Philadelphia Detention Center Inmate Bail & Bonds

A magistrate of Philadelphia Municipal Court sets bail. The city has no magisterial district judges, so this court does the job those judges do in other counties.

After an arrest, police bring the person to a booking center. A team from the District Attorney's Office reviews the arrest at any hour and writes up the charges. Then comes the preliminary arraignment. These hearings never stop: they run around the clock over video, weekends and holidays included. The magistrate works from a courtroom in the basement of the Juanita Kidd Stout Center for Criminal Justice, 1301 Filbert Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, 215-686-7000. The person stays at the booking center and joins on screen. Court guides say this usually happens within a day of the arrest.

During this short hearing the magistrate (Pa.R.Crim.P. 540):

• reads out each charge and gives the person the written complaint
• sets the bail and any rules that go with it
• assigns a lawyer
• gives the date of the next hearing

Pretrial Services has a Bail Interviewing Unit that is staffed day and night at 215-683-3707.

Pennsylvania court rules give five choices (Pa.R.Crim.P. 524). Money up front is required for just one of them, the fifth.

1. ROR (release on recognizance). A written pledge to attend every court date is enough.
2. Nonmonetary conditions. A signed promise plus rules, for example regular check-ins, a curfew or a no-contact order.
3. Unsecured bail. Nothing is due up front. The person promises a fixed sum, payable just if they fail to show up.
4. Nominal bail. A tiny deposit, like $1, backed by a person or group that signs on as surety.
5. Monetary bail. Cash, property or a bond must be posted.

To choose, the magistrate looks at things such as the charge, past record, work history and how the person has shown up for court before (Pa.R.Crim.P. 523).

In Philadelphia, release can also mean house arrest with an electronic monitor. Pretrial Services runs it. The homeowner has to agree, and staff look over the home first. The Electronic Monitoring Unit answers at all hours at 215-683-3766.

Each amount is set case by case. The magistrate picks it at the video arraignment, and the court process page shows no fixed price list for charges. Pa.R.Crim.P. 528 limits a cash amount to a reasonable sum, and the magistrate must think about what the accused can afford.

What tends to push bail higher or lower:

• How serious the charge is. A first-degree felony can carry up to 20 years, while a third-degree misdemeanor carries up to 1 year (18 Pa.C.S. §§ 1103-1104).
• Past convictions and any missed court dates.
• Ties to the city, such as a job, a home and family.
• Any danger to a victim or the public.

For the actual figure, look up the person's docket on the free UJS case search. The docket sheet shows the bail once the case is filed. You can also call the Bail Acceptance Unit at 215-683-7726 at any hour.

The District Attorney's Office says it is working to end cash bail for people charged with nonviolent crimes.

Money bail is paid to the Office of Judicial Records at its Bail Acceptance Unit. It sits in the basement payment center of the Criminal Justice Center, 1301 Filbert Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. It stays open at every hour of every day, holidays included. The main line is 215-683-7726, and an alternative number is 215-683-7727.

1. Find the docket number. A Municipal Court case starts with MC-51-CR.
2. Call ahead and ask the amount due, what you may pay with, and whether a judge must act first.
3. Bring a valid photo ID. Staff need it before they take any money.
4. Decide whose name goes on the papers. The person who signs as surety can owe the whole bail if the defendant skips court.
5. Keep the receipt. A refund goes only to the person whose name it bears.
6. Wait for the release. The jail lets the person go after the paperwork reaches it.

Paying bail does not promise a release. Another case or a hold can still keep someone in. The Records Room at Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, 7901 State Road, Philadelphia, PA 19136, works around the clock at 215-685-8434 and can tell you about release timing.

Yes, for some cases. The Department of Prisons home page links to PA ePay Bail, the statewide court payment site. The Office of Judicial Records says it works here only for Municipal Court cases whose docket number begins with MC-51-CR. It is open 24 hours.

