How to Release a Bail Bond in Texas
- 1). Identify your reason for wanting to revoke the bail bond. Perhaps you are aware the defendant is engaging in illegal activities or activities that violate the terms of the bond. For example, a bond might restrict alcohol consumption, but you know the defendant has been drinking. Another reason may be that you have grounds for suspecting the defendant may miss his court date. Remember, your name is on the bond, so if the defendant is acting irresponsibly, it is your money at risk of being lost.
- 2). Return to the agency where you signed for the initial bail bond. If you posted bond through an agency, then contact and meet with the bondsman who helped you. Since he signed for the entire bond and only took a percentage of that amount from you, the co-signer, he is more at risk than you for losing the full amount if the defendant violates his bond or fails to appear in court. Explain your reason for wanting to get off the bond and depending on the agency's procedures, the bondsman may ask you to fill out paperwork. He will then file for a bond revocation with the court.
- 3). Return to the courthouse directly if you posted the bond yourself without using a bail bonds agency. Explain to the court clerk that you would like to file for a bond revocation, and she will then provide you with the proper paperwork to fill out. Depending on the nature of the suspected violation, the judge will either issue a notice of revocation to the defendant and schedule a hearing, or he will re-issue a warrant for the defendant's arrest. Either way, the defendant will be afforded the opportunity to defend himself against the alleged violations of the bond agreement in a hearing. You should appear in court, so you may make your case to the judge and be released from the bond.