When someone gets arrested in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx or Staten Island, the big question for their family is usually the same: can we get them out, and how? In New York City, a judge decides that at the person’s first court hearing, called the arraignment. Many people walk out of the courtroom without paying anything. Others get a bail amount, which is money (or a promise backed by money) that makes sure they come back to court.
This guide explains how bail is decided, the different ways it can be paid, exactly where you can pay it in each borough, and how to get the money back when the case is over. Click any question below to jump straight to the answer.
A judge in the New York City Criminal Court decides. That happens at arraignment, which is normally held within about 24 hours of the arrest in the courthouse for the borough where the arrest happened. The police don’t set bail in NYC, and there is no “bail schedule” posted at the precinct the way some other states have.
Before the hearing, a worker from the New York City Criminal Justice Agency (CJA) interviews the arrested person. CJA asks about things like their address, job, family and how to reach them. It turns those answers into a score called a Release Assessment, which tells the judge how likely the person is to come back to court.
At the hearing, the prosecutor (the assistant district attorney) may ask for bail, and the defense lawyer usually argues for release. Then the judge picks one of three paths: release on the person’s own promise, release with conditions, or bail.
Quite possibly not. New York changed its bail laws in 2020, with more changes in 2020, 2022 and 2023. For most misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies, judges are not allowed to set money bail at all. Those people are released on their own recognizance (often shortened to “ROR,” which just means their signed promise to return) or with non-money conditions like check-ins with a supervised release program.
Bail is mostly saved for what the law calls “qualifying offenses.” These include violent felonies, many sex crimes and domestic violence charges, witness tampering, and some cases where a person is accused of a new crime while another case is still open. Even then, the judge must choose the least restrictive option that will make sure the person comes back to court, and the law tells judges to consider whether the person can afford the amount.
New York’s bail law (Criminal Procedure Law section 520.10) lists nine forms. Whenever a judge sets bail, they must offer at least three of them, and one has to be either a partially secured or an unsecured surety bond. The judge can also attach a different dollar amount to each form. Here is what they mean in plain words:
A “surety” bond is signed by someone else, such as a parent, partner or friend. An “appearance” bond is signed by the arrested person themselves.
A bail bond agent (sometimes called a bail bondsman) is a private business, not part of the court. When the judge allows an insurance company bond, the agent promises the court the full bail amount. In return, the agent charges you a fee, often around 10% of the bond, and that fee is usually not returned, even if the case gets dismissed. The agent may also ask for collateral, meaning they can hold a claim on your house, car or savings until the case ends.
Bail bond agents in New York must be licensed by the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS). Before you sign anything, you can check whether an agent is licensed using the DFS bail bond agent search. Read the contract carefully and ask for a receipt for every payment.
If the judge also offered a partially secured bond, compare it closely with a bail bond: with a partially secured bond, the deposit goes to the court and can be refunded, while a bond agent’s fee is gone for good.
You can find the Book and Case number and NYSID number by searching the person’s name in the NYC Department of Correction’s Person in Custody Lookup, or by calling 311. Bail in New York City must be paid in person. The Department of Correction does not take bail payments online.
At Department of Correction bail windows, you can pay with:
You can mix cash, checks and money orders, as long as the total matches the bail exactly. Personal checks are never accepted, even certified ones, and neither is any single check or money order over $1,000.
Here’s a handy rule: you can pay at any Department of Correction bail location, no matter which jail the person is being held in.
Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week:
Courthouse bail windows (limited hours):
Families in Staten Island and Manhattan usually use the 24-hour locations above. It’s a smart idea to call ahead or check the Department of Correction’s bail page before you go, since hours can change on holidays.
Often, yes. If you are in the courtroom when bail is set, the person is held in the court pens (the holding cells behind the courtroom) for a while before being taken to jail. Paying quickly can mean they go home that same day instead of riding the bus to Rikers Island.
In Manhattan, tell the clerk in the courtroom (called a “part”) that you want to post bail. You’ll be sent to the Central Clerk’s Office, 100 Centre Street, Room 1000, New York, NY 10013, phone (646) 386-4000. This office takes only cash, a certified check, a teller’s check or a money order. Checks and money orders must be made out to “County Clerk-New York County.”
In Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens, use the courthouse bail windows listed in the answer above. If the window is closed or the person has already been moved, pay at the Manhattan Detention Complex or the Rikers Island Central Cashier, which never close.
Teens are not held in adult city jails. Under New York’s Raise the Age law, young people are held in juvenile centers run by the city’s Administration for Children’s Services (ACS). Bail for a young person is paid at the center where they are staying. Both centers are open 24/7:
Call first to confirm which center the young person is in and what payment the center will take that day.
Bail is returned after the whole case is over, not after each court date. The person who paid it is called the “surety,” and the refund goes to them, so keep your bail receipt in a safe place.
