Official Code of Georgia Annotated
Title 17. CRIMINAL PROCEDURE · Chapter 6. BONDS AND RECOGNIZANCES · Article 2. SURETIES · Part 2. PROFESSIONAL BONDSMEN
17-6-54. No further compensation after becoming surety; when sum received to be returned to defendant; right to surrender defendant and to keep sum paid when defendant forfeits.
Current through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
- (a)
No professional bondsman or his or her agents or employees who receive compensation for becoming the surety on a criminal bond shall thereafter receive any other sum in the case as compensation. If the surety surrenders a defendant into the custody of the court, the sheriff, or another law enforcement officer in the jurisdiction where the bond was made before final disposition of the case, the surety is required to return to the principal the compensation received for signing the bond as surety if such surrender of the defendant is for reasons other than:#
- (1)
The defendant’s arrest for a crime other than a traffic violation or local ordinance violation;#
- (2)
The defendant’s cosigner attests in writing the desire to be released from the bond;#
- (3)
The defendant fails to provide to the surety the defendant’s change of address;#
- (4)
The defendant fails to pay any fee due to the surety after being notified that the same is past due;#
- (5)
The defendant fails to notify the surety upon leaving the jurisdiction of the court; or#
- (6)
The defendant provides false information to the surety.#
- (b)
In the event of a forfeiture on the bond by the defendant, the surety shall have the right to surrender into custody the defendant who is the principal on the bond without returning any compensation paid by the defendant for the signing of the bond.#
History
Ga. L. 1921, p. 243, §§ 6, 7; Code 1933, §§ 27-506, 27-507; Ga. L. 1996, p. 1233, § 2; Ga. L. 2000, p. 1589, § 3; Ga. L. 2024, p. 505, § 6/SB 63, effective July 1, 2024.
Amendments
The 2024 amendment, effective July 1, 2024, added “as compensation” at the end of the first sentence of subsection (a); substituted “local ordinance violation” for “misdemeanor” in paragraph (a)(1); deleted “the court and” preceding “the surety” in paragraph (a)(3); deleted “by certified mail or statutory overnight delivery” following “notified” in paragraph (a)(4); and deleted “the court and” following “notify” in paragraph (a)(5).
Law reviews
For article on the 2024 amendment of this Code section, see 41 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 129 (2024).
Read the official page (the state's PDF, opened at the page this text was read from).
Current through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
Text read from t17-(v15)-pdf.pdf, Volume V15, 2020 edition, 2025 supplement, pages 62 to 63; merge action: replaced; file SHA-256 9ed85bfde942.