Pottawatomie County Public Safety Center Inmate Bail & Bonds

A District Court judge decides the bond. This county and Lincoln County form Judicial District 23. Each Oklahoma county also has its own associate district judge, at minimum (Okla. Const. art. VII § 8).

The judge weighs the charge, past record and the danger to others. Some charges can't be bonded out by jail staff at all. For instance, since November 1, 2025, no officer may free a person picked up on a repeat DUI. That bond must come from a judge, who has to put the reasons in writing (HB 1222).

To learn when the first court date is, phone the Court Clerk at 405-273-3624 on a weekday. Ask whether a bond amount is set yet. The clerk's office is at 325 N. Broadway, Shawnee, OK 74801, open Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

These are the main ways out of jail before trial under Oklahoma law:

• Cash bond. The whole sum is handed over by the person or a helper, and then they leave (59 O.S. § 1323).
• Surety bond. A licensed bondsman signs to cover the whole amount. You pay that bondsman a fee, called the premium.
• Property bond. Land or a house serves as the security. Filing charges fall on whoever files (59 O.S. § 1331).
• Own recognizance. No money is paid; a signed pledge to come to court is enough (22 O.S. § 1108.1).
• Release with conditions. Terms can be attached by the judge, for example an electronic monitor (22 O.S. § 1105.2).

Counties may also run supervised pretrial programs under the Pretrial Release Act (22 O.S. § 1105.3). The Court Clerk, 405-273-3624, can say what this court uses.

Each amount is set case by case. For the real figure, call the Court Clerk at 405-273-3624 or reach the jail through Dispatch at 405-273-1727. These state rules explain much of what you hear:

• Drug possession for personal use counts as a misdemeanor under State Question 780, in effect from July 1, 2017.
• Theft of property worth less than $1,000 moved to misdemeanor level in that same change.
• Repeat DUI arrests: only a judge may set the bond, with written reasons.
• Felony DUI, a third time or more, joined the list of charges with no right to bail in 2025 (SB 981).
• A second violent case filed while the first one's bond is still running is presumed not to be released (HB 3782).
• Capital, life-sentence and violent cases can be denied any bond, though only after the judge holds a hearing.

When there are several charges, ask for the bond on each one and the total.

The jail stands at 14209 Highway 177, Shawnee, OK 74804, close to Acme Road. Work through this list:

1. Phone Dispatch at 405-273-1727 and ask for jail staff.
2. Share the legal name and the birthday, and spell any tricky parts.
3. Write down the bond, the case number and every hold staff mention.
4. Find out what payment the jail accepts and what times it takes bonds.
5. Go with photo ID and the right payment. Save each receipt.

Anyone may post a cash bond on the person's behalf (59 O.S. § 1323). With a bondsman, the bondsman files the bond. Weekday office questions can go to the Sheriff's Office, 14101 Acme Road, Shawnee, OK 74804, 405-275-2526.

On state charges, bond paperwork lands with the District Court Clerk. Phone first:

• Court Clerk: 325 N. Broadway, Shawnee, OK 74801, 405-273-3624, weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Ask whether the window takes a bond for someone in jail.
• Shawnee city charges: the Municipal Court window is in City Hall, 16 West 9th Street (mail: P.O. Box 1448, Shawnee, OK 74802-1448), 405-878-1624. It opens Monday to Thursday 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Friday 7:30 to 11:00 a.m.
• Tecumseh city charges: 114 N. Broadway, Tecumseh, OK 74873, 405-598-4315, weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• McLoud city charges: court office at 402 E. Broadway, McLoud, OK 74851, 405-988-2789.

Each time, find out the amount, the forms of payment, and the wait for release after paying.

Every office has its own payment rules. Call ahead. Here is what the city courts say:

• Shawnee Municipal Court: cash, money orders and cashier's checks are fine, and so are Visa and Mastercard. A card at the window adds 4.5%, at least $2.50. It refuses personal and business checks. Paying by card over the phone at 405-878-1624 has no fee, but that line is for fines and tickets, not bonds for people in jail.
• McLoud hands warrant and ticket balances in collections to a collection service at 800-555-5160. Checks and money orders don't work for those.