In New York City, the refund check is mailed to the surety. If it hasn’t shown up within 8 weeks of the case ending, use the NYC Department of Finance bail refund inquiry. One more thing to know: in NYC, the court cannot take fines or fees out of the bail money, so those get paid separately.
Borough criminal courts: Manhattan (646) 386-4511, Brooklyn (347) 404-9400, the Bronx (718) 618-2400, Queens (718) 298-0792, Staten Island (718) 675-8558.
This page is general information to help families understand the process. It is not legal advice. For help with a specific case, talk to the defense lawyer handling it, or call the NYC Criminal Court Information Line at (646) 386-4500.
Address:
19-19 Hazen Street
East Elmhurst, NY 11370
Phone:
718-546-1500
Does New York County have bail?
When is bail set in New York County New York?
Yes, but the state of New York only applies bail in violent or felony cases. Non-violent and most misdemeanor cases always qualify for release on own recognizance. Tioga County recognizes most types of bonds.
Bail for lesser offenses is set at the time of booking. If bail is required for felony cases, it will be set by a judge at the first court hearing. This hearing, also called an arraignment, generally takes place on the next available court date excluding weekends and holidays.
Bail is what the arrested in New York County must pay or do to stay out of jail until the first court appearance.
The agreement to bail acts as a promise that the arrested will return to court for court dates and trial. Bail usually refers to a dollar amount, but bail can also mean something that has to be done, or a condition such as reporting to an officer of the court, a curfew, restraining orders or attending a treatment program.
Bail is usually a significant enough amount of money and/or condition that the person will be negatively impacted and has incentive to return to court and not flee. A flight risk usually means that the person would flee the area, and not necessary that they are going to take an airplane.
If a judge in New York County feels that the arrested will return to court for further proceedings, the arrested could be released under a conditional release without needing to pay bail money. This is called Released on Own Recognizance, or ROR.
Conditions for ROR might be to obey all court orders and laws, maintain contact with the lawyer, report changes in residence or have no contact with the victim. Family support will show the court that there are people who will make sure that the defendant makes it to court.
If the judge or bail schedule determines that the defendant would be a danger to the public if they were released, bail can be denied, and the person will be detained in the Rikers Island - RESH Enhanced Supervised Housing until the case is resolved or goes to trial.
Bail can be denied if the defendant did not comply with bail conditions from a previous arrest. Bail is usually denied in cases of violent offenses.
Bail and bond are used interchangeably to mean the same thing but technically, they are different. The bail is the amount to be paid and a bond is a signed document promising payment of the bail amount with certain conditions. Think of a bond as a loan to pay for the bail.
The bond payment is always written to the court in your municipality, New York County or district directly and does not go through the defendant. Chances of obtaining a bond from a bond company or clerk of court are better if family is involved.
The thought of being in jail can cause the arrested to panic and try to secure a bond immediately.
DO NOT panic and take the time to understand all the options.
More courts are now trying to work with defendants to make bail work and might provide non-monetary options or even reduce the bail.
Payments to a bond company are not refundable. It is a long process to get back property title or money that was given to the clerk of court or bondsperson to secure the bond. This could put your loved ones into a difficult financial situation.
Another reason not to unnecessarily rush into securing a bond is that if the court notes that you came up with the money to pay a bond company, they may assume you have resources to pay a defense attorney and decline public defense.
On the other hand, as anyone who has ever been involved in their criminal defense understands, fighting your case while ‘out on the streets’ gives you a much better chance of either winning, or getting a more favorable sentence.
Based on a review of information from the arrest, the judge or bail officer will determine and notify the accused of which types of bonds are available to them.
To describe the types of bonds, let’s use an example of buying your neighbor’s car. Your neighbor decides the price of the car and how they would be paid.
Similarly, the court (meaning a police or bail officer, clerk of court, bail magistrate or judge) determines the bail amount and how it would be paid.
Here are different options that the seller of the car or the court might consider:
You could pay full asking price for the car in cash. This is similar to paying cash bail. The full amount of bail would be paid to the town or county clerk or at the jail. Cash, cashier’s checks and credit cards are usually accepted.
You could sign an agreement on your own or with another person to pay for the car at a future date knowing that your neighbor would know where to find you if you stopped payment. This would be similar to a cash bond or a personal recognizance (PR) bond which are bonds to where someone representing the defendant signs paperwork promising to pay the bail amount if the defendant does not show up to court. There is no money due up front.
If the defendant does not show up, the full amount of the bail will be due to the court and the people who signed the paperwork will be responsible for paying the court and the court will send the sheriff’s department to arrest you.
Cash bonds and PR bonds are types of unsecured bonds because you are not securing it with any money down. In bond terms, a surety is a person who will be responsible for making sure that you will show to court and will be responsible to pay the bond if the arrested person does not show up.
