What happens when a bondsman goes off bond?

When a bail bondsman “goes off bond” in Texas, it means they’ve revoked their financial guarantee and surrendered you into custody. Your original bond is gone. Getting back out requires a court hearing, and the clock is already ticking.

What Does It Mean When a Bondsman Goes Off Your Bond?

When a bail bondsman posts your bond, they’re making a financial promise to the court: if you fail to appear, they’ll pay the full bail amount. In exchange, you or your family paid them a non-refundable premium, typically 10% to 15% of the bond amount.

Going off your bond — also called a bond surrender or bond revocation — means the bondsman is canceling that promise. They physically deliver you to the jail and formally notify the court that they’re no longer responsible for your appearance. Once that happens, the bond is vacated and you’re back in custody as if the bond was never posted.

This is legal. Under Texas Occupations Code § 1704, a licensed bail bond surety has the authority to arrest and surrender a defendant at any time before a bond forfeiture judgment is entered. They do not need a warrant. They do not need law enforcement assistance, though they often work with law enforcement. They simply need to have written authority from the court that issued the bond.

Why You Need an Attorney Right Now

Varghese Summersett is one of Texas’s most respected criminal defense firms, with offices in Fort Worth, Dallas, Houston, and Southlake. Our team includes Board Certified Criminal Law Specialists, former prosecutors with decades of courtroom experience, and attorneys who have appeared in over 500 jury trials. The firm has secured more than 1,600 dismissals and 800+ charge reductions for clients across the state.

When a bondsman surrenders you, every hour you sit in jail is an hour your attorney could be filing for a bond hearing. Board Certified Criminal Law Specialist Benson Varghese and Board Certified Criminal Law Specialist Anna Summersett — both former prosecutors — lead a team of 70+ legal professionals who handle exactly these kinds of urgent bond situations around the clock.

If your bondsman just went off your bond, the right call is to an attorney, not another bondsman. Here’s what you need to know.

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Common Reasons a Bondsman Goes Off Your Bond

Bondsmen are in the business of managing risk. When they posted your bond, they made a calculated bet that you’d show up to court. If something changes that bet, they act quickly. The most common triggers are:

• Missed check-ins: Most bondsmen require regular contact. Go dark, and they get nervous fast.
• New arrests: Getting arrested on a new charge while out on bond almost always triggers a surrender.
• Suspicion of flight risk: If the bondsman hears you’re planning to leave Texas or the country, they’ll move immediately.
• Bond condition violations: Travel restrictions, no-contact orders, curfews — violating any of these puts your bond in jeopardy.
• Failure to pay: If you haven’t paid the full premium or have fallen behind on a payment plan, the bondsman may pull out.
• You’ve become hard to locate: If they can’t find you, they won’t wait around hoping you appear at your court date.
• Co-signer request: If the person who co-signed your bond asks to be removed from financial liability, the bondsman’s hand is often forced.
• Change in risk profile: New information about your circumstances, background, or behavior that makes you a worse bet than when the bond was written.

You may have a legitimate explanation for whatever triggered the surrender. That explanation is best delivered by your attorney in front of a judge, not argued directly with the bondsman after the fact.

The Legal Framework: What Texas Law Actually Says

Bond in Texas is governed by Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 17, which authorizes pretrial release and establishes how bonds are set, modified, and revoked. The bond is fundamentally a contract between three parties: you, the bondsman, and the court. When the bondsman exits that arrangement, the court doesn’t automatically step aside — the court becomes the controlling party.

Under CCP Chapter 17, a judge has the authority to set, modify, deny, or reinstate bond at any stage of a criminal proceeding. The bondsman had the authority to write the original bond, but reinstating or resetting a bond after revocation is something only the judge can do. This isn’t a technicality — it reflects the fact that the bond was always the court’s instrument for ensuring your appearance, and the bondsman was simply a financial guarantor within that system.

When a bondsman surrenders you, two things typically happen quickly. First, the jail logs you back into custody. Second, the bondsman files documentation with the court confirming the surrender and ending their liability. Any bail bond forfeiture proceedings that may have been pending against the bondsman are typically dismissed, because they’ve done what the law allows them to do.

At that point, you are held without bond until a judge enters a new order. Depending on your charge and criminal history, the judge could set a new bond, reinstate the previous one with modifications, or deny bail altogether. The outcome depends heavily on how your attorney presents the situation.

What Happens Immediately After You’re Surrendered

The sequence moves quickly once a bondsman surrenders you. You’re booked back into the county jail and your case status updates to reflect that you are in custody without an active bond. A warrant may or may not have been issued before the surrender, depending on whether you also missed a court date.

If you missed a court date on top of the bond revocation, the judge will have issued an alias warrant for failure to appear. That creates a second problem layered on top of the first — now you’re facing both the original charges and a potential failure to appear charge under Texas Penal Code § 38.10, which can be charged as a misdemeanor or felony depending on the underlying case.