• American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa and ATM cards all work here.
• The most you can pay in one transaction is $20,000.
• A service fee of 2.75 percent is added to each payment, and it is never refunded.
• Pick your role with care. A "Payer" has no claim to a refund, and the money is treated as the defendant's. A surety can get money back, but must contact the court or prison afterward to finish the bail papers.
• The site makes no promise about how fast the jail releases the person.

After an online payment, the person may be picked up at Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, 7901 State Road, Philadelphia, PA 19136. Its Records Room is open all day and night at 215-685-8434. For a Common Pleas case or any question about the site, call the Bail Acceptance Unit at 215-683-7726.

The Bail Acceptance Unit in the basement of the Criminal Justice Center, 1301 Filbert Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, lists these choices:

• Cash. The defendant or another person, called a third-party surety, may pay.
• Credit or debit cards. Any major card except American Express. The cardholder must be the surety and show a photo ID with the same name.
• Certified bank checks. Make them out to the Office of Judicial Records. They are taken only from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday to Friday.
• Real estate. Property worth at least the full bail, after the court checks its value. Under state rules it can be anywhere in Pennsylvania (Pa.R.Crim.P. 528).
• A bail bondsman's surety bond. A licensed bondsman signs for the full amount for a fee.

State rules also let a court accept a cash deposit capped at 10 percent of the full bail when that is enough. Ask the unit at 215-683-7727 what share your case needs. For property bail paperwork, the Office of Judicial Records answers on weekdays at 215-683-7700.

Paying a bondsman is allowed in Pennsylvania. A bondsman is someone paid to stand as surety, meaning they promise the court the full amount (42 Pa.C.S. § 5741). Before you sign anything, know these points:

• A license is required. The state Insurance Department licenses bondsmen, and each one must also be cleared to work in the county (42 Pa.C.S. §§ 5742, 5743.1).
• No price cap. Since 2015, state law sets no ceiling on what a bondsman charges. Get the price and any collateral deal written down.
• The fee stays with the bondsman. The bondsman keeps it even if the charges are dropped.
• Finders' fees are a crime. Taking money just to find someone a bondsman is a summary offense (42 Pa.C.S. § 5749).
• Missed court costs the bondsman. The bondsman then has strong reasons to find the person and bring them back (42 Pa.C.S. § 5747.1).

Before signing, have the bondsman show you two things: an Insurance Department license and the insurer's power of attorney. Questions about a bond already posted go to the Bail Acceptance Unit at 215-683-7726.

Bail is tied to a single case. Common reasons someone is still held once the money is paid:

• A second case. Every open case needs its own bail.
• A probation detainer. The courts' Adult Probation and Parole Department can hold someone who may have broken probation. Its violation unit answers at 215-683-1416.
• A warrant from another county. Under state rules, the 72-hour clock for a bench warrant hearing starts only after the person reaches the home jail of the county whose court issued the warrant (Pa.R.Crim.P. 150). Transport can take longer.
• State parole. A state parole hold is separate, and local bail cannot lift it.
• An ICE detainer or a federal charge. Local bail does not touch either one.

Before paying, call the Records Room at Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, 7901 State Road, Philadelphia, PA 19136, 215-685-8434, and ask whether any holds are on file.

While a hold is sorted out, the person stays in one of the city's State Road jails:

• Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, 7901 State Road, Philadelphia, PA 19136, 215-685-7843: the system's largest jail
• Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center, 8301 State Road, Philadelphia, PA 19136, 215-685-7100: adult men
• the Detention Center, 8201 State Road, Philadelphia, PA 19136, 215-685-8436: inpatient medical and behavioral health care
• Riverside Correctional Facility, 8151 State Road, Philadelphia, PA 19136, 215-685-6911: treatment areas and youthful offenders, plus a modular unit called ASD MOD III next door at 8101 State Road, Philadelphia, PA 19136

Not sure which building holds a woman, or who a certain unit houses? The prisons' 24-hour locating staff can tell you at 215-685-8394.

Release comes with duties. Missing them can lead to a warrant.

