Keep Bailing

Generally speaking, a surety bond is a contract whereby one party engages to be answerable for debt, default, or miscarriage of another. A surety bond involves three parties: the principal, the obligee, and the surety. The principal, or obligor, is required to perform in some way for the benefit of the oblige, or creditor. The surety guarantees to the obligee that the principal will fulfill the underlying obligations. Simple enough, right?

Many different types of surety bonds exist. There are those that guarantee the faithful performance of public officials or fiduciaries. Some surety bonds guarantee the performance of work contracts such as for construction. Others guarantee the payment of taxes upon demand of the government. The list goes on.

Despite the wide range of situations that surety bonds address, all surety bonds are similar in terms of their distinguishing general characteristics. These characteristics are:

1. 3 legal parties
   • Obligee – for a bail bond, this is the court
   • Principal -for a bail bond, this is the defendant or the one signing for the defendant. In general, it is the one who is required to perform
   • Surety – for a bail bond, this is the one who is ultimately liable to the court: bondsman or ultimately the bail bondsman’s insurance company
2. Principal is primarily liable to the obligee.
3. The Surety theoretically expects no losses.
4. The bond is indeterminate in length and non-cancelable.
5. The bond is often required and influenced greatly by regulation or statute.
6. The bond must be in writing.
7. The liability is strictly limited to that assumed by the terms of the surety agreement or “bond’.

A bail bond is simply one type of surety bond. In the case of a bail bond, the three parties are the court (obligee), the defendant or co-signer for the defendant (principal) and the bail agent (surety). The bail bondsman is guaranteeing the faithful performance of the defendant to the court. If the defendant does not faithfully perform (go to court), then the bail bondsman is responsible to get the defendant back to court or pay the court the full bail amount.

Now you know exactly  what a bail bond is.