Guide
Getting out, and what getting out costs
The bond set at the advisement tends to stick. That hearing happens within 48 hours of an arrest and it is the cheapest place in the whole case to have a lawyer standing next to you.
Five ways out, with very different price tags
Only one of them is refundable, and only one of them costs nothing up front.
Personal recognizance
No money up front
You sign a promise to appear. The court can still attach conditions. PR is the default the statute prefers, and the argument for it is made with ties to the community, employment, and a clean failure-to-appear history.
Unsecured bond
Money owed only if you fail to appear
A dollar figure attaches to the bond, but nothing is posted. If you miss a court date the full amount becomes a judgment and a warrant issues.
Cash bond
Full amount posted with the court
The whole amount goes to the clerk and comes back at the end of the case, less any fines and costs, provided every appearance was made. Posted by a third party, it returns to that person.
Surety bond
A non-refundable premium to a bonding company
A licensed bail bonding agent posts the full amount and keeps a premium, typically a percentage of the bond set by market practice rather than by statute. The premium does not come back, whatever the outcome.
Property bond
Equity in Colorado real property
Rare, slow and paperwork heavy. It requires clear equity, a recorded deed of trust in favour of the court, and judicial approval. Useful when there is equity but no cash.
Conditions that come with release
- A mandatory protection order issues in every criminal case under C.R.S. 18-1-1001. It is not optional and it survives until the case ends.
- No alcohol, and in alcohol cases often continuous monitoring or an interlock as a condition of release.
- Pretrial services check-ins, which in Denver can mean weekly calls, testing, or both.
- Travel restrictions, usually to Colorado, sometimes to the judicial district.
- Surrender of firearms where the order requires it, with proof of the transfer filed with the court.
When the bond is set
Within 48 hours
Advisement
A person held on an arrest is brought before a judge without unnecessary delay for the advisement of rights and the first bond setting. Weekend arrests are advised on the next court day.
At the advisement
Bond argument
The court weighs flight risk and danger. Defence counsel at this hearing is worth more than at almost any other single appearance, because the bond set here tends to stick.
Any time after
Bond reduction motion
A bond can be revisited on a written motion with new information: verified employment, a treatment bed, a third-party custodian, a passport surrendered.
Six things that actually move a bond
- Verified employment: a letter on letterhead with hours, length of service and a named contact.
- A third party custodian who will appear in court and take responsibility for compliance.
- Ties to the district: a lease, a mortgage statement, school enrolment for children.
- A treatment bed or an assessment already booked, with the provider's confirmation in writing.
- A clean failure to appear history, pulled and presented rather than asserted.
- A surrendered passport, offered before anyone asks for it.
Every one of these is a document, not an assertion. A bond argument that hands the court paper beats one that describes the same facts in a sentence.
Before you post anything
A surety premium is not refundable. If a family member is about to pay a bonding company at three in the morning, one phone call first can be worth a great deal, because a personal recognizance bond argued properly at the advisement costs nothing.
Read the protection order before anyone leaves the building. A mandatory protection order issues in every criminal case under C.R.S. 18-1-1001, and a violation is a separate charge under C.R.S. 18-6-803.5, including where the protected party made contact first.
What breaks a bond
Almost never the allegation. Almost always the conditions.
- Missing a court date. A warrant issues and the bond is at risk. If you cannot attend, counsel must tell the court before the setting, not afterwards.
- Contacting a protected party. Including replies, third party messages and social media. This is the most common bond violation we see.
- A positive test. In alcohol and drug cases, monitoring is a condition, and a result goes to the court rather than to you.
- A new charge. A fresh case while on bond also triggers mandatory aggravation under C.R.S. 18-1.3-401(8) if there is a conviction.
- Leaving the state. Travel restrictions are conditions, and permission is asked for in advance through counsel.
Reviewed September 2026. Bond practice differs by district and these provisions change. Confirm the current text and the local rules. Not legal advice.
If someone is in custody right now, the advisement is the appointment that matters.
Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship.