Erie County Correctional Facility Inmate Bail & Bonds

The call is made at the arraignment, which is the first time the accused stands before a judge. New York courts say this usually comes about 24 hours after the arrest. A judge from the local court where the arrest took place hears it. Inside city limits, that means Buffalo City Court, 50 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14202, 716-845-2600. In the suburbs and rural towns, it is the city, town or village court covering that spot.

Plenty of people skip the jail stay entirely. For lower charges, officers are generally required to give an appearance ticket, a slip with a court date, and send the person home (CPL 150.20). Some arrests are left out of that rule, for example a fight between family members or a case with an open warrant.

Local judges have one hard limit. They can't free someone accused of a class A felony, or someone with two earlier felony convictions (CPL 530.20(2)). A County Court judge handles those, at 25 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14202, 716-845-9301. On any felony, the prosecutor is allowed to speak up before a local judge lets someone leave.

State law gives the judge four paths, called securing orders (CPL 500.10, 510.10):

• Recognizance. Often shortened to ROR. The accused signs a pledge to show up and walks out. Nobody pays anything.
• Non-money conditions. The accused leaves but must obey set terms, such as reporting in, avoiding a certain person or turning in firearms. The court may not charge them for these terms.
• Bail. Cash or a bond held by the court and given back when every date is met. Judges may use it only on qualifying offenses.
• Remand. The person stays locked up, with no amount to pay. This is only possible on a qualifying felony.

If the judge does set bail, the order must name three or more ways to post it. At least one has to be a partly secured or unsecured bond (CPL 520.10). With a partly secured bond, the family hands over no more than a tenth of the total and signs for the remainder. An unsecured bond takes zero dollars up front, just a written pledge to pay if court dates are missed. GPS ankle monitors are limited to certain charges, and only when nothing milder will do.

New York judges work without a fixed bail chart. Every judge chooses a figure for the case in front of them, and must weigh whether the accused can pay it without serious hardship (CPL 510.10(1)). Broadly, charges fall into these groups:

• Violations, which are not crimes, such as disorderly conduct: the person goes home.
• Most misdemeanors, such as petit larceny or criminal mischief: home, possibly with terms.
• Most nonviolent felonies, including many theft and drug charges: home is still the default.
• Violent felonies, sex felonies and the rest of the qualifying list: money bail or remand can be ordered.
• Breaking an order of protection in a family case: money bail can be ordered.
• A fresh felony while on probation or out on a similar case: money bail can be ordered.
• Class A felonies: release terms come only from a County Court or Supreme Court judge.

State figures give a feel for the odds. During 2024, upstate and Long Island city courts set money bail at one arraignment in five, and released 57 percent of people on their word alone. In town and village courts, the bail rate was 13 percent. For the figure in a particular case, phone the bail line at the Holding Center, 40 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14202, 716-858-7636.

Under CPL 520.15, cash bail may be handed to the sheriff who has the person in custody. Here, the Sheriff's Office accepts cash bail on city, town and village court cases around the clock, seven days a week. The cashier's window is on the ground floor, beside the Delaware Avenue entrance of the Holding Center, 40 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14202. Work through this list:

1. Phone the bail and cashier number, 716-858-7636.
2. Spell the person's full name and give their birth date. Having the roster's ICN number on hand helps staff.
3. Confirm the dollar figure, which judge set it, and which bail forms that judge approved.
4. Ask what the window accepts right now and its hours for that court's cases.
5. Arrive with photo ID and the exact sum. Expect to fill out and sign a form.
6. Guard the receipt. Courts treat it as the single proof of payment, and refunds go to the name printed on it.

The law requires the jail to free the person promptly once proof of payment is in, as long as no other hold is on file.

It hinges on where the person is being held at that moment. The Clarence Town Court, 1 Town Place, Clarence, NY 14031, 716-741-8948, tells families that bail goes to the place holding the accused. Cheektowaga shows how the handoff works:

• Cheektowaga Town Court, 3223 Union Road, Cheektowaga, NY 14227, 716-686-3462, accepts cash and major credit cards for bail. That works only while the person is still in the Cheektowaga Police cell block.
• After the transfer downtown, payment moves to the Holding Center cashier, 40 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14202, 716-858-7636.
• Tonawanda City Court, 200 Niagara Street, Tonawanda, NY 14150, 716-845-2160, runs its cashier from 8:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. on weekdays. Outside that window, bail for that court can go to the Tonawanda Police Department in the same building, 716-692-2121.

In any other town or village, start by calling that court. Ask where the person is right now and where payment should be made.

