How Does a Bail Bondsman and a Bounty Hunter Make Money?

Today’s Ask the Bondsman question comes from Yahoo! Answers, where we frequently answer bail related questions. Our answer was choosen by readers as the best answer to the question.

Question: How do bail bondsmen and bounty hunters make money?

Answer: A bail bondsman makes money from the “premium” which is legally mandated in most states at 10% of the total bail amount. That is a fee for providing bail services.  Given the defendant goes to court, the bondsman pockets that amount.  Of course, profit is determined after operating costs like insurance, advertising, office space, payroll, etc.

A bounty hunter, better known as a ”fugitive recovery agent,” operates under a contractual agreement with the bondsman to return people who fail to go to court. The contract will define payment to the bounty hunter including acceptable expenses. Bounty hunter fees are in accordance with the type of pick-up they are taking on.  Is the defendant local and simply sitting at home or has the defendant fled and left for the Bahamas? The more involved and more work the bounty hunter has to do in locating, picking up and returning the defendant, the more he or she will be paid.

A simple pick up may be a flat fee – say $500 or $1000.  More often, the bounty hunter’s fee is typically a percentage, ranging anywhere from 10% to 30%.

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