1. Check in within 24 hours. Call the automated Pretrial Services line at 215-686-7421. It needs the police identification number from the arrest.
2. Keep the address current. The Notification Unit at 215-683-3710 takes address changes and gives court dates.
3. Follow every rule. People under supervision deal with the Supervision Unit at 215-683-3750. For house arrest problems at night, on weekends or on holidays, call 215-568-0191.
4. Stay away from the alleged victim. Do not call, text or pass along messages, even through friends.

Anyone who signs as a third-party surety has a duty too. If the defendant breaks a stay-away or protection order rule, the surety must tell police within 24 hours (42 Pa.C.S. § 5750).

Only in narrow cases. The Pennsylvania Constitution says bail must be allowed except (Pa. Const. art. I, § 14; 42 Pa.C.S. § 5701):

• for a crime punishable by death, or by life imprisonment as the maximum, or
• when no set of conditions short of jail can keep people safe.

The state Supreme Court ruled in Commonwealth v. Talley (2021) that the prosecutor carries the load. The DA must bring real evidence to a hearing and convince the court. Strong words alone are not enough.

The prosecutor in every city case is the District Attorney's Office, 3 South Penn Square, Philadelphia, PA 19107-3499, 215-686-8000. A defense lawyer can fight a request to hold someone without bail.

Philadelphia has a fast track called Early Bail Review. For a misdemeanor or felony with bail under $250,000, a hearing is set within 5 business days of the preliminary arraignment. The defense lawyer handles it, so make sure the lawyer knows what the family can pay.

Other ways to ask for a change:

• A bail motion. The defense files a motion asking the judge on the case to change the amount or the rules (Pa.R.Crim.P. 529). The Common Pleas criminal counter answers at 215-683-7004.
• The 180-day rule. If the person has been held more than 180 days since the complaint, not counting delays caused by the defense, a motion for nominal bail can be filed (Pa.R.Crim.P. 600). This does not help someone held with no bail at all.

Collect papers that show stable roots, such as paychecks, a rental agreement and a letter from a boss. Pretrial Services' Detention Review Unit is at 215-683-3751.

Pennsylvania's Public Defender Act sets up a public defender in every county except Philadelphia (16 P.S. § 9960.1 and following). Here, the Defender Association of Philadelphia does that work. Its office is at 1441 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102, 215-568-3190, open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• The magistrate assigns a lawyer at the video arraignment.
• Pretrial Services holds appointment-of-counsel interviews on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call the Notification Unit at 215-683-3710 to learn where to go.
• When the Defender Association cannot take a case, the court's Court Appointment Unit at 215-683-7007 can name another lawyer.

Since Act 34 of 2023, Pennsylvania pays part of the cost of defending people who cannot afford a lawyer, for the first time ever.

Most criminal cases are heard in one building, the Juanita Kidd Stout Center for Criminal Justice, 1301 Filbert Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. Offices inside it:

• Municipal Court, Criminal Division, Room 208. Court Administration: 215-683-7290. Weekdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Court of Common Pleas, Trial Division, Criminal, Room 203. Information counter: 215-683-7004. Weekdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Office of Judicial Records, Criminal (the clerk), Room 310. Phone: 215-683-7700. Weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Other courts that matter:

• Court Administrator, 236 City Hall, Philadelphia, PA 19107, 215-686-2547.
• Juvenile Court (Family Division), 1501 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102, 215-686-4000.
• Federal court, in the courthouse named for James A. Byrne, 601 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, clerk 215-597-7704.

Municipal Court also uses courtrooms in several police districts.

Once the case closes, most of the cash is returned. The Office of Judicial Records keeps 30 percent of cash bail as a fee, with a minimum of $10.00 and a maximum of $1,500.00. Real estate bail carries no city fee.

• Refunds are mailed to the last address on file no later than 20 days once the whole case is over, or 30 days from sentencing (Pa.R.Crim.P. 535).
• During an appeal, money comes back only if the sentencing judge orders it.
• Lost the receipt? Bring the case number and your original ID to Window #1 in the basement.
• If the defendant paid the deposit personally, the court may use that money for fines, court costs or restitution.

