Bowie County Correctional Facility Inmate Bail & Bonds

A magistrate does. Texas gives officers no more than 48 hours to bring an arrested adult before one, either in a room or over a video screen (art. 14.06, art. 15.17). In that brief appearance, the magistrate:

• names the accusation;
• reminds the person that silence is allowed, and so is hiring a lawyer;
• asks whether they need a free lawyer, then helps with that paperwork;
• fixes bail, choosing the lightest conditions likely to work (art. 17.028).

Several kinds of judges count as magistrates here, from justices of the peace to district judges (art. 2A.151). Texarkana's city government says its municipal judge handles magistrate work too. That court sits at 100 North State Line Avenue, Texarkana, TX 75501, 903-798-3010.

Before ruling on anything Class B or higher, the magistrate must read a public safety report covering the person's past. It carries no risk score and suggests no dollar figure (art. 17.022). To find out when your person's hearing is set, phone the Sheriff's Office, 100 North State Line Avenue, Texarkana, TX 75501, 903-798-3149.

Texas law names three paths out. Articles 17.01 through 17.03 describe them:

• Cash bond. The full sum goes to the court in U.S. currency. Once every promise is kept, it is refunded, less any fee.
• Surety bond. Here a bondsman licensed by the county stands behind the whole bail. You pay that person a fee, and Texas sets no maximum.
• Personal bond. Only a signature. Nobody hands over money up front.

Some people can't sign their way out. Most crimes on the state's violent-offense list block a personal bond. It is also barred for a felon accused of having a gun. Some protective order cases and terroristic threats are on the list too. The same goes for a new arrest of someone whose bail, parole or probation stems from a violent case (art. 17.03).

A separate rule covers three charge groups: burglary, organized criminal activity and the more serious drug felonies. For those, only the trial judge may grant a personal bond.

Fine-only Class C cases are different. Officers often write a ticket instead, and a magistrate may release with nothing more than a written date to appear (art. 14.06, art. 15.17).

Nobody in Texas keeps one master list of prices by crime. A magistrate sizes bail for each person (art. 17.028), using the factors in art. 17.15:

• enough to get the person back to every hearing;
• never used as a weapon against the person (the statute calls that oppression);
• what happened, with extra weight on violence;
• the person's actual finances;
• danger to the victim, officers or the community;
• record, pending cases and past no-shows;
• citizenship.

Only two caps appear in the statute. They apply when police arrest without a warrant and the probable cause decision runs late. For a misdemeanor, the person goes free by the 24th hour, with bond capped at $5,000. Felonies get 48 hours and a $10,000 ceiling. Prosecutors may ask to push that out to 72 hours (art. 17.033).

On a Class B or higher, a person who truly can't pay may swear to that in writing and get a prompt second look (art. 17.028). The real number in your case comes from the Sheriff's Office at 903-798-3149.

Your destination is the Bi-State/Bowie County Detention Center, 105 W. Front St., Texarkana, TX 75501.

1. Phone the Sheriff's Office, 100 North State Line Avenue, Texarkana, TX 75501, 903-798-3149. Request the person's SO number, which works like a jail ID.
2. Get the bond figure for every charge, plus the bond type.
3. Ask where bond is accepted today, its hours, and which payments staff accept.
4. Bring photo ID along with that payment.
5. Hold on to every receipt. Refunds of cash bail go to whoever is printed on that slip (art. 17.02).
6. Ask how long the release usually takes, and whether a hold sits on file.

Family violence cases add a wait. Since September 2025, Texas jails must keep the person 4 hours past the bond when further violence looks likely. With a written order, a magistrate may tack on as much as 48 more hours (art. 17.291).

That turns on the court holding the case. Call first:

• District Clerk, holder of felony files, 710 James Bowie Drive, New Boston, TX 75570, 903-628-6750. Open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Alternative number: 903-628-6757. This office posts the cash bail refund forms for both District Court and County Court at Law cases.
• County Clerk, keeper of the Class A and B misdemeanor records, 710 James Bowie Drive, New Boston, TX 75570, 903-628-6740.
• Texarkana, Texas Municipal Court, for city tickets, 100 North State Line Avenue, Texarkana, TX 75501, 903-798-3010, weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. The city points people with city warrants to its warrant payment portal and drivers to a ticket payment page. Neither one handles a county jail bond.

Have the cause number handy when you call. Ask if that office accepts bonds, and during which hours.

Payment rules shift, so check before driving anywhere. The Sheriff's Office at 903-798-3149 can say what works for a bond at the jail right now.

• By statute, a cash bond means U.S. currency (art. 17.02).
• The District Clerk accepts Visa, Mastercard and Discover for its own payments, adding a fee of 2.9 percent or $2, whichever is more. Whether a cash bond can go on a card is a question for that office at 903-628-6750.
• Bondsmen owe you a written receipt for anything you hand them (Occ. Code 1704.305).
• Cash sent by mail is a bad idea. Use only the methods staff name.

Jot down the amount, the date, who took it and the receipt number.

