California Bail Regulations in 2026: What Families Need to Know

Family member checks a county bail schedule

California bail is governed by the state Constitution, the Penal Code, county bail schedules and a growing body of Supreme Court rulings. In practice, the amount comes from a county schedule or a judge, and a judge must now weigh what the defendant can actually afford. If someone you love was just arrested, you can start the process at any hour, and the rules below explain what happens next.

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TL;DR

Before a judge sees the case, bail is the amount in the arrest warrant or, with no warrant, the county’s uniform bail schedule. At arraignment a judge can release, set bail or set none.
Under In re Humphrey (2021) and In re Kowalczyk (April 30, 2026), bail must consider the defendant’s finances, and unaffordable bail cannot be used to hold someone.
Courts in Los Angeles and elsewhere have limited pre-arraignment cash bail, so what you must pay in the first hours can depend on the county’s current program.
Our bail bond premium is 10% of the bail amount. A payment plan changes when you pay, not what the bond costs.
Missing court can lead to forfeiture of the bond. Keeping every court date protects the person released and the family who signed.

How bail works in California, from arrest to arraignment
County bail schedules: what they are and who writes them
What judges must weigh: the Constitution, Humphrey and Kowalczyk
Release without bail, and when bail can be denied
What changed in 2026: pre-arraignment bail and SB 562
What a bail bond costs
Get a bond started tonight
Conditions while out, and what happens if court is missed
Our perspective
FAQ
Sources

How bail works in California, from arrest to arraignment

Bail is money paid as a guarantee that the defendant will come to court. According to the California Courts Self-Help Guide, if the defendant is still in jail at arraignment, the judge may release them on their own recognizance, release them under supervision, set bail or not set bail. If the defendant appears as required, bail money posted with the court is returned at the end of the case.

There are really two stages, and the rules differ at each.

Stage one: booking, before any judge. Penal Code § 1269b says that if the defendant has not yet appeared before a judge, bail is the amount fixed in the arrest warrant. When there is no warrant, it is the amount in the county’s uniform bail schedule. This is why two people arrested for the same offense in different counties can see very different numbers.

Stage two: arraignment and after. Once a judge is involved, the amount can be changed, bail can be denied in limited situations, or the person can be released without paying. Our guide to who sets bail in California walks through the roles of judges, sheriffs and county schedules in more detail.

County bail schedules: what they are and who writes them

Each county’s superior court judges prepare, adopt and annually revise a uniform countywide bail schedule. The Legislature’s Penal Code § 1269b applies this to bailable felonies and to misdemeanors and infractions. The Commission’s staff memorandum adds that Vehicle Code infractions follow a statewide schedule from the Judicial Council instead.

Because schedules are revised yearly, they change. San Francisco’s court, for example, lists its felony and misdemeanor schedule effective July 1, 2026, along with earlier years. Always check your own county’s current schedule rather than a number you saw online.

Schedules also have built-in limits. The Stanislaus County schedule explains that Penal Code § 1270.1 requires a court hearing before anyone arrested for certain offenses can be released on their own recognizance or on bail that differs from the schedule. That list includes serious felonies under PC § 1192.7 and violent felonies under PC § 667.5©, with an exception for first degree burglary, as well as felony criminal threats and intimate partner battery. If the charge is on that list, expect to wait for a judge.

To see how those numbers translate into a real figure, read how bail is calculated and how much bail is for a felony in California.

What judges must weigh: the Constitution, Humphrey and Kowalczyk

A judge deciding bail does not pick a number freely. The California Constitution (Article 1, Sections 12 and 28) requires the court to consider the seriousness of the charged crime, the defendant’s previous criminal record, whether the defendant is a risk to the community, the safety of the victim and whether the defendant is likely to appear at the next court date, as the San Francisco Superior Court’s bail fact sheet summarizes.

Two Supreme Court decisions changed how those factors work in practice:

In re Humphrey (2021). The court held that a judge may not keep a defendant in jail before trial solely because they cannot afford bail, and that any bail set must take the defendant’s ability to pay into account, per the same fact sheet.
In re Kowalczyk (decided April 30, 2026). In the court’s opinion, the justices held that in noncapital cases a trial court may deny bail only for the offenses named in Article 1, Section 12, subdivisions (b) and ©. Bail must generally be set in an amount reasonably attainable for the defendant after an individualized look at the whole picture, including finances. The opinion also rejects using artificially high bail as a back door to detention.

For families, the practical meaning is this: if bail looks impossible, that is a point your loved one’s defense lawyer can raise at a hearing. Our article on how bail works after Humphrey covers the connection between pretrial release and bonds, and the burglary bail breakdown shows how Humphrey and county schedules interact on one common charge.

Release without bail, and when bail can be denied

Not everyone pays. Depending on the charge and the county, a person may leave jail in a few ways:

Release on a promise to appear. The Stanislaus schedule notes that jail deputies can release eligible people on their promise to appear, or a judicial officer can release them on their own recognizance, before the first court date.
Release at arraignment. The judge can release on own recognizance or under supervision, as the Self-Help Guide explains.
Bail set, then paid in cash with the court or through a bail bond.
No bail. After Kowalczyk, denial is limited to the offenses the Constitution specifically lists.

If a charge is not eligible for a bond at all, our page on crimes that are not eligible for a bond explains the categories. Some situations also involve holds that bail alone does not resolve, such as a 1275 hold or a restraining order violation, which can delay bail by two court days.

