Alameda County Bail Schedule: Amounts, Enhancements, and Holds

The Alameda County bail schedule is the list of dollar amounts that booking officers at Santa Rita Jail use to set release bail after an arrest, before the defendant sees a judge. The current version took effect on March 20, 2024, and it covers bailable felonies and misdemeanors offense by offense.¹ The schedule controls only that pre-arraignment window. Once a judge hears the case, the scheduled amount becomes a starting point the court can raise, lower, or eliminate.

How the Schedule Is Used at Booking

California Penal Code 1269b requires each county’s superior court judges to adopt and annually revise a uniform bail schedule covering bailable offenses.² When someone is arrested in Alameda County without a warrant, the booking officer looks up each charge, adds any enhancements documented in the arrest paperwork, and totals the amount. The officer can accept cash or a surety bond from a licensed bail agent and then issue a release order with a first-appearance date. No judge is involved.

Two things change that pattern. If the arrest was on a warrant, bail is whatever the warrant says, not the schedule. And once the defendant has been arraigned, the schedule stops controlling. From that point on, the judge sets bail.³

Felony Bail Amounts

Felony bail varies widely by offense. Representative figures from the current Alameda County schedule:

First-degree robbery (PC 211/212.5(a)): $100,000
Second-degree robbery (PC 211): $50,000
Assault with a firearm (PC 245(a)(2)): $60,000
Assault with a machine gun or semiautomatic rifle (PC 245(a)(3), 245(b)): $100,000
Assault with a deadly weapon, felony (PC 245(a)): $30,000
First-degree burglary (PC 459): $50,000
Attempted robbery (PC 213(b)): $25,000

Violent offenses and those involving firearms sit at the top. Property crimes and lower-level felonies tend to fall in the $25,000 to $50,000 range.³

Felonies Not Listed by Name

Many felony statutes don’t get their own line. For those, Alameda County uses a formula: bail equals $5,000 multiplied by the midterm prison sentence for the offense.³ A felony carrying a four-year midterm produces $20,000. An eight-year midterm produces $40,000.

Misdemeanor Bail Amounts

Misdemeanor amounts are much lower, typically a few thousand dollars up to around $10,000. Some offenses are “wobblers” that can be charged either way, and the schedule lists a separate figure for each classification. Assault with a deadly weapon is $10,000 as a misdemeanor and $30,000 as a felony.³

Certain misdemeanor charges have no bail amount at all because the defendant isn’t eligible for pre-court release. Domestic violence battery (PC 243(e)(1)), spousal battery (PC 273.5), and violations of domestic violence protective orders (PC 273.6) all fall into that group. Someone arrested on those charges cannot post bail at the jail and walk out. They wait for a judge.

Enhancements That Raise the Total

The schedule assigns additional dollar amounts to special allegations that get added to the base charge. When the arrest paperwork documents an enhancement, the booking officer adds it in, and the total is what the defendant owes.

Firearm allegations drive the largest increases. Personally using a firearm during a felony under Penal Code 12022.5 can add a substantial amount on top of the base bail.⁴ An allegation of inflicting great bodily injury under Penal Code 12022.7 produces a similar bump.⁵ Prior strike convictions add weight as well. In practice, a robbery scheduled at $100,000 with a firearm enhancement and a great bodily injury allegation can reach $200,000 or more before a judge is ever involved.

Offenses That Block Pre-Arraignment Release

For a set of serious charges, California law prevents the jail from releasing anyone on the scheduled amount at all. Penal Code 1270.1 requires a hearing before a judge, in open court, before bail can be set at anything other than the schedule amount or the defendant released on their own recognizance for:

Serious felonies as defined in Penal Code 1192.7(c)
Violent felonies as defined in Penal Code 667.5(c), except first-degree residential burglary
Felony criminal threats (PC 422)
Stalking (PC 646.9)
Spousal battery (PC 273.5)
Domestic violence battery (PC 243(e)(1))
Protective order violations involving threats, violence, or contact at the protected person’s home or workplace (PC 273.6)

For these offenses, the defendant stays in custody at the scheduled amount until a judge holds the hearing.⁶ That is why domestic violence charges in Alameda County carry a no-pre-court-release designation rather than a higher dollar figure. The booking window cannot override them.