This county runs a bail bond board, which decides which companies may write bonds here. The board's official page carries its list of licensed bail bond companies. Members meet quarterly in the District Courtroom of the Bi-State Justice Building, 100 North State Line Avenue, Texarkana, TX 75501.

Ground rules from Occupations Code chapter 1704:

• A paid surety here needs a license.
• No pitching for clients inside jails. Officials can't steer you toward a company either.
• Fees have no state cap, so get the price on paper.
• Each payment earns a receipt.
• After the cases close and the fee is settled, a written request gets collateral back within 30 days.
• The defendant's own attorney of record can act as surety with no bondsman's license.

If a bondsman wants off the bond, Texas now makes the company warn the defense lawyer before anything else, plus the prosecutor on felonies. Then it must file a sworn statement explaining why (art. 17.19).

A bond is tied to a single charge. Something else on file can still block the door:

• ICE detainer. Texas jails must honor one unless the person proves citizenship or legal status (art. 2A.060).
• Blue warrant. That is the nickname for a parole violation warrant. The person generally waits inside for the parole hearing (Gov't Code 508.254).
• Out-of-county warrant. Texas lets a magistrate here accept bail for the other county's case, and the paperwork then travels there (art. 15.18). Otherwise expect a wait until officers from there arrive.
• Felony on top of a felony bond. Only the court handling the older felony, or a court it designates in writing, can release (art. 17.027).
• Family violence. The 4-hour wait after bond when violence may go on, longer by written order (art. 17.291).
• Mental health check. When staff see signs of mental illness, they owe the magistrate a notice within 12 hours, and an expert interview may follow (art. 16.22).

Probation violation warrants hold people too. Ask the Sheriff's Office at 903-798-3149 to read off every hold listed.

Only in set situations. The state constitution allows a no-bail order for:

• capital murder and other capital cases when the proof is evident (art. I, §11);
• certain repeat felonies or new felonies while on felony bail, after a district judge holds a hearing (art. I, §11a);
• a safety condition broken while out on a felony or family violence bond (art. I, §11b);
• certain protective order violations (art. I, §11c).

Proposition 3 went before voters on November 4, 2025 and passed, adding art. I, §11d. It reaches murder and capital murder, several aggravated crimes (robbery, kidnapping, sexual assault and some assaults), human trafficking, and indecency with a child. The request can come from the prosecutor alone. After a hearing, the judge must deny bail when the state shows a likely flight (the "more likely than not" standard) or shows danger with clear and convincing evidence. A judge who lets such a person out must explain why in writing.

Two 2025 changes give prosecutors more tools. Prosecutors may now take a magistrate's felony bail to a district judge for another look (art. 17.029). Some low bails in violent cases can be appealed (art. 44.01). The District Attorney's office is at 601 Main Street, Texarkana, TX 75501, 903-735-4800.

The usual route is a bond reduction motion. The defense lawyer files it with the trial court and asks for a smaller figure. Felonies run through the District Clerk at 903-628-6750. Misdemeanors run through the County Clerk at 903-628-6740. Both offices share one address: 710 James Bowie Drive, New Boston, TX 75570.

What tends to help:

• pay stubs, rent and bills, because the ability to pay is a legal factor (art. 17.15);
• a sworn statement of inability to pay on a Class B or higher (art. 17.028);
• on a felony not yet indicted, an examining trial, where bail can be looked at again (art. 16.01).

Delay can force a change too. When prosecutors aren't ready for trial, these clocks run for a jailed person:

• felony charges, 90 days;
• Class A misdemeanors, 30 days;
• Class B misdemeanors, 15 days;
• fine-only Class C cases, 5 days.

Once a clock runs out, the remedy is a personal bond or reduced bail, with a few exceptions (art. 17.151).

Anyone too broke to hire one may ask. At the first hearing the magistrate explains the request and helps fill it out. Within 24 hours the request goes on to the court that appoints lawyers (art. 15.17). Appointment follows in one to three working days, based on county size (art. 1.051). That lawyer should try to make contact before the next working day is over (art. 26.04).

Many of these cases go to the county's Public Defenders Office, 602 Pine Street, Texarkana, TX 75501, 903-792-2012.

Local judges publish written rules on how lawyers get picked. Find them on the Indigent Defense Commission's plan search. A request for counsel may not be used as a reason to threaten jail (art. 26.04).

Most county court business happens at the courthouse at 710 James Bowie Drive, New Boston, TX 75570, main line 903-628-6700.

• Felony courts: the 5th District Court, 903-628-6783; the 102nd, 903-628-6835; the 202nd, 903-628-6771. The District Clerk at the courthouse holds the files, 903-628-6750. Ask each court's office which courtroom a hearing is in.
• County Court at Law, which takes the Class A and B cases: reach it through the County Clerk at the courthouse, 903-628-6740, or on its county web page.
• Justice courts for Class C: Precinct 1, Place 1, Bi-State Justice Building, 100 North State Line Avenue, #13, Texarkana, TX 75501, 903-798-3006. Precinct 1, Place 2, 903-798-3038. Precinct 2, 710 James Bowie Drive, New Boston, TX 75570, 903-628-6812. Precinct 3, 903-667-3891. Precinct 5, covering the southeast and taking Precinct 4's calls, 903-585-5428.
• City court: Texarkana, Texas Municipal Court, 100 North State Line Avenue, Texarkana, TX 75501, 903-798-3010.
• Federal court: United States Courthouse and Post Office, 500 North State Line Avenue, Room 301, Texarkana, TX 75501, 903-794-8561.

