerk of District Court (712-563-4275) normally receives bond money. For the hours, method and payment type for posting bail at the courthouse jail itself, phone 712-563-2631.
Getting released. With confirmation of bail in hand, staff process the release, and the defendant leaves with a written order listing each condition and what happens if one is broken.
Return of bail money. Money deposited as bail is returned by clerk's check to the depositor after every appearance is made, and a defendant's own deposit can first be applied to fines and costs. What a bonding company charges is never refunded by the court.
Skipping court. Bail can be lost over a missed hearing, and the no-show becomes a crime in its own right.
Audubon County Jail Bond Questions
Who receives bail money for an Audubon County case?
What if the person is held in Audubon County on another county's case?
If the defendant has no money for an attorney in Audubon County?
How do I check a surety company for an Audubon County case?
Who receives bail money for an Audubon County case?
The Fourth Judicial District lists the Clerk of District Court at Audubon City Hall, 318 Leroy Street #6, Audubon, IA 50025. The clerk works weekdays only, so an after-hours Audubon bond that follows the schedule is usually handed to the courthouse jailers downstairs.
What if the person is held in Audubon County on another county's case?
The jail also houses inmates from other counties when needed. Bail on those charges is set and paid in the county where the case was filed, which the Iowa Courts Online case search shows.
If the defendant has no money for an attorney in Audubon County?
Request appointed counsel at the first hearing. Public defender help in Audubon County is limited, and the clerk's office (712-563-4275) can name the attorney now taking those appointments.
How do I check a surety company for an Audubon County case?
Before signing, read the insurance company's name to the clerk at 712-563-4275 and ask whether it is accepted.
Keeping Bail in Good Standing After Release from the Audubon County Jail
Posting bail starts a stretch of obligations that lasts until the case ends. Knowing the rules helps protect a deposit, or a relative's property, along the way.
- Bail usually lasts the whole case. Under Iowa Code 811.2, bail first given stays valid until final disposition or a deferred judgment, although the court can demand more if it decides the amount is insufficient.
- Conditions can change. The magistrate may amend a release order at any time to add or alter conditions.
- Violations bring recommitment. Section 811.7 lets the court order a defendant arrested and returned to the sheriff after a missed appearance or a broken condition, and that order can be served in any Iowa county.
- Stay reachable. Keep a current mailing address with the clerk and look up hearing dates on Iowa Courts Online.
- Surrender is an option. Before a forfeiture, the defendant may turn themselves in to the officer who had custody, or a surety may surrender them, after which a cash deposit is ordered returned or the surety is exonerated (section 811.8).
Questions about a particular order are best taken to the defense attorney or the clerk at 712-563-4275.
Instructions on how to post Bail or Bond in Audubon County
Two offices on Leroy Street handle bail in Audubon County: the jail, in Suite 4 of the 1939 courthouse at number 318, and the Clerk of District Court, which the Fourth District lists at Audubon City Hall, 318 Leroy Street #6. Questions worth raising:
- Has a dollar figure been set yet, and did it come from the statewide table or from a magistrate?
- Does the release order limit how it can be met, or are cash, insurer and real-estate bonds all open?
- Can the money be left at the courthouse jail, or does it have to go to the clerk, and at what times?
- Which payments does each office take, and whose name goes on an official check?
- Is there a warrant or hold from elsewhere that would outlast this bail?
Bringing the whole amount. Full cash bail avoids any contract with a company, and paying a tenth of the amount stopped being an option on July 1, 2026, the day SF 2399 began to apply. Ask which forms of payment will be accepted before buying anything; money orders are available at post offices, Western Union and MoneyGram.
Going through an insurer. If surety is allowed, look for a bonding insurer approved to operate in this state; Iowa issues no license to individual bail bondsmen. Its fee, collateral demands and co-signer rules are whatever its contract says, so take the contract home and study it first.
Offering real estate. Iowa residents may put up Iowa property they own, even property in another county, by swearing to its value. Owners typically bring the deed, the assessed value and any mortgage balance, and may be asked to answer questions about the property under oath.
Asking for lower bail. Through a lawyer, a defendant can request a review of the conditions set at the first appearance (Iowa Code section 811.2). The iowacourts.gov Audubon County listing under the Fourth District gives the clerk's fax number and case-scheduling line.
Who can post Bail or Bond for a Defendant at Audubon County Jail?
For an Audubon County case, cash bail may be deposited by the defendant or by anyone acting for them, such as a parent, partner, neighbor or employer. Keep the receipt somewhere safe: when the deposit is returned, it goes to whoever is shown as having made it. Before heading over, the payer can learn from the clerk (712-563-4275) which ID to carry.
Guaranteeing a bond is a bigger step than paying cash. The surety list in Iowa Code 811.3 is short: an insurance carrier cleared by section 515.48 to write such bonds, or residents pledging real estate they hold in this state, worth the full bond and backed by a sworn statement. There is no Iowa license for a bail bondsman as such, and a seller of bonds ought to identify the insurer it writes for.
A minor arrested in Audubon County is normally handled by juvenile court rather than adult bail. Juvenile matters for Audubon County are run from Council Bluffs, where the Juvenile Court Office sits at 227 South 6th Street (712-328-5623). If you aren't sure the teenager is even in the courthouse lockup, the sheriff's office can check at 712-563-2631.