Co-Signing a Bail Bond: What You Are Actually Agreeing To
Read this before you sign. Being an indemnitor is a real financial obligation, and it does not end when your loved one walks out of the jail.
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The indemnitor is the person the bond really rests on
When a bonding company posts a bond, it guarantees the full face amount to the court. The co-signer — the indemnitor — guarantees it back to the bonding company. That is the whole arrangement, and it is why we take a few minutes to explain it instead of sliding a clipboard across the desk.
Your obligation does not end when the defendant is released. It ends when the court exonerates the bond — at the conclusion of the case, by plea, trial, dismissal or the court’s order. Until then, you are on it.
Most co-signers never have a problem, because most defendants go to court. But you should sign knowing what happens if they do not.
What you need to sign
- Valid government-issued photo identification
- Verifiable phone number and address
- A real relationship with the defendant — we will ask
- Understanding of the 15% premium and how you are paying it
- Willingness to stay reachable through the whole case
- You may sign in person in Canton, or by email or fax
You can co-sign remotely. Our office is at 2920 Marietta Hwy, Unit 106, Canton, but out-of-town and out-of-state co-signers sign by email or fax every week.
What you are promising when you sign
- That the defendant will appear at every court date until the bond is exonerated
- That you will keep us informed of where the defendant lives and works
- That you will tell us immediately if they plan to leave the state, change address or miss a date
- That you will help produce them if they fail to appear
- That you are financially responsible for the full face amount of the bond if they abscond
That last line is the one people skim. If the defendant disappears and is never produced, the co-signer can be liable for the entire bond amount — not the 15% premium, the whole bond.
Co-signing a bail bond in Cherokee County.
What to do the moment you think they might miss court
Call us. Not after the court date — before it, the instant you have a doubt. There is a great deal we can do in the days around a missed appearance and very little we can do six months later.
Under O.C.G.A. § 17-6-71 the judge forfeits the bond and issues a bench warrant at the end of the court day, and the court sets an execution hearing 150 to 180 days out. O.C.G.A. § 17-6-72 then gives graduated remission — surrender the principal within 150 days of judgment and the surety pays only costs and 5 percent of the face amount.
Those timelines exist to reward fast action. Use them.
A co-signer can surrender the defendant
If you no longer believe the defendant will appear — they have stopped answering, they are talking about leaving, the situation has changed — you can bring them back to the bonding company to be surrendered, or work with us to have the case reset. It is not a pleasant conversation to have with a family member, but it is far better than a judgment for the full bond amount. Georgia law also allows sureties to request detainers where the principal is in custody elsewhere.
Things co-signers wish they had known
- Keep every piece of paperwork. You will need it.
- Update us if your address or phone changes, not just theirs.
- Court dates change. Confirm with the clerk — the Cherokee County Clerk of Courts is 678-493-6511.
- Bond conditions bind the defendant, but a violation lands on your bond too.
- Being a co-signer is not the same as being responsible for their fines, restitution or lawyer.
- If you are the protected party in a family violence no-contact order, you should not be the co-signer.
Questions we get asked
You can ask to surrender the defendant, which ends your exposure going forward. You cannot simply withdraw and leave the bond in place. Call us and we will talk through the options honestly.
No. The surety premium is non-refundable and fully earned when the bond is posted, regardless of how the case ends. A cash bond is different — it is refunded at the conclusion of the case.
A bond itself is not a credit account. A judgment against you after a forfeiture is a different matter entirely, and that is exactly what we are trying to help you avoid.
Yes. We handle remote co-signing by email or fax regularly, particularly for arrests near Reinhardt University in Waleska and at Lake Arrowhead.
On a family violence case with a mandatory no-contact condition, you should not be the co-signer. Talk to us and we will find a workable alternative.
Related Cherokee County guides
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