6.2 Voluntary & Involuntary Surrender of Defendant (F.S. 903.21/903.22)

6.2 Surrender of a Defendant — F.S. 903.21 and 903.22

Surrender before forfeiture, arrest before forfeiture, discharge after a later failure to appear, and collateral return are separate legal questions.

Method of surrender — F.S. 903.21

A surety wishing to surrender a defendant delivers:

• a copy of the bond; and
• the defendant

to the official who had custody when bail was taken, or the official who would have received the defendant upon commitment. The official takes the defendant into custody and issues a certificate acknowledging surrender.

To obtain exoneration, the surety presents the certificate and a copy of the bond to the court with jurisdiction. The surety gives the state attorney 3 days' notice of the application for exoneration and furnishes the state attorney copies of the certificate and bond. The court then orders the obligors exonerated and refunds money or bonds deposited as bail.

Do not say that F.S. 903.21 requires a certified copy of the bond. The certified-copy language appears in a different setting in F.S. 903.22.

Defendant already confined before breach

Under F.S. 903.21(3), the surety is exonerated if, before breach, the defendant is in a jail or prison and the surety agrees in writing to pay the costs and expenses incurred in returning the defendant to the court's jurisdiction. The statute defines jurisdiction as the county from which the defendant was released on bail and limits the surety to itemized transport costs for the defendant to whom it owes the fiduciary duty.

Arrest before forfeiture — F.S. 903.22

Before forfeiture, the surety may arrest the defendant for surrender. Alternatively, the surety may authorize a peace officer to make the arrest by endorsing the authorization on a certified copy of the bond.

F.S. 903.22 does not supply the post-forfeiture 60-day discharge rule. After forfeiture, analyze F.S. 903.26(5)(c), F.S. 903.26(8), F.S. 903.27, and F.S. 903.28 as the facts require.

Statement of surrender — F.S. 648.4425

A bail bond agent who surrenders or recommits a defendant must give the defendant a statement of surrender on the DFS-prescribed form. It must:

• be signed by the agent;
• state the reason for surrender;
• be attached to the surrender form;
• be copied to the defendant; and
• be kept in the defendant's file.

Rule 69B-221.100 addresses contract terms and the surrender form. Whether premium is returned depends on the current rule and the principal's contractual conduct; do not invent a generic “good cause” list that is absent from the cited statute.

After failure to appear

If forfeiture has occurred and the defendant is surrendered or arrested at the required appearance or within 60 days afterward and is in a qualifying jail or prison with a return hold, F.S. 903.26(5)(c) requires discharge subject to applicable return costs and expenses.

Before judgment, F.S. 903.26(8) also permits clerk discharge, subject to costs, when the defendant is arrested and returned to the county where the bond was written or a new bond is posted and the sheriff or chief correctional officer supplies the required affirmation.

Collateral

Surrender does not erase the separate collateral rules. F.S. 648.442 governs custody and disposition; F.S. 648.571 generally requires return within 21 days after discharge is provided. Preserve the surrender certificate and court order because they support the discharge and collateral-return file.

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