Bail After an Arrest
C.R.S. 16-4-102 — before a court within forty-eight hours, a $10 bond fee at most, and release within six hours
Everyone in Colorado is bailable by sufficient sureties, except for a capital offense where the proof is evident or the presumption great, and a short list of violent crimes where a court finds, after a hearing within ninety-six hours of arrest, that release would place the public in significant peril.
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The arresting jurisdiction brings a person held in custody before a court for bond setting as soon as practicable, and no later than forty-eight hours after arrival at the jail, at a hearing where the person is present and an individualized bond order is entered.
- Bond may be posted in cash, by money order or cashier's check, and online by credit card, and is never made out in the name of the person held.
- A $10 bond fee and a credit card fee of at most 3.5% are the only bond fees, and neither, nor any other fee or debt, is ever a reason to keep the person in jail.
- The jail releases the person within six hours after a personal recognizance or cash bond is ready, unless extraordinary circumstances exist, and a lack of staff is not one.
- Whoever posts the bond receives a copy of the paperwork and the next court date.
Sources for this section (2)
- C.R.S. 16-4-101 — Bailable offenses - definitions
- C.R.S. 16-4-102 — Right to bail - before conviction - definitions
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Colorado attorney.