Most bail bond companies require you to pay a 10% upfront fee for them to pay the full bail amount to the court to get you or your loved one out of jail. However, with 0% money down bail bonds, you don’t have to pay any fees upfront at all.
How No Money Down Bail Bonds Work
No money down bail bonds are not a real-life equivalent of a get-out-of-jail-free card. However, unlike other bail bond services, they don’t require you to part with any money upfront. Instead, you pay in installments over the coming weeks and months.
In the past, law enforcement required suspects to pay bail out-of-pocket. After arriving in jail, suspects got their bank to transfer a large sum of money to officials in exchange for release.
There was just one problem with this scheme: most people didn’t have enough money to pay. Most bail amounts were (and still are) between $10,000 and $150,000 – considerably more than the average person has in free cash. As a result, defendants often had to spend weeks in jail awaiting trial, even if they were later found to be innocent.
To solve this problem, bail bondsmen services came along. These paid bail on suspects’ behalf, taking a 10% percent fee in return. For instance, if the bail was $20,000, the bail bondsman would pay the full amount to the court, and then the suspect or a family member would pay a $2,000 fee. The bondsman would then get the money back from the court when the suspect attended the trial.
For many suspects, though, this still didn’t solve the problem. While $2,000 was still much less than $20,000, many still didn’t have the financial means to pay.
That led to the development of bail bond financing. Here, individuals charged with crimes pay bail bondsman fees over the course of several months, not upfront. For instance, if the bail bondsman fee was $2,000, they might pay $1,000 upfront and then five installments of $200 over the following five months.
No money down bail bonds are a special type of bail bond financing where bondsmen do not charge any deposit at all. They pay the bail and then put the suspect on a repayment plan. For instance, instead of getting the client to pay $1,000 upfront, they might simply request five $200 repayments over the following five months.
How To Qualify For A No Money Down Bail Bond
As you might expect, qualification requirements for no money down bail bonds are quite strict. However, even if you don’t qualify for no upfront payment, you may still be able to get finance and pay a smaller deposit.
In California, you must meet certain criteria to qualify for a no money down bail bond. For instance, you must:
- Be a first-time offender
- Have indemnitors with incomes that exceed the total bail amount
- Have proof of formal employment, not self-employment, gig work, or welfare
- Have been charged with a crime that qualifies for no money down payment bail bonds
- Be a legal, permanent resident of California and have proof of residency
- Be able to pay additional fees within days of the bail bondsman paying the court
- Have a good credit score
The qualification requirements for no money down bail bonds are extensive. However, at Balboa Bail Bonds, we can help, whether you’re in jail right now, or you are a concerned family member who wants to help their loved one. Our process quickly runs through all the requirements to check if you qualify. We then issue you with a 0% deposit bail bond, or recommend alternative services, depending on your status.
We evaluate no money down financing approvals on a case-by-case basis, so even if you don’t think you qualify, it is still worth getting in touch. Even if no money down deals are unavailable, many others are.
Which Cases Qualify For No Money Down Bail Bonds?
Bail bond law in California means that bail bondsmen cannot offer 0% financing on bail bonds for certain crimes. The good news, though, is that many of the most common charges permit no money down bail bonds.
DUIs
If you’ve been charged with a DUI, you will automatically serve jail time in California, even if it is your first offense. The minimum incarceration period is 48 hours up to a maximum of 6 months. However, with a bail bond, you can avoid lengthy imprisonment before your trial.
Domestic Violence
There were more than 160,000 domestic violence-related calls made to law enforcement in California in 2020, forcing thousands of people into lengthy incarcerations.
Fortunately, even if you have been charged with domestic violence, you can still obtain 0% bail bonds. Just give us a call
Other Qualifying Cases
Other cases that qualify for no money down bail bonds include:
- Court order violations
- Child abuse
- DUI with accident
When you come to Balboa Bail Bonds, we evaluate your case individually and let you know whether you qualify for our best rates.
Which Cases Do Not Qualify For No Money Down Bail Bonds?
Unfortunately, there are some cases that do not qualify for no money down bail bonds. These include:
- Fraud
- Prostitution
- Identity theft
- Pimping
- Pandering
- Petty theft
- Out of state warrants
- Out of county warrants
- Illegal drugs charges
In addition, you cannot qualify for 0% bail bond financing if the total value of the bail bond is less than $10,000.
How To Get A No Money Down Bail Bond
Getting a no money down bail bond is easy with Balboa Bail Bonds. Our expert agents are available to assist you 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Just call us or fill out a contact form and we will get back to you for a free consultation.
