Bond Probation in Tarrant County: Rules, Fees, and Violations

If you’re released on bond in Tarrant County, you aren’t just free until trial. Bond probation in Tarrant County means the Community Supervision and Corrections Department monitors you under conditions the judge sets, and breaking any of those conditions can send you back to jail with your bond revoked.¹ Texas magistrates have broad authority to attach conditions tied to victim or community safety, and in practice almost every pretrial release in Tarrant County carries at least a handful of them.² Supervision runs for the entire life of your case and ends only when the court enters a final judgment, dismisses the charges, or revokes the bond.

What You’ll Be Required to Do

Every pretrial bond carries baseline rules. You cannot commit any new criminal offense, no matter how minor. You must check in with your assigned supervision officer on the schedule you’re given. You have to stay within whatever geographic boundaries the court sets and tell your officer before you move. Miss a check-in or pick up a new charge, and the court has grounds to revoke.

On top of those basics, the judge tailors conditions to your charge. Curfews are common. So are travel restrictions and orders to stay away from certain people, addresses, or workplaces. Most defendants are also prohibited from using drugs or alcohol, and that prohibition is often backed by testing.

Added Conditions for DWI and Intoxication Charges

If you’re charged with a repeat DWI, boating or flying while intoxicated, intoxication assault, intoxication manslaughter, or DWI with a child passenger, Texas law requires the judge to order an ignition interlock device on the vehicle you own or drive most often.³ The device tests your breath before the engine will start. If it reads any alcohol, the car doesn’t move.

You have 30 days from release to install the device, and you pay for it. Installation typically starts around $150, with monthly lease fees in the $70 to $100 range depending on the provider and vehicle. The court may also designate an agency to verify installation and monitor the device for a separate fee of up to $10 per month.³ A magistrate can waive the requirement, but only on a finding that it would not be in the best interest of justice.

Added Conditions for Family Violence Charges

Family violence allegations trigger their own set of restrictions. The magistrate can order you to stay away from the alleged victim’s home, workplace, and school, and can require GPS monitoring to enforce the distance.⁴ You may be prohibited from tracking the alleged victim’s property or vehicles in any way, including through phone apps.

The magistrate may also issue an emergency protective order at your first appearance, and if the arrest involved serious bodily injury or a deadly weapon, that order is mandatory.⁵ An EPO can bar all contact with the protected person, prohibit firearm possession, and keep you away from specific locations for up to 61 days. Violating one is a separate criminal offense, so a single phone call can create a brand-new charge on top of the original case. Tarrant County prosecutors can also ask for no-contact bond conditions that extend beyond the EPO’s expiration.⁶

Electronic Monitoring and Drug Testing

Texas law lets magistrates order home confinement with electronic monitoring, weekly testing for controlled substances, or both.⁷ A GPS ankle monitor lets the department see your location in real time and confirms you’re keeping curfew and staying inside approved boundaries.

Refusing a drug test or testing positive for a controlled substance gives the magistrate grounds to revoke your bond and order your arrest.⁷ This is one of the fastest routes back to custody. Treat the testing condition as non-negotiable.

The monitoring and testing costs can be billed to you as a reimbursement fee or ordered paid directly as a condition of release. If the court finds you indigent and unable to pay, it cannot revoke your bond solely for nonpayment of those fees.

What a Violation Costs You

A reported violation triggers a hearing. The standard is preponderance of the evidence, which is a lower bar than the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard at trial. If the magistrate finds you more likely than not violated a condition, revocation is mandatory and you go back into custody.² The statute builds in no second chance.

Revocation means sitting in the Tarrant County jail while your case plays out, which can take weeks or months. You can ask for a new bond, but expect harsher conditions or a higher amount.

Missing a court date is worse. A failure to appear triggers a bond forfeiture: the court enters judgment for the full bond amount against you and any sureties, and that judgment becomes collectible like any other civil debt if you can’t show good cause.

What It All Costs Per Month

Supervision itself carries a monthly fee of roughly $60, though the exact figure depends on your court’s order. Bring payment to your first appointment to avoid problems from day one.

Device and testing costs stack on top, depending on your conditions:

Ignition interlock: installation starting around $150, monthly lease of $70 to $100, plus calibration fees at each service visit and up to $10 per month for court-designated monitoring.³
GPS ankle monitor: a reimbursement fee that typically runs several dollars per day.⁷
Weekly drug testing: paid by the defendant unless the court finds you indigent.

A repeat DWI case with both an interlock and GPS monitoring can run past $200 a month before you add attorney fees or court costs. Build these numbers into your budget now, because falling behind on required payments can itself become a bond violation.

Your First Appointment with the Supervision Department

The first visit is an intake interview where staff process your paperwork and assign your supervision officer. Bring:

A Texas driver’s license or state ID.
Your bond paperwork or court order listing your specific conditions. If you weren’t given a copy at release, request one from the District or County Clerk before the appointment.
Proof of residence, such as a recent utility bill or lease.
Employment or school enrollment verification, such as a pay stub or enrollment letter.
Payment for your first month’s supervision fee.

Intake sets your reporting schedule. Lower-risk cases may use automated kiosk check-ins; higher-risk cases get regular in-person meetings. Your officer will walk through every condition and explain what counts as a violation. Use the meeting to ask about anything that isn’t clear, because confusion about a condition is not a defense if you break it.

Staying in Good Standing

After intake, you report on whatever schedule your officer sets, and the department sends compliance reports to the court. A clean record helps if your attorney later asks for a bond modification. A pattern of missed check-ins or marginal compliance gives the prosecutor what it needs to push for revocation. From the court’s perspective, every scheduled contact is mandatory, so treat it that way.

1
Tarrant County, TX. Community Supervision and Corrections
2
State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 17.40 – Conditions Related to Victim or Community Safety
3
State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 17.441 – Conditions Requiring Motor Vehicle Ignition Interlock
4
State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art 17.49 – Conditions of Bond in Family Violence Cases
5
State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art 17.292 – Magistrates Order for Emergency Protection
6
Tarrant County, TX. Intimate Partner Violence
7
State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 17.44 – Home Confinement, Electronic Monitoring, and Drug Testing as Condition