The Bail Refund Unit is in Room B-02 of the Criminal Justice Center, 1301 Filbert Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. Call 215-683-7723, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

A missed court date changes everything. A judge may then issue a bench warrant and declare the whole bail forfeited, so the surety could owe every dollar. The Common Pleas criminal page offers a Motion to Vacate or Reduce Bail Judgment form for people fighting that debt.

Ask about the person's account money and personal items before the release day if you can. The Department of Prisons' Office of Community Justice and Outreach helps families with questions like these. It answers Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., at 215-685-8909. The department's main address is 7901 State Road, Philadelphia, PA 19136.

• People leaving a city jail get a discharge packet with contacts for help in the community.
• They also receive a prescription for naloxone, a drug that reverses opioid overdoses.
• Anyone picking up items for another person should carry photo ID. Staff may also want the owner's written okay.

How deposits reach a jail account is covered in our money guide. The commissary page lists the kind of items that money can buy.

That choice belongs to a federal judge. Federal charges from Philadelphia go to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The courthouse, named for James A. Byrne, is at 601 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, 215-597-7704.

1. The judge holds a detention hearing early on, at the first federal appearance, and decides custody until trial (18 U.S.C. 3142).
2. Before that hearing, U.S. Pretrial Services gathers facts for the judge. Its office is at 600 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, 267-299-4400.
3. Anyone the judge orders held is turned over to federal marshals. The U.S. Marshals Service's Eastern District office sits at 601 Market Street, Room 2110, Philadelphia, PA 19106, 215-597-7272.
4. Federal defendants in the Eastern District are often held at the Federal Detention Center, 700 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, 215-521-4000.
5. Defendants who cannot pay a lawyer can turn to the Federal Community Defender (Suite 540 West), 601 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, 215-928-1100.

After a prison sentence, search the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

No. Immigration holds run on a separate track from state bail. What usually happens next:

1. ICE, short for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, starts by lodging Form I-247A. That paper is a request to keep the person in custody a little longer.
2. The hold may last up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released, giving officers time to arrive (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Jails may turn a detainer down. The federal appeals court whose region takes in Pennsylvania ruled that jails are asked, not ordered, to honor a detainer (Galarza v. Szalczyk, 3d Cir. 2014). Any jail that holds someone for that reason alone may be liable for it, so every jail picks its own approach. Ask the Department of Prisons at 215-685-7711 how it handles them.
4. If ICE takes custody, the case falls under the Philadelphia Field Office, 114 N. 8th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, 215-656-7164.
5. Look the person up on the ICE Online Detainee Locator. It works with either the alien registration number or a name and birth country.

In Pennsylvania the top end of the sentence decides where it is served (42 Pa.C.S. § 9762):

• Under 2 years: a city jail run by the Department of Prisons.
• 2 to 5 years: most go to a state prison; staying local needs the jail, prosecutor and court to agree.
• 5 years or more: state prison.

A state sentence begins with a stay at a reception and classification center, where staff sort out security level and needs over weeks to months. Afterward the state assigns a prison that matches those results. Track them on the DOC inmate locator. Our Pennsylvania state prisons page describes every state prison. The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections is at 1920 Technology Parkway, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050, 717-728-2573.

Most young people go to Juvenile Court, not adult court (42 Pa.C.S. § 6301 and following). They are held apart from adults, and the city's secure youth detention center is the Philadelphia Juvenile Justice Services Center, 91 North 48th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19139. Its 24-hour line is 215-686-4845.

• The court's Delinquent Intake Unit decides whether a youth is detained. It works around the clock at the center, 215-686-4999.
• Cases are heard at Juvenile Court, 1501 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102, 215-686-4000.
• Some teens skip Juvenile Court. If someone aged 15 through 17 faces a murder charge, or a listed violent charge involving a deadly weapon, the case opens in adult court, and the defense may request a transfer back.

Juvenile cases are kept off the public UJS case search.