How to get a bail refund

If you do not receive your cash bail refund in the mail eight weeks after the case ends, contact the Department of Finance. Please have a copy of your cash bail receipt ready when providing information.

Getting your refund by mail

Generally, no action is required. When a case is over, the court sends a refund order to the Department of Finance within six weeks. The Department of Finance sends a check to the surety (or the assignee), at the address on the cash bail receipt, within two weeks of receiving the refund order from the court. In total, it should take about eight weeks after the case has ended for you to receive your cash bail refund.

Fees

If the defendant was convicted, the Department of Finance deducts 3% of the amount of the cash bail to cover administrative costs before issuing a cash bail refund. If the defendant was not convicted, and the case was dismissed or acquitted, then the full amount of the cash bail deposit is refunded to the surety. Courts may impose additional fees. For more information on these fees, please contact the appropriate court to discuss the fee.

Stopping payment on a cash bail refund that you did not receive

If you are the surety (the person that paid the cash bail) or the assignee (the person to whom the surety transferred the cash bail), and you did not receive a refund check within eight weeks after the case ended, contact the Cash Bail Unit. If the Department of Finance mailed you a cash bail refund check, we may need to place a stop payment on the check. Complete a Stop Payment Affidavit. Mail or deliver the notarized affidavit to the address at the top of the form. Please note that it takes 30 days to re-issue a check after a stop payment has been processed.

Claiming a cash bail when the surety is deceased

A surety's next-of-kin (or the person paying for the funeral) can submit a claim for the bail refund by completing a Surety Survivor's Affidavit. Mail or deliver the affidavit, notarized, with a copy of the death certificate and paid funeral bill to the address on the form.