When every bond condition has been met, the cash is returned to whoever's name appears on the receipt, less any fee (art. 17.02). Off the top can come a clerk's fee of 5 percent, never more than $50, though the clerk may keep it only once a conviction or a deferred adjudication order is entered. Unpaid fines and court costs may be taken from it as well, under art. 17.53.

The District Clerk supplies the refund motion. Pick the District Court refund motion or the County Court at Law refund motion. Questions go to 710 James Bowie Drive, New Boston, TX 75570, 903-628-6750.

A missed court date flips this around. The court calls out the name, and if nobody answers it enters a forfeiture judgment (art. 22.02). The bondsman escapes paying when the runaway lands back in custody within 180 days when the case is a misdemeanor, or 270 days when it is a felony (art. 22.13). Failing to show up is a separate crime as well. Its level tracks the original charge, anywhere from Class C to third-degree felony (Penal Code 38.10).

Wallets, phones and clothing taken at booking stay with the jail, along with any balance on the person's account. Phone the Sheriff's Office at 903-798-3149 before making the drive, and ask:

• how any money left on the books gets back to the person;
• whether pickup happens at the jail, 105 W. Front St., Texarkana, TX 75501, or the Sheriff's Office, 100 North State Line Avenue, Texarkana, TX 75501;
• if the person must sign something so a relative can collect;
• which ID to bring.

Our inmate money guide covers deposits. Our commissary guide shows what that money can be spent on.

Federal arrests in this corner of Texas go to the Eastern District of Texas, Texarkana Division, United States Courthouse and Post Office, 500 North State Line Avenue, Room 301, Texarkana, TX 75501, 903-794-8561.

1. A federal magistrate judge handles the first appearance and may order a detention hearing. That hearing decides between custody and release while the case is pending (18 U.S.C. 3142).
2. While the case waits for trial, the U.S. Marshals pick the housing, often a contract jail nearby. The Marshals' district headquarters: 211 West Ferguson Street, Floor 4, Tyler, TX 75702, 903-590-1370. They also list a Texarkana number, 903-793-8782.
3. The Federal Public Defender, for people without money for a lawyer, is at Plaza Tower, 110 North College Avenue, Suite 1122, Tyler, TX 75702, 903-531-9233.
4. After sentencing, switch to the Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

State bondsmen and county bail amounts have no role in a federal release.

It does not. ICE detainers sit outside the Texas bail system. What usually happens:

1. Step one is paperwork. ICE's Form I-247A detainer lands at the Texarkana jail.
2. Under 8 CFR 287.7(d), the jail can keep the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released, giving ICE time to arrive.
3. ICE then collects the person and transfers them to a site its field office uses. The Dallas Field Office, which handles North Texas, is at 8101 N. Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, TX 75247, 972-367-2200.
4. On the ICE Online Detainee Locator, searching by A-number is most exact. No A-number? Enter the person's full name, then choose their birth country from the list.

State law obliges every jail here to follow an ICE detainer. Proof of citizenship or lawful presence is the only exception (art. 2A.060). Under a 2017 statute (Gov't Code 752.053), cities and counties may not adopt policies that hold back immigration enforcement. There is also a 2025 rule: any county that has a jail, privately run ones included, must seek 287(g) status with ICE by December 1, 2026. To find out whether this county has done so, try the Sheriff's Office at 903-798-3149.

State jail felonies are punished in state jail facilities, a level below prison. Bigger felonies mean prison with TDCJ, the state's prison system. A stay in the county jail usually comes first. Then TDCJ moves the person to an intake unit to be sorted, and later to a long-term unit.

• Look up a current TDCJ prisoner on the state inmate search, using a last name or the TDCJ number.
• For unit-by-unit visiting and mail details, open our Texas state prisons page.

Juvenile court in Texas takes cases where the child was 10 to 16 years old when the act happened. By seventeen, Texas law treats the accused as a grown-up defendant (Family Code 51.02).

• Expect a quick call, since the law makes officers tell a parent or guardian right away (Family Code 52.02).
• Youths don't post bail like adults. Under Family Code 54.01, the judge rules on detention at a hearing. The hearing must come within two working days. For youths held from a Friday or Saturday, it falls on the very next working day.
• A lawyer is assigned to the youth before it starts.

The state's registry of juvenile facilities lists none within the county, so a held youth may be taken farther away. The Sheriff's Office at 903-798-3149 can tell you where. The Texas Juvenile Justice Department, 1711 San Jacinto Blvd, Austin, TX 78701, 512-490-7130, can connect you with local juvenile probation.