What Changes at Arraignment

Under Penal Code 825, a defendant must be brought before a judge within 48 hours of arrest, not counting Sundays and holidays.⁷ At arraignment, the judge makes an independent bail determination. The schedule no longer controls. The court can raise the amount, lower it, release the defendant on their own recognizance, or in some cases order detention without bail.

Penal Code 1275 lays out what the judge weighs: protection of the public (the primary consideration under the statute), the seriousness of the offense, the defendant’s criminal record, and the likelihood of appearing for future hearings.⁸ On seriousness, the judge looks at alleged injury, threats, weapons, and controlled substances.

Ability to Pay Under Humphrey

An Alameda County case produced the most important recent change in California bail law. In In re Kenneth Humphrey (2021), the California Supreme Court held that a court cannot effectively detain someone just because they lack the money to post the scheduled amount. Before imposing a financial condition of release, the judge must consider the defendant’s ability to pay. If the defendant cannot afford it, the court must either find a less restrictive alternative or make a specific finding, supported by clear and convincing evidence, that no condition short of detention will protect public safety or ensure appearance.⁹

The practical takeaway: the schedule number is not the last word. If you or your attorney can show the amount is genuinely out of reach, the judge is constitutionally required to consider alternatives such as a lower amount, supervised release, electronic monitoring, or own-recognizance release with conditions.

Ways to Post Bail

Cash

Paying the full amount directly to the jail secures release. The money is held as a deposit and refunded at the end of the case, minus court fees, as long as the defendant appears at every hearing. Miss a court date and the full amount is forfeited.

Surety Bond

A licensed bail agent posts the full amount with the court. In exchange, you pay the agent a premium, most commonly 10 percent of the bail in California, plus actual necessary expenses.¹⁰ On $50,000 bail, that is roughly $5,000. The premium is not refundable, even if the case is dismissed. The agent may also require collateral and a cosigner who guarantees the full amount if the defendant fails to appear.

Own Recognizance

A judge can release the defendant on a written promise to appear, with conditions like pretrial check-ins, travel restrictions, or stay-away orders. This is more common for lower-level, nonviolent offenses and for defendants with strong local ties and limited records. For the charges listed under Penal Code 1270.1, own-recognizance release requires a hearing first and is harder to obtain.⁶

Asking for a Bail Reduction

Arraignment is the first chance to argue for less than the scheduled amount. A private attorney or the public defender can raise the Penal Code 1275 factors and the Humphrey ability-to-pay requirement.⁸ Concrete evidence carries more weight than general appeals. Useful documents include a lease, mortgage, or utility bills showing local ties; pay stubs or tax returns showing steady work; proof of dependents in the area; and financial records showing the scheduled amount is out of reach. Medical needs and child-care obligations matter too, particularly where detention would cause serious harm to dependents.

If bail is set at arraignment and remains unaffordable, the defense can file a motion for reduction later. The same kind of evidence applies. After Humphrey, the argument that the initial amount failed to account for the defendant’s finances is stronger than it was before.⁹

Where to Find the Current Schedule

Most Alameda County bookings run through Santa Rita Jail in Dublin. Bail can be posted around the clock, but release processing takes several hours and depends on jail volume, holds from other jurisdictions, and whether any charge triggers the Penal Code 1270.1 hearing requirement. If even one charge on the booking paperwork blocks pre-arraignment release, paying bail on the others will not get the defendant out. The full felony and misdemeanor schedule is posted on the Alameda County Superior Court’s website alongside the statewide Judicial Council schedule.¹

1
Superior Court of California. Fee and Bail Schedules
2
California Legislative Information. California Code, Penal Code PEN 1269b
3
Superior Court of California, County of Alameda. Alameda County 2024 Misdemeanor and Felony Bail Schedule
4
California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 12022.5
5
California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 12022.7
6
California Legislative Information. California Code, Penal Code PEN 1270.1
7
California Legislative Information. California Code, Penal Code PEN 825
8
California Legislative Information. California Code, Penal Code PEN 1275
9
Supreme Court of California. In re Kenneth Humphrey on Habeas Corpus, S247278
10
California Department of Insurance. Bail Bonds