For a jail bond, ask Dispatch at 405-273-1727 which payments the jail takes today. A bondsman is the other route. Never put cash in the mail.

The Oklahoma Insurance Department grants bondsman licenses and disciplines those who break the rules. Points to keep in mind:

• Every bondsman needs a state license to write bonds at all (59 O.S. § 1303).
• Each bondsman must register with a court's clerk first (59 O.S. § 1320).
• Jail staff and police officers may not double as bondsmen (59 O.S. § 1315).
• The premium has to be printed on the bond, and each receipt you get is numbered (59 O.S. § 1316).
• If the person is never freed, you are owed a quick return of the fee and any collateral (59 O.S. § 1327).
• A bondsman who looks for clients at the jail risks discipline (59 O.S. § 1310).

Before you sign, type the bondsman's name into the state license search. For complaints, the department's bail bond office is at 400 NE 50th Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73105, 405-521-6610.

Yes. Paying one bond settles one case. Ask about each of these:

• A hold for another Oklahoma county or town. Since November 1, 2025, the bond that other place set can be posted from here to lift the hold (HB 1991).
• Two cases, one city and one county. Each has its own bond.
• Probation or parole. The state may place its own hold. Reach the Oklahoma Department of Corrections at 405-425-2500.
• Federal or immigration holds. A state bond leaves these in place.

Ask jail staff to read out all holds before you pay. Reach them through Dispatch at 405-273-1727.

Under the state constitution, the right to bail covers most people. Bail may be refused only in these groups of cases (Okla. Const. art. II § 8):

• capital crimes, if guilt is evident
• crimes of violence
• charges where life in prison is possible
• felonies by someone holding two prior felony convictions from separate cases
• drug charges punishable by ten years or more

In the four groups after capital cases, a hold without bail also needs evident proof and a finding that no release terms would keep others safe. The constitution also bars excessive bail (Okla. Const. art. II § 9).

If the state wants the person kept with no bond, that request comes from the District Attorney for District 23, 400 N. Broadway Ave, Shawnee, OK 74801, 405-275-6800.

A lower bond takes a judge's order, and a defense lawyer usually asks for it. Steps that help:

1. The lawyer files a motion in the case asking for a bond review.
2. Collect proof of a job and a home address, plus short letters from relatives.
3. The lawyer proposes conditions, such as reporting in or a monitor.
4. Family members attend the hearing to show support.

Victims may speak at any release hearing (Okla. Const. art. II § 34). For the hearing date, phone the Court Clerk at 405-273-3624.

A person too poor to hire counsel may request a lawyer paid for by the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System. In this county the work goes to a contract law office at 318 N. Broadway Ave, Shawnee, OK 74801, 405-273-6510.

• Applications are filed at the Court Clerk, 325 N. Broadway, Shawnee, OK 74801, 405-273-3624. Someone already in custody can get a copy from the officers on duty.
• A judge reviews income, property and debts to decide. Being able to make bail counts, but it can't settle the question alone.
• There is a $40 charge, paid into the Court Fund. If the person asks, payment can wait until the end.

The defense system's main office is at 111 N. Peters Ave, Suite 500, Norman, OK 73069, 405-801-2601.

State felonies and misdemeanors run through the Court Clerk on North Broadway. The other courts in or serving the county:

• District Court Clerk, 325 N. Broadway, Shawnee, OK 74801, 405-273-3624
• Municipal Court for city tickets in City Hall, 16 West 9th Street (mail: P.O. Box 1448, Shawnee, OK 74802-1448), 405-878-1624
• Tecumseh Municipal Court, 114 N. Broadway, Tecumseh, OK 74873, 405-598-4315
• McLoud Municipal Court, which meets at 408 W. Broadway, McLoud, OK 74851 (City Hall, 405-788-4751)
• Absentee Shawnee Tribal Court, 2025 S. Gordon Cooper Drive, Shawnee, OK 74801, 405-481-8575
• Citizen Potawatomi Nation Tribal Court, through tribal headquarters at 1601 Gordon Cooper Dr., Shawnee, OK 74801, court clerk 405-878-4844
• Kickapoo Tribal Court, 105365 S. Hwy 102, Building C, McLoud, OK 74851, 405-964-4227
• Federal court, 200 NW 4th Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73102, 405-609-5000

Hold on to your receipt. A cash bond is refunded once the person is surrendered or the case is over (59 O.S. § 1328).