What changed in 2026: pre-arraignment bail and SB 562

The biggest shift is happening before arraignment. The Commission’s October 2026 memorandum reports that courts in Los Angeles, Riverside, Sacramento and San Francisco found pre-arraignment bail schedules unconstitutional when applied before arraignment.

In Los Angeles County, the Superior Court adopted a schedule with Pre-Arraignment Release Protocols (PARP). The same memorandum describes three paths for the arresting officer: release after fingerprinting, fingerprint and hold for magistrate review, or set cash bail at the schedule amount without judicial review. Data from October 1, 2023, to June 17, 2026, show about 47% of PARP bookings did not merit magistrate review and 48% were reviewed, with 94% of those reviewed held until arraignment.

Los Angeles PARP booking paths and outcomes

What this means for you: the figure you are quoted at booking in Los Angeles may not follow the old schedule. Before paying anything, learn which program applies. Our Los Angeles bail process guide explains what to check, and our overview of California pretrial release changes covers what families should do.

On legislation, SB 562 by Senator Ashby would add Section 1302.5 to the Penal Code. According to its official bill status, it was last amended June 16, 2026, passed the Assembly Public Safety Committee 5-2 and was held in committee on August 13, 2026. It is not law, so no new rule from it applies to a bond today.

What a bail bond costs

A bail bond lets you pay a fee instead of the full bail amount. Our premium is 10% of the bail amount. So on $50,000 bail, the premium is $5,000, while posting cash with the court would mean paying the full $50,000 to the court, to be returned at the end of the case if the defendant appeared as required.

Because the premium is the fee for the bond, plan for it as a cost, not a deposit. If cash is tight, ask us about payment plans. A plan changes when payments are due, not the total owed, and keeping up with payments matters. We also offer lower-premium options: see our pages on 1% bail bonds and 2% bail bonds, and what qualifies for no collateral bail bonds.

The commercial bail market is also under scrutiny. The Commission’s memorandum notes that bail bond insurers agreed to a $66 million antitrust settlement, reported in June 2026. It is context for the industry and does not change the premium you pay a licensed agent today.

Wondering whether you should just pay the court yourself? Read about posting your own bail and three reasons to get a bond even if you can pay.

Get a bond started tonight

When a family member is in custody, time matters. We are a family-owned company, established in 1926, and you speak directly with licensed agents 24/7, not a call center. Our bilingual English and Spanish staff serve Los Angeles and San Diego counties, and you can begin the paperwork remotely or in person. Our aim is release within about 30 minutes once the bond is posted, though jail processing times vary.

Armstrongbailbonds

Start with our online bail bond application, call through our 24-hour bail bonds service, or see the Armstrong Bail Bonds home page for an inmate search and contact options. Not sure what to ask first? Our guide to what a bail bond is and how to get one covers the basics.

Conditions while out, and what happens if court is missed

Release is not the end of the case. At arraignment the judge decides whether the defendant stays in jail until the case ends or may stay out, per the Self-Help Guide. In some cases a criminal protective order requires the defendant to stay away from a victim or witness and their family. Follow every condition the judge sets, and ask the defense attorney if anything is unclear.

The most important condition is attending every hearing. Under Penal Code § 1305, if a defendant fails to appear without sufficient excuse for arraignment, trial, judgment or another required occasion, the court must declare the bail undertaking, or the money or property deposited, forfeited in open court.

Forfeiture is not always final. Under People v. American Contractors Indemnity, the surety is entitled to have the forfeiture vacated and the bond exonerated if the defendant appears within 185 days after the clerk mails the notice of forfeiture. The trial court may extend that period by no more than 180 days, and after it expires the court has 90 days to enter summary judgment on the bond.

If your loved one misses a date by mistake, call us and their attorney immediately. Acting inside that window gives the best chance of fixing it.

Our perspective

Families usually find us at 2 a.m., confused by numbers they were handed at a jail window. The rules are changing, and that is good news for many people: judges must now look at what a family can really pay, and some counties have limited cash bail before arraignment. But a court hearing may be hours or days away, and a loved one sitting in custody in the meantime loses work, sleep and stability.

That is where a licensed agent helps. We explain the premium before anything is signed, we offer payment plans so a family does not have to find the whole fee at once, and we answer the phone ourselves because four generations of this work taught us that trust is built in the first conversation.

Know the rules, keep every court date, and call us when you are ready to act.

Jake

FAQ

Is there bail in California?

Yes. A person arrested can be released on bail, released on their own recognizance, released under supervision, or in limited cases held without bail. The judge makes that choice at arraignment, as the California Courts Self-Help Guide explains. Before that, the warrant amount or the county schedule applies.

How long can someone stay out on bail?

Generally, release lasts while the case is pending, as long as the defendant attends every court date and follows the judge’s conditions. If they miss court without sufficient excuse, the court must declare the bail forfeited under Penal Code § 1305. The judge can also change conditions at later hearings.

What does $50,000 cash bail mean?

It means the court will release the defendant once $50,000 is paid in full. That money is returned at the end of the case if the defendant appeared as required. With a bond through us, you pay our 10% premium instead, which is $5,000 on that amount.

Can bail be too high for someone to afford?

California courts have said it should not be. In Humphrey and in Kowalczyk, the Supreme Court required bail to reflect the defendant’s ability to pay. Talk to the defense attorney about requesting a hearing if the amount is out of reach.

Did SB 562 change California bail law?

No. According to the bill status page, it was held in the Assembly Public Safety Committee on August 13, 2026. Check the page for any later action.