Balboa Bail Bonds is located in downtown San Diego, close to the city courthouse, and just a couple of blocks from San Diego Central Jail. Our bail agents are always close by, ready to make bail payments the moment we process your application.
To get a no money down bail bond for you or your loved one, give us a call and then provide us with personal details and information relating to the nature of the charge. We will then provide you with a quick financing decision, telling you whether you qualify for our lowest rates.
Large No Money Down Bail Bonds
In California, bail amounts can be exceptionally high. That’s why, at Balboa, we specialize in bail bonds over $500,000, whether it’s for domestic violence, felony DUIs or other qualifying charges.
Our finance team has experience helping you leverage your real estate as collateral, ensuring that you get the lowest rates. From the start, you get a single point of contact who will guide you through your case and provide you with whatever assistance you require.
When Are You Most Likely To Get Bail Bonds With No Money Down?
No money down bail bonds are perfect for those who are struggling with their finances, but they make sense for anyone, regardless of how much money they have in the bank. When charged with a crime, suspects need money to support their families and pay attorney fees. Paying bail bond fees on top of those expenses can drain their savings rapidly.
At Balboa, we understand this, which is why we work to make no down payment bail bonds as accessible as possible. For most defendants with stable jobs and no previous crimes, 0% financing is available.
There are two main situations in which you are more likely to qualify for a no money down bail bond: either when the bail amount is low, or when you have collateral.
Generally speaking, if the bail amount is low and your credit score is over 680, you can qualify for financing without collateral. We then pay the bail bond to the court on your behalf.
If the bail bond is high – our specialty – then you will require collateral, usually real estate you own, such as your home. Securing the loan against your property provides us with surety, allowing us to grant the loan.
How To Get Someone Out Of Jail With A No Money Down Bail Bond
Getting someone you know or a loved one out of jail with a no money down bail bond is easy, so long as the case satisfied the criteria set out above. But how much do you have to pay? In California. It all depends on the nature of the crime.
Here is a table detailing bail amounts, from highest to lowest, that you might face in CA:
Common Bail Amounts In California By Crime
| Crime | Bail Amount ($) |
| Discharging a weapon while committing a crime | 200,000 |
| Theft of property worth more than $100,000 | 50,000 |
| Inducing a minor to commit a drug offense | 10,000 |
| DUI | 10,000 |
| Exhibiting a firearm | 10,000 |
| Indecent exposure | 5,000 |
| Violating probation | 5,000 |
Paying these cash sums upfront to law enforcement can drain your finances and even cause deprivation. You might not have enough money for food or to pay the rent.
Fortunately, with Balboa, you can quickly bust someone you love out of jail for no money down by signing up for a 0% down bail bond. As long as you qualify, the suspect could be walking free on the same day.
To make the process as smooth as possible, we work with a surety company that can recoup our losses if:
- You do not repay according to the schedule that we set out.
- The defendant does not show up to court on the date specified by the authorities.
In fact, it is this surety that lets us provide no money down offers in the first place. Without these terms in place, it would be too risky for any bail bondsmen to provide no money down deals.
To qualify for a no money down bail bond, you must have equity in your home or other property worth at least the full amount of the bail. If you don’t have enough, don’t despair, you may still qualify for financing with a deposit.
No-money-down bail bonds do not let you bail someone out of jail for free, but they do feel like that when you first use them. Balboa pays the bail on your behalf before you send us any money.
For bail bonds over $100,000, this is a great feeling. At standard bail bondsmen, you might have to pay the full $10,000 10% fee to bust your loved one out of jail. However, with our financing services, you get all that for no money down. We pay the bail on your behalf, and postpone the fee, freeing up your cash for spending on other things.
Get No Money Bail Bonds From Balboa
At Balboa, we pride ourselves on being fast, affordable, and confidential. Our lines are open 24/7 so you can call us anytime. Besides offering low rates and excellent finance deals, we also offer military rebates to bring the cost down even further.
At Balboa, we believe that defendants should not have to spend time behind bars before being convicted of a crime. That’s why we are so passionate about helping suspects and their families avoid jail time before the court date.
Our no money down bail bonds are designed to help people regardless of their income. By paying no money upfront and then spreading repayments over many months, it is easier than ever before to get someone out of jail without parting with a large amount of cash. What’s more, we offer flexible repayment plans, allowing you to spread fee repayment installments out over a longer period if that is better for your finances.
So what are you waiting for?
If you’d like to find out more about our services, contact us today at our offices in San Diego, Ontario, San Bernardino, and Riverside.
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