Surety bond
The standard bail bond. A licensed agency, backed by a surety insurer, files a bond guaranteeing the full bail amount to the court. The indemnitor pays the filed premium, customarily 10%, and may pledge collateral on larger bonds. This is what most people mean by 'bail bonds.'
Cash bail
The full amount paid to the court or jail, held as a deposit and refunded at exoneration minus court-ordered deductions. Large cash deposits can draw a source-of-funds hearing under Penal Code §1275.1. See cash bond vs surety bond.
Property bond
Real property pledged to the court in place of cash. Rare in practice: it requires equity documentation, appraisal, and court approval, and the process takes days or weeks — which defeats the purpose when the goal is release tonight.
Citation release and own recognizance
- Citation release — cited and released in the field with a promise to appear, common on low-level misdemeanors and infractions.
- Own recognizance (OR) — release ordered by the court on a promise to appear, with no money posted. See bail bonds vs OR release.
- Supervised release — OR with conditions such as check-ins, monitoring, or treatment.
Federal and immigration bonds
Federal bonds in United States District Court and immigration bonds through the Department of Homeland Security run on separate systems with different rules, different paperwork, and different premium structures. A state-court bail bond does not transfer to either.
Which one applies to you
It is decided by the charge, the court, and the schedule the county uses — not by preference. How does bail work in California walks the sequence from arrest to release, and how is bail calculated explains where the number comes from.