How to Become a Bail Bondsman in Missouri

The bond is an amount of money that is set by the court in order to release a defendant from jail before their court date. If a person cannot cover the amount, they can request a bail bondsman. These bondsmen are licensed by the state and they will guarantee that the defendant will appear for their court date. The bonding company, or individual bondsman, will also charge their clients a percentage of the original bail bonds for providing these services.

There is a great deal of money that can be made, but there is always a chance that you can make a wrong decision and end up forfeiting a bond because your client has decided to disappear. If you find that someone you have bonded out of jail has tried to flee, then it will be necessary to call in the troops, which means putting your bounty hunter cohorts into action. This will cost you additional money, but it is much better than losing the entire amount of the bail bonds. Let's say that the defendant's bond was $50,000. You will have to pay the bounty hunter about 10% of the total to find your client and bring him back, or the court will make you pay the entire amount of the bail bonds yourself. At this point $5,000 will look like very small potatoes indeed.

If you want to become a bail bondsman in the state of Missouri there are many different requirements that you will need to understand first.
 

• Any bail bondsman applicant must be 18 or older in order to be eligible for a Missouri license.
• You must be a legal resident of the state of Missouri before you can be allowed to deal with bail bonds there.
• There are licensing courses offered that are designed for people who want to work in this field. If becoming a bail bondsman is something that you really want to do these bail bond courses will be useful when you apply for licensure.
• You must be fingerprinted and submit identification photos to the state office that is in charge of bail bondsmen. Your background will be checked thoroughly, including work history, police records, and credit worthiness before you will be approved to work with bail bonds.

To function in Missouri, all bonding companies and bail bondsmen must have their licenses prior to handling any transactions for defendants. Individuals will work for a bonding company. Sometimes they might work for other people, but many will form their own private companies. As a bail bonds professional, you will also need to have a state-approved power of attorney. This gives you the official okay to act on behalf of your company. In Missouri, you can get the information about the bail bonds licensing procedure from the Department of Economical Development. They will give you the dates and details that you need. All applicants must have successfully completed their specific bail bonding pre-requisites before being granted a license.

Missouri bail bondsman regulations require that you have a surety policy of $1 million in place before you begin working. This type of bail bonds security can be obtained from insurance companies that work with these businesses and will cover you and your business for any legal actions that may occur in this line of work.

You will also need to have a letter of credit or a valid certificate of deposit for at least $100,000 if the bail bonds company you are establishing is a new entity. This money is assurance that you will always act in accordance with the law and not perform any illicit activities while dealing with defendants and hashing out the details for bail bonds.

Accepting some form of payment other than the bail bonds amount or collateral security is an illicit act and can end up in the forfeiture of part, or all, of the $100,000. If you were to try to create a deal to reduce the listed bond amount then that would also be considered illicit and subject to the same type of penalty.

Missouri bail bondsman licenses must be renewed annually, and you will be notified of this by mail. You will have a fee to pay each year, and if you miss the deadline, you will be required to pay a late charge in addition to the yearly fee. There are online forms that can be submitted for bail bondsman relicensing, once the initial license has been obtained.