Under CPL 500.10(9), a person may post bail with money, with a bond, or by charging a credit card. Which of those apply is spelled out in the judge's order. Cash bail on local court cases is taken at any hour at the Holding Center, 40 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14202. Rules on cards, money orders and checks at that window can change, so ring the jail at 716-858-7638 before heading out.

• A partly secured bond means a deposit of 10 percent or less of the total.
• An unsecured bond means signatures and no cash.
• The Cheektowaga Town Court, 3223 Union Road, Cheektowaga, NY 14227, 716-686-3462, accepts major credit cards for bail. Other courts decide for themselves.
• Commissary deposits are a different thing. That money stays on the account and buys items inside.

Don't mail cash for any reason, and keep a receipt for every payment.

Bondsmen in this state need a license from the Department of Financial Services, or DFS. Their charge is called a premium, and Insurance Law § 6804 sets the ceiling:

• Up to 10 percent on the first $3,000.
• Up to 8 percent on the slice between $3,000 and $10,000.
• Up to 6 percent on whatever is above $10,000.

For a $5,000 bond, that caps the premium at $460. Bondsmen generally keep it. The whole premium must be refunded within 14 days, though, if the accused never gets out or is freed without money bail. Extra charges beyond the premium are banned, apart from a short list of costs. Collateral, such as a deed or car title, should be modest, roughly a tenth of the bond. It has to be handed back within 45 days of the case closing, unless the bail was forfeited. Get a signed receipt at every step.

Look up any agent through the DFS bail agent search, and file trouble reports with the DFS complaint form. Nonprofit charitable bail funds can also post cash bail. Families may ask one, in writing, for its DFS certificate number.

A bail payment frees the person only from the case that bail belongs to. Watch for these other holds:

• An outside warrant. A city, town or village court warrant reaches its home county plus the counties bordering it (CPL 530.70).
• County probation. Any new felony while on probation counts as a qualifying offense. The Probation Department is at One Niagara Plaza, Buffalo, NY 14202, 716-858-8200.
• State parole. The state places parole holds. Try the DOCCS parolee lookup.
• Family Court warrants. For help locating one, call the Sheriff's Office, 10 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14202, at 716-858-7618.
• More than one case. A second open file needs a release order of its own.
• Federal or immigration holds. Paying the state bail won't lift these.

Ahead of paying, ask the jail staff at 716-858-7638 list every hold attached to the person.

Remand means the person stays in jail with no amount to pay. It is allowed only on a qualifying felony. Those include violent felonies and class A felonies. Many sex crimes count, and so does a crime that led to a death or scaring a witness. A felony while on probation, or while out on a similar charge, counts too (CPL 510.10(4)). On anything off that list, remand is off the table.

The judge still has to look at the person, not just the charge. CPL 510.10(1) lists the record, earlier missed dates, money, firearm history and how badly anyone was hurt, among other things. The judge must state the reason in court or on paper.

Deadlines protect people in custody too. Someone held on a felony complaint goes free after 120 hours, stretched to 144 hours if a Saturday, Sunday or holiday is part of the wait, unless a hearing has started or a grand jury has voted (CPL 180.80). Requests for bail or remand come from the District Attorney's Office, 25 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14202, 716-858-2400.

This is the defense lawyer's job, but the family can help a lot:

1. Ask the lawyer to bring new facts back to the judge who set the bail.
2. Pull together work records, a lease or deed, names of local relatives, and a true budget for the household. The judge has to weigh whether paying would cause real hardship.
3. When a city, town or village court set bail, the lawyer may ask a County Court judge to take a fresh look (CPL 530.30). The law allows just one of these requests, so it should be well prepared.
4. Track the days. If prosecutors aren't ready for trial on a felony within 90 days, a jailed person has to be released (CPL 30.30(2)).

County Court is reached at 25 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14202, 716-845-9301, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekdays.

The court appoints a lawyer for anyone too poor to hire one, starting at arraignment (Executive Law § 832(4)). Being in custody creates a presumption that the person qualifies. Earning under 250 percent of the federal poverty guideline does too. A husband's or wife's income is not held against the applicant.

• Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo, 290 Main Street, Suite 400, Buffalo, NY 14202, 716-853-9555. Its work has included misdemeanors, lower-level felonies and arraignments in the city court.
• Assigned Counsel Program, run by the Aid to Indigent Prisoners Society, 403 Main Street, Suite 215, Buffalo, NY 14203, 716-856-8804. It supplies lawyers in town and village courts and on higher felonies, all the way to Supreme Court.

