Start with Bergen County Inmate Search. If the name is missing, the Records Unit confirms who is in the jail and answers at 201-336-7903. The jail itself is at 201-527-3000.

Sheriff Anthony Cureton's office runs the jail from 2 Bergen County Plaza, and its main line is 201-336-3500. The jail is an around-the-clock operation, and it also holds people from Passaic County, because Passaic County no longer has a working jail.

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New Jersey's Criminal Justice Reform law took effect January 1, 2017. The constitution now says every person is eligible for release before conviction. A judge picks the least restrictive condition that works: a promise to appear, reporting to Pretrial Services, a no-contact order, or monitoring.

Money bail is the exception. The statute allows it only when nothing else will assure the person comes back to court. It cannot be used to protect the public or to keep someone inside.

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A summons means he was sent home with a court date, and the law says he must be released. His first appearance comes within 60 days.

A warrant means he was arrested, taken to the county jail, and entered into the pretrial release process. The arresting officer's paperwork states which one applies.

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The judge's release decision must come no later than 48 hours after the person is committed to the jail, and the first appearance is held within the same 48 hours. Detention hearings are a separate step.

A prosecutor handling a firearm case can ask the court to wait for a ballistic report. That extension can never pass seven days.

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If the prosecutor asks to hold the person until trial, the hearing takes place no later than the first appearance. The prosecutor can ask for up to three more days, and the defense can ask for up to five.

The judge weighs the Pretrial Services recommendation, the charge, and the evidence. For murder and for crimes with a life term, the law starts from the presumption that the person should be held. A person who cannot hire a lawyer gets a public defender application at that appearance.

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Bond payments and refunds go through the Bergen County Superior Court Finance Division, 10 Main Street, Hackensack. Call 201-221-0700, ext. 25150 before you travel.

Pay with cash or a cashier's check made out to the Office of the Bergen County Sheriff. Personal checks and credit cards are refused.

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A cash bond is refunded when the case ends in a not guilty verdict, a dismissal, or the end of the trial. You need papers showing the court released the bond. If the defendant fails to appear, the county keeps it.

Keep every receipt and the case number together in one folder.

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Yes. A bonding company posts a surety bond for a fee, and the Sheriff's Office is not a party to that contract. Agents are licensed by the state, insurers and agents register with the Superior Court's Bail Registry, and the law sets no fixed premium percentage.

Compare the fee with the ten percent cash option, which goes to the court and not to an agent. That option is closed to first-degree and second-degree charges and certain domestic violence cases.

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A judge can approve real estate as security. The clerk of the county where the charge arose reviews the deed and recognizance. If the owner lives in another county, the clerk there receives a certified copy.

Every owner signs. Phone the Finance Division at 201-221-0700, ext. 25150 to learn the papers needed.

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The Office of the Public Defender, Bergen region, is at 60 State Street, Hackensack, and answers at 201-996-8030. An application is handed out at the first appearance, and a judge can assign the office to that hearing.

A lawyer can ask the court to review conditions if the person is still in custody.

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Passaic County sends its pretrial inmates to the Bergen County Jail under a shared services agreement. The Paterson jail was torn down.

Search Bergen County Inmate Search for the booking. The case itself stays with the court where the charge was filed, so ask your lawyer or the Passaic court about hearing dates.

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Bergen County Juvenile Detention Center is at 200 North Street, Teterboro, and the county Division of Family Guidance runs it around the clock. Passaic County also has a shared services arrangement with it.

Because juvenile cases are private, the adult search will not list a young person. Ask the arresting police department which agency has the child.

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For a person held under a detention order, indictment is due within 90 days of arrest and trial within 180 days after indictment. A judge may grant more time on the prosecutor's motion, and defense delays do not count.

The outside limit is two years from the detention order, again not counting defense delay. Release ends the clocks.

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The court orders forfeiture on its own. Notice goes by mail to the county, the defendant, and any surety or agent. A written objection is due within 75 days of the notice date, and a default judgment can follow.

Call the lawyer and the bonding company the same day. A court can set aside or reduce a forfeiture under its remission guidelines.

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No. Calls, video visits, and store items are paid from a separate account. That money does not open the door.

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Dial only the numbers on this page. A caller who demands gift cards or an instant transfer is running a scam.

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