BEGINNING AGENTS

OVERVIEW

There are 10,000- 15,000 bail agents currently working in the United States.
If they work in high population cities they can make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. Non-competitive agents in those same cities won't make ten thousand dollars a year. The average bail agent across the country probably makes between twenty-five and fifty thousand dollars a year. The bail profession is more about who you know and who knows you than what you know.
To be successful, it is helpful to be known by a very large and diverse group of the local population.

GETTING STARTED

Before you worry about getting a license, take a look at your market. Talk to your County Sheriff and see what he requires to approve bail agents. Talk to any Police Officers and Sheriff's Deputies you know and see what they think of the idea of your writing bail. If you don't know the Sheriff and a lot of the police in your area, this may not be a good business for you. Knowing the local law enforcement people is very helpful for a bail agent. Criminal Defense attorneys, Prosecuting Attorneys, and Judges are the key audiences of the bail agent and without them you'll be starting with a severe disadvantage.
One question you need answered is; how much competition is there in your area?
Are you in a high population center with scores of companies already there? Are you in a small county with only one company?
Sometimes that one company will be harder to compete against than the high population center.
If they've been there a long time and have a long established record of fair dealings in the community and are well respected by the law enforcement and judicial community, it will be very hard to compete with them.
The other question you need to answer is; how many people go to jail and of those how many actually post bail as opposed to being released on their own recognizance or some other court release program.
Four states do not have commercial bail; they are Illinois, Kentucky, Oregon and Wisconsin.
Some other states have very little commercial bail, such as Maine and Nebraska.

OBTAINING A LICENSE

Contact the Department of insurance in your state to request information about the requirements for licensure
and about licensing schools in your area for a Bail Bond Class or Limited Surety Agent's License.
Once you have completed your requirements and are eligible for licensing, Download, Complete and Submit this form.
For a quicker response, fax the form to 901-813-8133, we will contact you immediately upon receipt.
Note: you will need to send a copy of your bail license or insurance qualification certificate with your agent application.

WHY YOU NEED AN INSURANCE COMPANY

When a bail agent writes a bail bond, the agent gets the money and pays the company a premium. If the defendant doesn't appear, the agent recovers the defendant and if they can't recover the defendant, the agent pays the bond. The purpose of the insurance company is to step in if the agent fails. It's more reinsurance than insurance. The bail insurance company covers the agents' family if something happens to the agent by satisfying the outstanding liability accrued by the agent.