Heard nothing a day after arraignment? Phone the office that covers the court handling the case.

The higher courts and the largest city court are a short walk apart downtown:

• County Court and Supreme Court (felonies once indicted), 25 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14202, 716-845-9301.
• Family Court, One Niagara Plaza, Buffalo, NY 14202, 716-845-7400.
• Buffalo City Court, 50 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14202, 716-845-2600.
• Lackawanna City Court, City Hall, 714 Ridge Road, Lackawanna, NY 14218, 716-845-7220.
• Tonawanda City Court, City Hall, 200 Niagara Street, Tonawanda, NY 14150, 716-845-2160.
• Federal court, Robert H. Jackson U.S. Courthouse, 2 Niagara Square, Buffalo, NY 14202, 716-551-1700.

Thirty-six justice courts serve the towns and villages:

• Akron Village: 21 Main Street, Akron, NY 14001, 716-542-9636
• Alden Town: 3311 Wende Road, Alden, NY 14004, 716-937-3411
• Alden Village: 13336 Broadway, Alden, NY 14004, 716-937-9216, ext. 14
• Amherst Town: 400 John James Audubon Parkway, Amherst, NY 14228, 716-689-4200
• Angola Village: 41 Commercial Street, Angola, NY 14006, 716-549-1126
• Aurora Town: Town Hall, 571 Main Street, East Aurora, NY 14052, 716-652-5275
• Blasdell Village: 121 Miriam Avenue, Blasdell, NY 14219, 716-821-7908
• Boston Town: 8500 Boston State Road, Boston, NY 14025, 716-941-6115
• Brant Town: Route 249, Brant, NY 14027, 716-549-0300
• Cheektowaga Town: 3223 Union Road, Cheektowaga, NY 14227, 716-686-3462
• Clarence Town: 1 Town Place, Clarence, NY 14031, 716-741-8948
• Colden Town: S-8812 State Road, Colden, NY 14033, 716-941-6242
• Collins Town: 14093 Mill Street, Collins, NY 14034, 716-532-3340
• Concord Town: 86 Franklin Street, Springville, NY 14141, 716-592-9898
• Depew Village: 85 Manitou Street, Depew, NY 14043, 716-683-0978
• Eden Town: 2795 East Church Street, Eden, NY 14057, 716-992-3559
• Elma Town: Town Hall, 1600 Bowen Road, Elma, NY 14059, 716-652-1855
• Evans Town: 8787 Erie Road, Angola, NY 14006, 716-549-3707
• Grand Island Town: 2255 Baseline Road, Grand Island, NY 14072, 716-773-9600, ext. 650 or 652
• Hamburg Town: S-6100 South Park Avenue, Hamburg, NY 14075, 716-649-6111, ext. 2391
• Hamburg Village: 100 Main Street, Hamburg, NY 14075, 716-649-7204
• Holland Town: 47 Pearl Street, Holland, NY 14080, 716-537-2770
• Kenmore Village: 2919 Delaware Avenue, Kenmore, NY 14217, 716-873-4554
• Lancaster Town: 525 Pavement Road, Lancaster, NY 14086, 716-683-1814
• Lancaster Village: 5423 Broadway, Lancaster, NY 14086, 716-683-6780
• Marilla Town: 1740 Two Rod Road, Marilla, NY 14102, 716-652-1213
• Newstead Town: 5 Clarence Center Road, Akron, NY 14001, 716-542-4575
• North Collins Town: 10543 Main Street, North Collins, NY 14111, 716-337-3712
• Orchard Park Town: 4295 S. Buffalo Street, Orchard Park, NY 14127, 716-662-6415
• Orchard Park Village: S-4295 South Buffalo Street, Orchard Park, NY 14127, 716-662-9327
• Sardinia Town: Community Center, 12320 Savage Road, Sardinia, NY 14134, 716-496-8900
• Springville Village: 65 Franklin Street, Springville, NY 14141, 716-592-5360
• Tonawanda Town: 1835 Sheridan Drive, Kenmore, NY 14223, 716-876-5536, ext. 371
• Wales Town: Wales Memorial Building, 11006 Emery Road, South Wales, NY 14139, 716-652-5585
• West Seneca Town: 1250 Union Road, West Seneca, NY 14224, 716-558-3251
• Williamsville Village: 5565 Main Street, Williamsville, NY 14221, 716-632-0450

Posted cash still belongs to whoever paid it, unless a judge rules it forfeited (CPL 520.15). Once the case wraps up, the court orders the money released. Local courts pass along this advice:

• Treat the receipt like cash. Courts ask for the original.
• Only the person who paid may collect, and they need photo ID.
• Refunds are mailed as checks. The Clarence court warns it can take 7 to 10 working days.
• A conviction means 3 percent is held back as a fee. A dismissal or acquittal brings back every dollar (General Municipal Law § 99-m).
• Whoever posted the money can choose to have it applied to a fine.

