Saturday, January 28, 2012

How to Become a Bail Bondsman

For a person looking to gather information on how to become a bail bondsman, it is absolutely necessary to first get a bail license through the proper channels. A bail bondsman, or a bail bonds agent, is an individual person or a firm that can get bail for a person indicted of some crime. When an individual gets bail, a certain fee needs to be paid and the credibility of the person getting the bail is put on the line.

By learning how to become a bail bondsman you are effectively putting your cash and your assets and your credibility on the line, in order to get bail for a person, or a group of people. A proper understanding of the legal system and its various workings is absolutely crucial for being a bail bondsman.

What is a Bail Bondsman?
Simply put, a bail bondsman is someone who gets an indicted party bail. It is the bail bonds agent who finally signs the bond for the bail of a particular defendant. Once the defendant has appeared in front of a judge and the amount of bail has been set, he can contact a bail bondsman to arrange things to grant him bail. It is the reputation of the bail bondsman and of course the license as well, that enables him to provide the bail to the defendant, while also providing legal advice.

Becoming a Bail Bondsman
No person can become a bail bondsman without a license. The proper channels of obtaining this license must be followed at all times, and only after, the procedure has been completed, can a bail bondsman start to function. Each state has their own Department of Insurance office, and it is here that the license for a bail bondsman must be submitted. The forms for the license are available here and they must be procured from here alone.

The requirements to be a bail bondsman are set by this office and they must be complied with at all costs. There are many educational qualifications that you will have to fulfill, and there are many other things that authorities take into consideration as well. How to become a bail bondsman is not an easy task by any means, and not everyone is cut out for it. A good understanding of the various crimes is a necessity, and you must also remember that a bail bondsman has to deal with criminals and people accused of crimes. So it is not exactly a desk job.

The bail bond class license is also known as the Limited Surety Agent's License, and you need to ask your state's insurance department about the schools in your area for achieving this license. At the schools, you will find instructors who will give you more details and eligibility criteria. Before you set out to achieve this license find out if, your state even allows commercial bail, as this option is not available in every state. It is pointless to learn how to become a bail bondsman in a state that does not even allow commercial bail, or in a state where these rules and laws are very complex and restrictive. Talking to the sheriffs and the police department of your locality is also a good idea to get more understanding about the requirements to be a bail bondsman.


Average Salary
The primary source of revenue for a bail bondsman is from the defendant himself. The money paid by the bondsman for the bail is obviously retrieved from the defendant, and in addition to this about 10%-15% of the bail amount is charged by the bondsman. In some cases a greater amount can be demanded by the bondsman as collateral, in case the defendant does a vanishing act, before the next court case hearing. Be warned though, there is not much growth opportunity in the career as a bail bondsman.

There is a lot of competition in this field though, and the average salary of a bail bondsman can vary from $25,000 to about $100,000 per annum. There are around 15,000 bail bondsmen operating in the United States of America at present. How to become a bail bondsman is not something everyone can do, but it can be quite lucrative in some states. Along with the lure of being lucrative, there is also the obvious thrill of doing something different and challenging.

Bail bonds agents are required in every state and they form an important component of the legal mechanism in many states. They are a vital cog in the machinery of the legal system, but like any other profession, they have their pros and cons as well. Hopefully you now have a clearer idea about how to become a bail bondsman and what it involves.