Bail Questions • Jail Records and Holds • Arizona
What Does a Hold Mean When There Is Also a Bond Amount?
A hold means another agency or court has asked the jail to keep the person in custody regardless of the bond on the new charge.
Quick answer
A hold means another agency or court has asked the jail to keep the person in custody regardless of the bond on the new charge. Common holds are probation and parole holds, immigration detainers, and warrants from another county or state. The bond can be posted, but release waits until every hold is cleared.
What a hold is and who places it
A hold is a request from another agency or court that the jail keep the person even if bail on the current charge is posted. The most common sources are a probation officer or probation court (a probation violation hold), the state parole authority (a parole hold), federal immigration authorities (a detainer), another Arizona county or another state with an active warrant, and a court that has not yet set conditions on an older case.
The hold and the bond amount live side by side on the record. The judge at the initial appearance sets bail on the new charge under A.R.S. 13-3967 because that is the judge's job; the hold belongs to someone else and the judge does not clear it. That is why the MCSO inmate search can show a $5,000 bond and the person still cannot leave.
Why posting the bond does not release the person
A surety bond satisfies one thing: the release condition on the case it names. When the jail processes a release, it checks for any other reason to keep the person, and a hold is exactly that reason. The bond is accepted, the premium is earned because the agent's service was delivered, and the person stays until each hold is resolved.
That is the trap families fall into. They see the bond amount, pay a premium, and find out the next morning that the person is still in the Durango complex on a probation hold. An honest agent checks for holds before taking a dollar and says plainly when a bond would be wasted. Our guide to release times after posting bail explains why a hold discovered at release stops the process entirely.
How to confirm holds before paying a premium
Search the MCSO inmate record by full name and date of birth. It lists holds and the agency that placed each one. If the record is unclear or has not updated, call the jail information line at (602) 876-0322. For a probation hold, the probation officer or the defense attorney can say whether the supervising judge has set conditions on the violation. For an out-of-county warrant, the court record in that county shows the bond amount there.
Bring all of that to the agent before signing anything. A licensed agent does the same checks independently and will not post until the path to an actual release is clear. The premium is set by rates filed with DIFI, typically 10%, and it is not refunded, so the time to find a hold is before the bond, not after.
How each type of hold gets cleared
A probation violation hold lifts when the supervising judge sets release conditions on the violation; a judge may set bail, especially for a technical violation, and a bond can then be posted on that case too. A parole hold is handled by the parole authority rather than by bail. An out-of-county warrant needs its own bond in that county, which a licensed agent arranges through an agent there or as a transfer bond at the same filed premium; an out-of-state warrant usually means a hold for extradition.
An immigration detainer is federal. A bond on the state charge can be posted, but the person is typically transferred to federal custody rather than released, and immigration bonds are not something we write. When more than one hold exists, the agent works out the order to post so that the last bond actually opens the door.
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Related Questions
Can you bail someone out with a probation hold?
Not on the new charge alone. The probation hold keeps the person in custody until the supervising judge sets release conditions on the violation or the violation hearing happens. If that judge sets bail, a bond can be posted on the violation case as well, and then both bonds work together.
What does an immigration detainer mean on a jail record?
Federal immigration authorities have asked the jail to hold the person for transfer. A bond on the state charge can be posted, but release usually goes to federal custody rather than home. Immigration bonds are a federal process and we do not write them, so confirm the detainer before paying.
How do you find out if someone has a hold in Maricopa County?
Search the MCSO inmate record by full name and date of birth; it lists holds and the agency behind each. If it has not updated, call the jail information line at (602) 876-0322. A licensed agent runs the same checks before posting.
What is an out-of-county hold?
Another Arizona county has an active warrant for the person, and the jail is holding them for that county. The warrant usually has its own bond amount set by that court, and a licensed agent can post it there or as a transfer bond so both cases are covered before release.
Is the premium refunded if a hold stops the release?
No. The premium is earned when the bond posts, even if a hold keeps the person inside. That is why holds are checked first and why an honest agent declines to post when a hold cannot be cleared. Call One Stop Bail Bonds any hour and an agent will walk you through it.