Missouri Laws Regarding Bail Bonds & Bounty Hunters
Below is basic information on bail bond laws for Missouri concerning Bail Enforcement, Bounty Hunters, Fugitive Apprehension and Bail Bondsman. This is not legal advice as laws change frequently. Please check the links provided for possible updates and current information.
- Missouri bail bond law state statutes:
- Vernon’s Annotated Missouri Statutes Title XXIV. Business And Financial Institutions Chapter 374. Department Of Insurance Regulation Of Bail Bond Agents.
Vernon’s Annotated Missouri Statutes Title XXXVII. Criminal Procedure Chapter 544. Arrest, Examination, Commitment And Bail.
- Missouri licensing requirements for Bail agents:
- Missouri has extensive licensing provisions for “bail enforcement agents.”
- “Bail bond agent”, a surety agent or an agent of a property bail bondsman who is duly licensed under the provisions of sections 374.700 to 374.775, is employed by and is working under the authority of a licensed general bail bond agent;
- “Division”, the division of insurance of the state of Missouri;
- “General bail bond agent”, a surety agent or a property bail bondsman, as defined in sections 374.700 to 374.775, who is licensed in accordance with sections 374.700 to 374.775 and who devotes at least fifty percent of his working time to the bail bond business in this state;
- “Property bail bondsman”, a person who pledges United States currency, United States postal money orders or cashier’s checks or other property as security for a bail bond in connection with a judicial proceeding, and who receives or is promised therefor money or other things of value;
- “Surety bail bond agent”, any person appointed by an insurer by power of attorney to execute or countersign bail bonds in connection with judicial proceedings, and who receives or is promised money or other things of value therefore.
- Applications for examination and licensure as a bail bond agent or general bail bond agent shall be in writing and on forms prescribed and furnished by the department, and shall contain such information as the department requires.
- Each application shall be accompanied by proof satisfactory to the department that the applicant is a citizen of the United States, is at least twenty-one years of age, is of good moral character, and meets the qualifications for surety on bail bonds as provided by supreme court rule.
- Each application shall be accompanied by the examination and application fee set by the department. In addition, each applicant for licensure as a general bail bond agent shall furnish proof satisfactory to the department that the applicant, or, if the applicant is a corporation or partnership, that each officer or partner thereof has completed at least two years as a bail bond agent, as defined in sections 374.700 to 374.775, and that the applicant possesses liquid assets of at least ten thousand dollars, along with a duly executed assignment of ten thousand dollars to the state of Missouri, which assignment shall become effective upon the applicant’s violating any provision of sections 374.700 to 374.775.
- Each applicant for licensure as a general bail bond agent, after complying with this section and the provisions of section 374.715, shall be issued a license by the department unless grounds exist under section 374.755 for denial of a license.
- Each applicant for examination and licensure as a bail bond agent, after complying with the provisions of section 374.715, shall appear for examination at the time and place specified by the department. Such examination shall be as prescribed by the director as provided under section 375.018, RSMo, and shall be designed to test the applicant’s knowledge and expertise in the area of surety bonds in general and the practice of a bail bond agent, as defined in sections 374.700 to 374.775, in particular.
- The applicant shall be notified of the result of the examination within twenty working days of the examination. Any applicant who fails such examination may, upon reapplication and payment of the reexamination fee set by the department, retake the examination.
Vernon’s Annotated Missouri Statutes Title XXIV. Business And Financial Institutions Chapter 374. Department Of Insurance Regulation Of Bail Bond Agents 374.700. Definitions
374.710. License required for bail bond agents—exception
- Except as otherwise provided in sections 374.700 to 374.775, no person or other entity shall practice as a bail bond agent or general bail bond agent, as defined in section 374.700, in Missouri unless and until the department has issued to him a license, to be renewed each year as hereinafter provided, to practice as a bail bond agent or general bail bond agent.
374.715. Application, form, qualifications, fee–monetary assignment required, amount, effective when
374.720. Examination notice–form–content—reexamination
374.730. License, annual renewal, fee
- All licenses issued to bail bond agents and general bail bond agents under the provisions of sections 374.700 to 374.775 shall be renewed annually, which renewal shall be in the form and manner prescribed by the division and shall be accompanied by the renewal fee set by the division.
374.735. Examination not required, when
- The division may, in its discretion, grant a license without requiring an examination to a bail bond agent who has been licensed in another state immediately preceding his applying to the division, if the division is satisfied by proof adduced by the applicant that his qualifications are at least equivalent to the requirements for initial licensure as a bail bond agent in Missouri under the provisions of sections 374.700 to 374.775.
374.740. Nonresident license requirements
- Any person applying to be licensed as a nonresident bail bond agent or nonresident general bail bond agent who has been licensed in another state shall devote fifty percent of his working time in the state of Missouri and shall file proof with the director of insurance as to his compliance, and accompany his application with the fee set by the board and, if applying for a nonresident general bail bond agent’s license, with a duly executed assignment of twenty-five thousand dollars to the state of Missouri, which assignment shall become effective upon the applicant’s violating any provision of sections 374.700 to 374.775. Failure to comply with this section will result in revocation of the nonresidence license. The assignment required by this section shall be in the form and executed in the manner prescribed by the division. All licenses issued under this section shall be subject to the same renewal requirements set for other licenses issued under sections 374.700 to 374.775.
374.750. Refusal to issue or renew license–applicant’s right to hearing
- The division may refuse to issue or renew any license required pursuant to sections 374.700 to 374.775 for any one or any combination of causes stated in section 374.755. The division shall notify the applicant in writing of the reasons for the refusal and shall advise the applicant of his right to file a complaint with the administrative hearing commission as provided by chapter 621, RSMo.
374.765. License requirement violation, penalties
- Any person who practices as a bail bond agent or general bail bond agent, or who purports to be a bail bond agent, or general bail bond agent as defined in section 374.700, without being duly licensed under sections 374.700 to 374.775 is:
- (1) For the first such offense, guilty of an infraction;
(2) For the second and each subsequent offense, guilty of a class A misdemeanor.
Any licensed bail bond agent who knowingly violates the provisions of one or more of subdivisions (3), (4), (10), (11), (12), (13), (14), or (15) of subsection 1 of section 374.755 shall be guilty of a class B misdemeanor.
- Missouri bail agent’s arrest authority.
- Vernon’s Annotated Missouri Statutes Title XXXVII. Criminal Procedure Chapter 544. Arrest, Examination, Commitment And Bail 544.600. Surrender of principal, how made
- When a bail desires to surrender his principal, he may procure a copy of the recognizance from the clerk, by virtue of which the bail, or any person authorized by him, may take the principal in any county within this state.
- Missouri bounty hunter (fugitive apprehension) provisions:
- There are currently no provisions relating to bounty hunters
- Links to State and Local Authorities:
Please check with the Missouri’s Department of Insurance, Licensing Board and/or Local Law Enforcement for the most recent updates. If you know of any updates to Missouri’s bail bond laws, please provide as much detail as possible and send to us using our contact form.
