Cherokee County Bail Bonds FAQ
The questions families actually ask us at two in the morning, answered honestly — including the ones where the answer is “not yet” or “that is not possible.”
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Everything about bail in Cherokee County, in one place
If your question is not here, call 770-224-9150. We answer the phone at any hour and we will not charge you for a straight answer.
Georgia law caps a professional surety premium at 15% of the face amount of the bond, with a minimum of $50 per bonded charge (O.C.G.A. § 17-6-30). That premium is non-refundable — it is what you pay the bonding company to post the full bond on your behalf. On a $10,000 bond that is $1,500. If you post a cash bond directly with the Sheriff instead, you pay the entire $10,000 plus a $20 non-refundable state bond fee, and the cash comes back at the end of the case.
It depends on where they are in the process. A person has to be fully booked before any bond can be posted, and a judge has to have set a bond amount. Cherokee County Magistrate Court operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year with seven part-time judges specifically so that every person booked into the Adult Detention Center gets a first appearance and a bail decision. Georgia law requires that hearing within 48 hours of a warrantless arrest or 72 hours of an arrest on a warrant. Once a bond is set and our paperwork is accepted at the jail, release comes down to the jail’s processing time. Call us and we will tell you honestly where things stand.
You will need valid government-issued photo identification, verifiable contact information, and enough stability that we can reach you and reach the defendant. As the co-signer (also called the indemnitor) you are guaranteeing that the defendant appears at every court date until the court exonerates the bond. You can sign in person at our Canton office, or by email or fax if you are out of town.
The judge forfeits the bond and issues a bench warrant, and under Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 17-6-71, as amended effective July 1, 2024) the court sets an execution hearing not sooner than 150 days and not later than 180 days after the failure to appear. As the co-signer you become responsible for the full face amount of the bond if the defendant is never produced. Call us the moment you know there is a problem — the statute contains remission provisions, but they are time-limited and they reward moving fast.
Not always, and any bondsman who tells you otherwise is not being straight with you. Under O.C.G.A. § 17-6-1, offenses including murder, rape, armed robbery, aggravated child molestation, aggravated sexual battery, home invasion in the first degree, drug trafficking and criminal street gang offenses are bailable only before a judge of the Superior Court. Probation violations frequently carry no bond at all until a judge acts. We will look at the charge and tell you exactly what is possible.
Talk to us. The 15% premium is set by statute and cannot be discounted below the statutory minimum, but how you pay it is a conversation worth having. Bring what you have and we will work with you.
The Cherokee County Adult Detention Center is at 498 Chattin Drive, Canton, GA 30115. The main jail number is 678-493-4200 and the Sheriff’s Bond Administrator is 678-493-4164. Note that 1130 Bluffs Parkway, which appears on many third-party sites, is the Board of Commissioners office — not the jail. Our office is at 2920 Marietta Hwy, Unit 106, Canton, a short drive away.
Yes. Cherokee Bail Bonds is published on the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office list of approved bonding companies, at 770-224-9150. Only sheriff-approved, licensed professional bondsmen can write bonds at the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center.
Yes. The Sheriff’s Office offers an online cash bond portal, and the published fees are a $10 automation fee plus a 5% administrative fee on top of the full bond amount and the $20 state bond fee. For most families a surety bond at 15% costs far less out of pocket than tying up the entire bond amount in cash. We are happy to run both numbers for you before you decide.
Yes, with strict requirements. The Sheriff requires property in Cherokee County with clear, unencumbered equity equal to twice the bond amount plus a $5,000 homestead tax exemption, an original or certified deed, a current paid property tax receipt, a paid-to-date mortgage statement, every person named on the deed present with photo ID, and a $20 non-refundable fee in cash. Out-of-county property can be approved if the documents are processed through that property’s local sheriff first. It is slower than a surety bond — often much slower.
It might. Senate Bill 63 took effect July 1, 2024 and expanded the list of offenses that require secured cash or surety bail, adding roughly thirty offenses including criminal trespass, failure to appear, racketeering, domestic terrorism and rioting. It also created the term “unsecured judicial release” for release without a dollar amount, and made anyone charged with a bail restricted offense ineligible for it. In practical terms: for a growing list of charges, somebody has to post money before your loved one goes home.
Yes — Canton, Woodstock, Holly Springs, Ball Ground, Waleska, Nelson, Hickory Flat, Towne Lake, BridgeMill, Free Home, Macedonia, Sixes, Lebanon, Univeter, Salacoa, Lake Arrowhead, Sutallee and the Cherokee County side of the 30102 Acworth ZIP. Everyone arrested in the county goes to the same jail in Canton, and our office is minutes away on Marietta Highway.
Finding someone, and what happens inside
498 Chattin Drive, Canton, GA 30115. Not 1130 Bluffs Parkway — that is the Board of Commissioners.
The main jail line is 678-493-4200. For bond questions specifically, the Sheriff’s Bond Administrator is 678-493-4164, and Inmate Records is 678-493-4209.
The Sheriff’s Office does not publish bonding-window hours, so we will not state them as fact. What is published is that Magistrate Court operates 24/7/365 to set bail. Call the Bond Administrator at 678-493-4164, or call us and we will confirm the current situation before you drive out.
Use the Sheriff’s inmate search. Note that the old county URL has been retired and now redirects — the current roster lives on the Sheriff’s own site. Our inmate search guide walks through it.
The Sheriff does not publish a booking duration and we will not invent one. It depends on the time of day, how many people came in at once, and whether medical screening is required. Call us and we will check where they are in the process.
The Adult Detention Center at 498 Chattin Drive is the only county detention facility listed by the Sheriff’s Office. Juvenile matters go through Cherokee County Juvenile Court at the Justice Center.
Yes. The Sheriff’s Office publishes it at no charge. Any site charging you to look up a Cherokee County inmate is a third party, not the Sheriff.
The Sheriff does not publish an update interval, and warns that inmate information changes quickly and the posted information may not reflect current status. Anyone quoting “updates every 15 minutes” is guessing.
Usually, yes — unless there is a hold from another agency, or the charge is one that only a Superior Court judge can bond under O.C.G.A. 17-6-1. Call us with the name and we will tell you which situation you are in.
Yes, the roster lists charges and bond amounts. Read them carefully — multiple charges usually mean multiple bonds.
Which court, which judge, which deadline
678-493-6431. The clerk’s office is open Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., though the court itself operates around the clock.
Cherokee County commits to seeing everyone arrested within 72 hours to set bail at first appearance, and Georgia law requires 48 hours after a warrantless arrest. The court staffs seven part-time judges specifically to make that happen at nights and weekends.
No. The offenses in O.C.G.A. 17-6-1(a) are bailable only before a Superior Court judge. Magistrate Court has no authority over those bail decisions.
Magistrate Court hears civilian arrest warrant applications. Call the clerk at 678-493-6431 to ask about the process. The clerks cannot give you legal advice.
Court Administration is 678-493-6475. For criminal case records call the Clerk’s Superior Court Criminal line, 678-493-6508.
Because Superior Court has exclusive jurisdiction over felonies in Georgia, and because certain offenses are bailable only before a Superior Court judge under O.C.G.A. 17-6-1(a).
The Frank C. Mills III Justice Center, 90 North Street, Canton, GA 30114. Superior and State Court offices are open Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Yes — an annex at 155 Towne Lake Parkway, Second Floor, Woodstock, 770-501-8904.
Court Administration is 678-493-6475. For criminal and traffic case records, the Clerk’s State Court Criminal/Traffic line is 678-493-6550.
Yes. State Court judges allow a Georgia-licensed attorney to waive arraignment by filing a waiver with the State Court Clerk’s Office, with a copy to the judge’s judicial assistant.
Through the Cherokee County courts website or in person at the Justice Center. Call 678-493-6550 to confirm the amount before paying.
Call Cherokee County Indigent Defense at 678-493-6190.
What it costs and what you are agreeing to
The cap is statutory and the $50 per-charge minimum is statutory. What we can talk about is the payment arrangement, not the legal rate.
Because bond is generally set per charge, and each bonded charge carries a $50 minimum. On several small charges the minimums can exceed a flat 15% of the combined total.
Not from a surety premium — it is non-refundable by definition. A cash bond is refunded at the conclusion of the case less fees.
A non-refundable state-required bond fee collected by the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office. It must be paid in exact change and no change is given.
It is not a Georgia rate. Ask which state they are licensed in and whether they are on the Cherokee County Sheriff’s approved bonding company list.
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.
SB 63, bail restrictions and forfeiture
A charge on the list in O.C.G.A. § 17-6-12 for which a judge may not grant an unsecured judicial release. Bail has to be secured by cash, approved property or a licensed surety.
Not entirely. It renamed release without a monetary amount “unsecured judicial release” and made it unavailable for anyone charged with a bail restricted offense, or with a bail jumping conviction or a failure-to-appear bench warrant within the past five years.
No. O.C.G.A. § 17-6-30 caps it at 15 percent of the face amount, with a $50 minimum per bonded charge, and the Cherokee County Sheriff publishes the same figure.
The execution hearing is set 150 to 180 days after the failure to appear, and remission tiers under § 17-6-72 turn on acting within 150 days of judgment. The old 120-day figure was superseded on 1 July 2024.
The county sheriff, under O.C.G.A. § 17-6-50 — not the state insurance department. In Cherokee County that means the Sheriff’s approved bonding company list.
Cherokee County bail guides
Still not sure what to do next?
Call 770-224-9150. A licensed Cherokee County bondsman will walk you through it, free, at any hour.