Surety can be family, friend or a bondsperson. Your attorney cannot act as a surety.
You can put a deposit down for your neighbor’s car and sign an agreement that the car will be paid off at a later date. Cash percentage in lieu of bonds is when the defendant pays a percentage of the bail amount, usually 10%, to the court which then holds the money until the case is over.
The amount is returned to the person who paid the 10% after the case is over. In most cases, the full amount is not returned if there are court fees or fines due. This is a type of surety bond if another person signs the bond paperwork.
You could sign an agreement that if the car were not paid off, that your neighbor would get your house or something of value.
A property bond is a bond that the courts might consider in which the bond is pledged in land or home real estate (mobile homes are not accepted).
Usually, the property must be in the same state as the courts, and it must be worth at least 1 ½ - 2 times the amount of the bond.
There are multiple court fees involved to execute a property bond with the courts and a tedious process to get the property deed back. This is another type of surety bond if another person or a bond company is used to secure the bond.
You could also go to a local bank and take out a car loan offering property or anything of value for collateral. You may get someone to co-sign on the loan and offer their property. The ban charges fees, interest and could keep your property if you did not pay the loan back, or even on time.
A professional bondsperson makes money, at least 10% of the bond amount by providing you with a “loan” called a bond. The percent that they charge is fixed by the state and cannot be negotiated. The defendant or surety does not get that 10% or more back even if the terms of the bail are met.
With a property bond, the property deed would need to be signed over to the bondsperson and everyone on the deed would need to be involved.
Since the bondsperson signed off, to be responsible that you show to court as your surety, they can send a bounty hunter to bring you to court if you flee. A bondsperson does not have to give you a bond if the defendant seems to be too much of a risk.
Ask the bondsperson to explain all the costs: percentage, fees or court fees. There is never a reason to rush through signing the paperwork with a bond company. Make sure that everything told to you is in writing and that you understand what you are signing. Ask questions, and if you feel rushed or don’t understand the contract with the bond company, you might want to call another one.
(There have been phone scams where a bond company calls and informs a person that their family member has been arrested and they ask for financial information. A bondsperson will not call asking for money without involvement of the arrested.)
New York only applies bail in violent or felony cases. Non-violent and most misdemeanor cases qualify for release on own recognizance.
New York County recognizes most types of bonds.
Bail is set by officers during booking for misdemeanor offenses. A judge sets bail for felony arrests.
Bail for lesser offenses is set at the time of booking. If bail is required for felony cases, it will be set by a judge at the first court hearing. This hearing, also called an arraignment, generally takes place on the next available court date excluding weekends and holidays.
Yes, if bail has been assessed, your attorney may file a motion to have it reduced.
The person posting bail should be a relative or close friend, called a surety, because they are promising and taking responsibility that you will return to court to get their money back.
A surety is not responsible for court fees or paying off personal debts for the defendant. A professional bondsperson who is approved by the State of New York could be the surety and execute a bond to the court on your behalf.
Yes, New York does offer online bail payment. Please contact the jail for specific information on how to pay bail. Go to the Rikers Island - RESH Enhanced Supervised Housing for more information about the jails in New York County.
Most all jail and courts accept cash, a cashier or bankers’ check. Some accept a credit card with fees. Please contact the jail for specific information on what methods of payment are accepted. Go to the Rikers Island - RESH Enhanced Supervised Housing for more information about posting bail in New York County.
Bail money is returned to the person who paid the bail; in whole or in part once the case is finished. There may be fees, restitution (money to pay for damage caused by the crime) or fines that come out of that amount. If you used a bondsperson, you would not get your 10% back. Property is returned by the court or bondsperson after the appropriate requests and formal paperwork are completed with the court.
Most non-violent crimes do not require bail. If bail is assessed cash, or a minimum down payment, will be required.
A cash bond or a personal recognizance (PR) bond are bonds where someone representing the defendant signs paperwork promising to pay the bail amount if the defendant does not show up to court. There is no money due up front.
If the defendant does not show up, the full amount of the bail will be due to the court and the people who signed the paperwork will be responsible for paying the court and the court will send the sheriff’s department to arrest you.
Cash bonds and PR bonds are types of unsecured bonds because you are not securing it with any money down. In bond terms, a surety is a person who will be responsible to make sure that you will show to court and will be responsible to pay the bond if the arrested person does not show up. A surety can be family, friend or a bondsperson. Your attorney cannot act as a surety.
The Rikers Island - RESH Enhanced Supervised Housing or court in this jurisdiction can provide you with a list of approved and licensed bond companies, but they cannot recommend a specific company. You are not obligated to use the first company available and can call several companies to compare what kind of bonds that the bondsperson is willing to execute.
The percentage of bail that the bond company can charge is set, usually at 10%, by the state and cannot be negotiated.