4.1 Bonding Fee Requirements and Payment Terms

Category IV, Responsibilities of License Holders, carries 5–8 questions. Item IV.A, Bonding fee requirements, cites W.Va. Code §51-10-5a and 114CSR103-5. Fee questions are the most common calculations on the exam. If you learn three numbers (10%, 3% and 12 months) and one cap (the bond amount), you can answer almost all of them.

The statute: W.Va. Code §51-10-5a (enacted 2014)

(a) The bonding fee required by a bail bondsman shall be at least ten percent of the amount of the bond. The bonding fee received by the bondsman shall not, in the aggregate, exceed the amount of the bond.

(b) The bonding fee may be paid as follows: (1) In full at the time of the issuance of the bond; or (2) At least three percent paid at the issuance of the bond with the remaining percentage to be paid over a period not to exceed twelve months.

114CSR103-5.1 repeats these rules almost word for word. The OIC's Fees and Collateral guidance (October 2022) summarizes them the same way.

The 10% figure is a floor, not a fixed price. A bondsman may charge more than 10% on a risky bond. A bondsman may never charge less, and may never collect more than the bond amount in total.

Worked examples

Example 1: minimum fee. Bond: $7,500. Minimum fee: 0.10 × $7,500 = $750.

Example 2: payment plan. Bond: $20,000. Minimum fee: $2,000. On a payment plan the bondsman must collect at least 0.03 × $20,000 = $600 when the bond is issued. The remaining $1,400 must be paid within 12 months.

Example 3: a higher fee on a plan. Bond: $10,000. The bondsman charges 12%, a $1,200 fee. At issuance at least 3% of the bond amount is due: $300. The remaining $900 is paid within 12 months.

Example 4: the cap. Bond: $2,000. Any arrangement that would bring total fees received above $2,000 breaks the aggregate cap.

Read the 3% carefully. The statute says "at least three percent paid at the issuance of the bond with the remaining percentage." The 3% is measured against the bond amount, the same base as the 10% minimum.

Minimum upfront payment versus minimum total fee

The last column assumes the minimum 10% fee. A larger fee means a larger financed balance, still due within 12 months.

No other charges: W.Va. Code §51-10-5 and 114CSR103-5.2

Section 51-10-5 makes it lawful to charge for executing a bond. It then makes it unlawful to charge, accept or receive any money or other thing of value, other than the bonding fee, from a person bonded, for any other service whatever connected with the indictment or charge. 114CSR103-5.2 applies the same ban to the bondsman and every agent, clerk or representative, directly or indirectly.

So "court-date reminder fees," "paperwork fees" or "release-processing fees" charged to the defendant on top of the bonding fee are prohibited. If money changes hands, it must be part of the bonding fee and fit within the 10% floor and the bond-amount cap.

114CSR103-5.6 also forbids accepting, or trying to obtain, any personal service, favor or nonmonetary item in lieu of payment for a bond (section 4.3).

Fees and the paperwork trail

• Before posting any bond, the bondsman must have a written or oral agreement with the defendant or cosigner. Posting without one is a suspension ground (11.1.16).
• Misrepresenting the terms of any actual or proposed bond is a suspension ground (11.1.8).
• A professional bondsman's on-request report includes the fee charged on each bond (15.1.6). Examiners can compare fees against bond amounts.

Forfeiture notice to the bondsman

Section 51-10-5a ends with a court duty: when a bond is to be forfeited, the court must notify the bail bondsman within 24 hours of the failure to appear (§51-10-5a(d)). Unpaid forfeitures matter for licensing too. Failing to pay forfeited bonds to a court is a suspension ground (11.1.14), and applicants disclose any default on a forfeited bond (3.2.1.e).

Exam traps

• 10% is a minimum. Charging 8% "as a discount" violates the law; charging 15% does not, as long as the total stays within the bond amount.
• 3% is the minimum upfront payment on a plan. It is not the minimum fee.
• Twelve months maximum for the balance.
• No add-on fees for any other service connected with the charge.