Missing court starts a series of deadlines under 59 O.S. § 1332:

• By day 10, the court must order the person arrested.
• By day 15 the forfeiture order is on file, and notice from the clerk must go out within another 30 days.
• Next, the bondsman gets 90 days. Bringing the person back to court within that time wipes out the loss.
• In municipal court, forfeiture happens the same day as the no-show, and the court keeps its costs from that money (11 O.S. § 27-118).

To get money back, phone the Court Clerk at 405-273-3624.

A release starts with staff proving they have the right person (OAC 310:670-5-1). The things taken at intake are then checked off one by one, and the person signs for them.

Picking up items or leftover account money for someone? Reach the jail through Dispatch at 405-273-1727. Ask about pickup times and whether you need a note signed by the person. Bring photo ID to 14209 Highway 177, Shawnee, OK 74804. For more on accounts, see our guide to jail account money.

A federal case here belongs to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. Shawnee is one of its legal meeting places, yet the clerk's office is at 200 NW 4th Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73102, 405-609-5000, weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

• A federal magistrate or district judge settles custody at a detention hearing (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Until trial, the U.S. Marshals hold federal prisoners. Their office: 200 NW 4th Street, Room 2022, Oklahoma City, OK 73102, 405-231-4206.
• Some prisoners pass through the Federal Transfer Center, 7410 S. MacArthur Blvd, Oklahoma City, OK 73169, 405-682-4075.
• If money for a federal lawyer is short, ask the Federal Public Defender, 215 Dean A. McGee Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK 73102, 405-609-5930.
• A sentenced person can be found on the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

No. An ICE detainer survives a paid state bond. What usually follows:

1. The jail receives Form I-247A, the ICE detainer.
2. Staff may then keep the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. ICE takes custody. Its Dallas Field Office covers Oklahoma from 8101 N. Stemmons Frwy, Dallas, TX 75247, 972-367-2200, with a local office at 1220 Sovereign Row, Oklahoma City, OK 73108, 405-219-3199.
4. Detainees may go to Cimarron Correctional Facility, 3200 S. Kings Hwy., Cushing, OK 74023, 918-225-3336, or travel through the Federal Transfer Center.
5. Find them on the ICE Online Detainee Locator by name and birth country.

The state law that made unlawful presence in Oklahoma a crime (21 O.S. § 1795) is on hold by federal court order during the state's appeal.

After a prison sentence, the Oklahoma Department of Corrections takes over, but not right away. Plan on roughly 6 to 9 months back at the Highway 177 jail before transport, the department says.

• Staff at a state assessment and reception center score the person's custody level, and that score decides which prison comes next.
• The DOC Offender Lookup shows a person once the state has them.
• Each state facility has a profile on our Oklahoma prisons page.
• Department headquarters: 4345 N. Lincoln Blvd, Oklahoma City, OK 73105, 405-425-2500.

Judges nearly always give credit for jail time served before sentencing.

Teens are kept apart from adults. State rules (OAC 310:670-5-5) give an adult lockup six hours, no more, to process or transfer a youth. During that time the youth stays where grown inmates can't see or hear them. Longer stays happen at the county's own juvenile detention center.

• The Office of Juvenile Affairs runs youth cases here, out of a district office at 500 N. Pennsylvania Ave, Shawnee, OK 74801, 405-275-3219, weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• A youth kept locked up is owed a detention hearing, in most cases by the following judicial day.
• Teens aged 15 through 17 accused of grave crimes can face charges under the Youthful Offender Act. Judges can also move such a case up to adult court.

Parents can phone the district office to find out where their child is held and the hearing date.