Bail amounts by crime in California run from about $500 for a minor misdemeanor to $2 million or more for murder, with the exact figure driven by the specific charge, any enhancements alleged, and the county where the arrest happened. Each of California’s 58 counties adopts its own annual bail schedule, so the presumptive amount for the same offense can shift meaningfully from one courthouse to the next. A judge can then raise, lower, or eliminate that scheduled amount at a hearing, and since the California Supreme Court’s 2021 ruling in In re Humphrey, the judge must also consider whether the defendant can actually afford it.
How the County Bail Schedule Sets the Starting Number
California law requires the superior court judges in every county to prepare, adopt, and revise a countywide bail schedule each year covering all bailable felonies, misdemeanors, and infractions.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1269b The schedule assigns a dollar figure to each charge so that jail staff can process release without waiting for a judge. If no judge has personally set bail yet, the schedule amount is what applies.
When judges build a county’s felony schedule, the statute directs them to weigh the seriousness of the offense. Aggravating factors and sentencing enhancements, such as using a firearm or targeting a vulnerable victim, add money on top of the base figure.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1269b Drug offenses involving large quantities carry their own escalating surcharges. Two people charged under the same code section can end up with very different scheduled bail depending on the specific facts alleged.
The figures below come from the Los Angeles County schedule, the largest jurisdiction in the state. Other counties may set higher or lower amounts, but LA’s numbers give a workable reference point for what a defendant is likely to face.
Felony Bail Amounts
Felony bail climbs quickly with the severity of the charge and any enhancements attached to it. From the Los Angeles County felony schedule:2Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Felony Bail Schedule
- Murder (PC 187): $2,000,000 for most charges. Murder with a special circumstance allegation is not bailable at all.
- Robbery (PC 211): $100,000 for first-degree, $50,000 for second-degree.
- Residential burglary (PC 459): $50,000. Commercial or other burglary drops to $20,000.
- Assault with a deadly weapon (PC 245): $30,000 with no firearm, $50,000 with a firearm, $75,000 with a semiautomatic, and up to $200,000 when a semiautomatic firearm is used against a peace officer or firefighter.
- Drug sales (H&S 11352): $30,000 for up to one kilogram, $500,000 for over 10 kilograms, and $5,000,000 for over 80 kilograms.
A simple drug case and a large-scale trafficking case may fall under the same code section, but the bail gap between them can run into hundreds of thousands of dollars because of the quantity enhancements built into the schedule.
Misdemeanor Bail Amounts
Misdemeanor bail is much lower than felony bail, though offenses involving violence or a domestic context can still land in five figures. In Los Angeles County:
- Domestic battery without traumatic injury (PC 243(e)): $20,000.
- Simple battery (PC 243(a)): $20,000.
- Battery causing serious bodily injury (PC 243(d)): $25,000.
- Sexual battery (PC 243.4): $20,000.
For misdemeanor offenses not specifically listed, Los Angeles County sets a default bail of $500. Wobbler offenses, which can be charged as either a felony or misdemeanor, default to $750 when not otherwise listed.3Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Bail Schedule for Infractions and Misdemeanors When someone is booked on multiple misdemeanor charges, bail is based on whichever single charge carries the highest amount, unless the offenses involve separate victims or separate dates.
Misdemeanor defendants have a meaningful advantage at arraignment. Under California law, a person charged with a misdemeanor is entitled to release on their own recognizance, meaning no money at all, unless the judge specifically finds on the record that release would threaten public safety or that the defendant is unlikely to return for court.4California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1270 The scheduled bail amount functions as a ceiling that applies only when the judge decides own-recognizance release isn’t appropriate.
Charges With No Right to Bail
Some charges carry no right to bail at all. Capital offenses, meaning those eligible for the death penalty, are the clearest example. The own-recognizance statute explicitly excludes them, and bail schedules reflect this.4California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1270 Los Angeles County lists murder with a special circumstance allegation, the type carrying a possible death sentence or life without parole, as “not bailable.”2Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Felony Bail Schedule A judge can also deny bail outside capital cases if the evidence shows that no combination of conditions can protect public safety or prevent flight, though after Humphrey that finding requires clear and convincing evidence.
What Moves the Amount Up or Down at a Hearing
The schedule is a starting point, not the final number. At the bail hearing or arraignment, a judge weighs four statutory factors: the seriousness of the offense, the defendant’s criminal record, flight risk, and public safety. Public safety is the primary consideration.5California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1275
Defense attorneys typically argue for lower bail by pointing to strong community ties: stable employment, local family, long-term residence. Prosecutors push for higher bail (or no bail) by citing prior failures to appear, violent criminal history, or the nature of the current charge. Pretrial services reports assessing flight risk and community connections also feed into the judge’s decision.
Reducing bail below the scheduled amount is harder on serious or violent felonies. The judge must find “unusual circumstances” and state the reasons on the record, and the statute specifies that showing up for prior court dates or not committing new crimes does not count as an unusual circumstance for this purpose.5California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1275 Good behavior alone won’t reduce bail on charges like robbery, arson, or carjacking.
Judges can also examine where the bail money comes from. If a prosecutor presents evidence that the funds or property offered were obtained illegally, the court can reject the posted bail and set a new, often higher, amount. These bail source hearings come up most often in drug trafficking and fraud cases where large sums of cash are available but their origin is suspect.
Ability to Pay After Humphrey
The most consequential change to California bail law in recent years is the 2021 California Supreme Court decision in In re Humphrey. The court held that judges cannot effectively jail someone simply because that person lacks the resources to post bail. Where a financial condition is necessary, the court must consider the defendant’s ability to pay the stated amount.6Supreme Court of California. In re Humphrey (2021) 11 Cal.5th 135
Under the ruling, a defendant cannot be held pretrial unless the judge makes an individualized finding that one of two things is true: the defendant can afford bail but chose not to pay, or detention is genuinely necessary to protect public safety or ensure appearance, with the judge finding by clear and convincing evidence that no less restrictive alternative would work. Those alternatives can include electronic monitoring, regular check-ins with a pretrial case manager, community housing, or substance abuse treatment.6Supreme Court of California. In re Humphrey (2021) 11 Cal.5th 135
The practical effect at a bail hearing is significant. Before Humphrey, a judge could set bail at $50,000, and if the defendant couldn’t pay, that was the defendant’s problem. Now, the defense can argue that $50,000 is functionally a detention order for someone earning minimum wage, and the judge must either lower the amount to something the defendant can realistically meet or articulate specific reasons why no alternative short of detention will suffice. If you or a family member cannot afford the scheduled bail, raising an ability-to-pay argument at arraignment is one of the most effective tools available. The scheduled numbers still exist and still matter, but they are no longer the last word.