When the person misses a date and has no fair reason, the judge can declare the bail forfeited, so the court keeps it (CPL 540.10). If the person returns and gives a solid reason before the case is over, the judge may reverse that. With cash bail, the county treasurer has to mail a written notice before using the money. Refund questions go to the court with the case, for instance the Clarence Town Court, 1 Town Place, Clarence, NY 14031, 716-741-8948, or the city court downtown, 50 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14202, 716-845-2600.

Belongings are handled by the Sheriff's Property and Firearms Returns unit, 40 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14202, 716-858-8207. Phone ahead with these questions:

• What was bagged and stored at booking, and when it can be claimed.
• Whether a written okay from the person is needed before someone else picks things up.
• How leftover commissary money gets refunded.
• What ID to bring. A government photo ID is expected.

Firearms go through the Sheriff's weapons unit on a separate track, so raise that during the same call. Account balance questions go to the jail at 716-858-7638. Our guide to inmate deposits walks through how that money moves.

Federal charges filed here land in the Buffalo Division of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York. It meets in the Robert H. Jackson U.S. Courthouse, 2 Niagara Square, Buffalo, NY 14202, 716-551-1700. The clerk's office keeps weekday hours of 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

• A federal magistrate or judge rules on release at a detention hearing. That hearing happens right at the first court date, though the defense or the government may win a short postponement (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Anyone kept in jail is held for the U.S. Marshals Service, which has an office in that courthouse, 716-348-5300. Ask that office which jail has the person.
• A free federal lawyer can come from the Federal Public Defender, 300 Pearl Street, Suite 200, Buffalo, NY 14202, 716-551-3341.
• Once sentenced to federal prison, the person shows up on the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

Federal court papers are on PACER, which bills a few cents a page.

Posting bail closes out only the state side. Immigration follows its own track:

1. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) can file Form I-247A, a detainer that asks the jail to hold onto the person.
2. The federal rule asks for that hold to last up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. When ICE picks the person up, the case is run from the ICE field office at 130 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14202, 716-843-7600.
4. People ICE holds from Western New York may end up at the Batavia Service Processing Center, 4250 Federal Drive, Batavia, NY 14020, 585-344-6500.
5. Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator by A-number. A name and birth country search works too.

New York law shapes what a local jail does with that request. In People ex rel. Wells v DeMarco, decided in 2018, an appellate court held that state law gives local officers no power to make civil immigration arrests, and that keeping someone on a detainer alone was illegal. The Attorney General's guidance is to honor a detainer only if a judge signed a warrant. Executive Law § 170-k, passed in 2026, voided every 287(g) agreement with ICE as of August 25, 2026. Civil Rights Law § 28 adds a shield around courthouses: people on their way to or from a case can't be picked up for civil immigration reasons unless a judge has signed off.

Misdemeanor jail time tops out at 364 days and is done in the county jail (Penal Law § 70.15). A felony term longer than a year goes to the state prison system, run by the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, or DOCCS. After sentencing, a person typically waits at the Holding Center or in Alden until the state transfers them. Prison staff then review them at an intake center and assign a prison.

• Use the DOCCS Incarcerated Lookup with a last name and birth year, or with the DIN, the person's state number.
• Browse our New York state prisons guide to read about individual prisons.
• The state lookup shuts down nightly near 11:45 p.m. If it won't load, retry in the morning.

Thanks to Raise the Age, nobody under 18 is housed in an adult jail in New York. The arresting officer must reach a parent or guardian without delay (Family Court Act § 305.2).

• A felony charge at 16 or 17 opens in the Youth Part, Part 18, 25 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14202, 716-845-9301. A lot of these are moved to Family Court.
• Misdemeanors, and cases involving younger kids, head to probation intake and Family Court, One Niagara Plaza, Buffalo, NY 14202, 716-845-7400.
• Secure detention is at the Youth Services Center, 810 East Ferry Street, Buffalo, NY 14211, whose intake desk answers 24 hours a day at 716-923-4062.
• A detained child must come before a judge inside 72 hours, or sooner if a court day comes first (Family Court Act § 307.3).

For Youth Part questions, Probation's line is 716-858-8680.