The good news is that neither problem is unsolvable with competent legal representation. But the window to address them efficiently closes the longer you wait.

How to Get Your Bond Reinstated in Texas

Getting back out after a bondsman goes off your bond requires going back to court. There is no shortcut around this. The process typically looks like this:

1. Hire or contact your attorney immediately. Your lawyer needs to file a motion to reinstate bond or request a bond hearing. This cannot wait. Every day without a motion filed is another day you’re sitting in jail.
2. Bond hearing before the judge. Your attorney will argue why you should be released again. They’ll need to address the specific reason the bondsman surrendered you and demonstrate to the court that those concerns have been resolved or are being addressed.
3. Negotiate with a new bondsman or the original one. Sometimes the original bondsman will rewrite the bond once the underlying issue is addressed — unpaid premiums caught up, a missed check-in explained. More often, you’ll need to find a new bondsman who is willing to take on the risk at whatever amount the judge sets.
4. Meet new or additional conditions. Judges often add stricter conditions before reinstating release. GPS monitoring, higher bond amounts, more frequent check-ins, surrendering a passport, or requiring a family member to take on greater co-signer responsibility are all common outcomes.
5. Pay a new premium. If a new bond is set, the premium starts over. Money already paid to the previous bondsman is generally not refunded, since that premium covered their risk for the time you were out.

The strength of the argument your attorney makes at the bond hearing — and how quickly they file for it — directly affects how long you stay in custody. A well-prepared attorney who knows the court and the judge can often get a hearing scheduled faster and argue more persuasively for your release than someone navigating this alone.

If you have a pending criminal case, your attorney can simultaneously address both the bond situation and your underlying charges, making sure the bond hearing doesn’t create additional complications for your main defense.

What to Expect From Varghese Summersett

When you call Varghese Summersett, you reach a team that handles bond emergencies regularly. Our attorneys know what it takes to get a bond hearing scheduled quickly, what judges look for in reinstatement motions, and how to address the specific concerns that led to the surrender in the first place.

With four offices across Texas and a team that includes former prosecutors with decades of experience on both sides of the courtroom, we have the reach and the knowledge to handle your situation wherever you are in the state. Our bail bonds defense attorneys work alongside your criminal defense team so that your bond situation and your underlying case are handled as a unified strategy, not two separate fires.

We understand this is one of the most stressful moments you or your family can face. Reach a member of our team around the clock to get the process started.

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Watch: Bondsman or Attorney — Who Do You Call First?

In this video, one of our attorneys explains exactly what to do when you need to bond someone out of jail — and why the order of operations matters.

Video Transcript (Click to Expand)

If someone you care about has just been arrested in Texas, you’re probably wondering whether to call a bondsman first or an attorney. The answer depends on the situation — but in most cases, calling an attorney first gives you a critical advantage. An attorney can tell you whether the bond that’s been set is appropriate, whether there are grounds to request a bond reduction, and what conditions are likely to be attached to release. A bondsman can post the bond, but they can’t advise you on any of that. When the stakes are high, knowing the full picture before you post bond can save time, money, and complications down the road.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I just find a new bondsman without going back to court?

No. Once your bond has been revoked and you’ve been surrendered, there is no active bond for another bondsman to take over. A judge must set a new bond before a new bondsman can write it. Any bondsman who tells you otherwise is either misinformed or misleading you.

Do I get my premium back if the bondsman goes off my bond?

Generally, no. The premium you paid is earned by the bondsman for the period of time they were financially responsible for your appearance. Texas law does not require them to return it simply because they chose to exercise their right to surrender you. If you believe the bondsman acted improperly, that’s a separate issue your attorney can advise you on.

How long will I be in jail waiting for a bond hearing?

That depends on how quickly your attorney files for a hearing, the court’s docket, and the county you’re in. In some cases a hearing can be set within a day or two with aggressive legal action. In others it may take longer. The sooner you have an attorney working on the motion, the faster the process moves.

What if I also missed a court date — does that make this worse?

Yes, significantly. A missed court date typically triggers an alias warrant and may result in a separate failure to appear charge. Under Texas Penal Code § 38.10, bail jumping and failure to appear can be charged as a Class A misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the level of your underlying offense. Your attorney will need to address both the bond reinstatement and the missed court date in a coordinated way.

Can the judge deny bond entirely after a surrender?

Yes. Depending on your charges, your history, and the circumstances that led to the surrender, a judge has the authority to hold you without bond pending trial. This is more common in serious felony cases, cases involving violations of protective orders, or situations where the judge finds that no conditions would adequately ensure your appearance. An experienced attorney gives you the best chance of avoiding that outcome.

If your bondsman has gone off your bond, you don’t have time to wait. An attorney can begin working on your release today — call (817) 203-2220 to reach a member of the Varghese Summersett team any time, day or night.