Hardin County Correctional Center Inmate Bail & Bonds

The jail does not keep a public list online. Staff at 641-939-8189 or jail@hardincountyia.gov can say whether a person is in custody, and on what hold. VINELink sends a text or call when that changes. Other options are on our inmate search page.

A first bond in Iowa normally comes off the uniform bond schedule: $300 for a simple misdemeanor, $1,000 for a serious one, $2,000 for an aggravated one. Felonies run $5,000 for class D, $10,000 for class C and $25,000 for class B. Each count carries its own figure, so two charges can double the cost.

Some arrests skip the schedule. A forcible felony, domestic abuse, or a violated protective or no-contact order means the person stays until a Second District magistrate reviews the file, weighs community ties and danger, and names the bond.

• Full cash, repaid after the final hearing if the defendant showed up to all of them.
• A licensed bondsman, writing for an insurance company. Iowa permits no other kind of paid bail, and the premium stays with the agent.
• Real estate in Iowa, filed with the clerk.

Money paid at the Eldora building through the automated teller service carries a processing fee. Ring 641-939-8189 before you drive over.

Since July 1, 2026, letting someone go on a signature with no money is limited to simple and serious misdemeanors, and only when neither drugs nor violence is involved, apart from a narrow medical exception. Any bail below the schedule must come with the judge's reasons on paper. Dollar amounts stay as they are for now. The Judicial Council has until July 1, 2027 to hand the Supreme Court an inflation-adjusted version.

Bond paperwork and case files are at the Clerk of District Court, 1215 Edgington Avenue, Suite 7, Eldora, IA 50627, 641-858-2328, countyclerk.hardin@iowacourts.gov. The office is open on business days. It can explain filings but cannot give legal advice.

Expect a warrant, and Hardin County may keep the bond. A bonding company has 30 days from notice under Iowa Code 811.6 to return the person or pay up. Missing court is a separate crime under 811.2(8). It is a class D felony on a felony file and a serious misdemeanor otherwise.

The clerk returns cash bond to whoever deposited it once the case is over and all appearances were made. A court order may hold back part to cover fines, costs or restitution first. Funds on the person's jail account are kept apart; our money guide explains it.

The Hardin County jail in Eldora holds ICE detainees and other agencies' prisoners as well as county arrests, so ask whose hold it is before planning anything. A county bond does nothing for a federal or immigration hold. Iowa Code chapter 27A obliges local jails to honor ICE detainers. ICE's Cedar Rapids office answers at 319-221-1550, and the ICE locator tracks moves. Federal criminal matters from Hardin are filed in Cedar Rapids, Northern District, with the clerk at 111 7th Avenue SE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52401, 319-286-2300.

No, it is a separate facility for youths: the Central Iowa Juvenile Detention Center, 2317 Rick Collins Way, Eldora, IA 50627, 641-858-3852. No schedule bond applies there; a judge holds a detention hearing within 1 working day of admission.