How to Become a Bail Bondsman in Arizona: Exam, Bond, and License

To become a bail bondsman in Arizona, you need to be at least 18, have lived in the state for a full year, pass the Arizona Bail Bond Agent Series 13-35 exam, get appointed by a surety insurance company, file a $10,000 bond with the state, and submit your license application to the Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions (DIFI). Arizona doesn’t require any pre-licensing coursework, which shortens the path considerably, but the residency rule and criminal background screening can slow or stop applicants who don’t plan around them.¹

Who Qualifies

You must be at least 18 years old, a U.S. citizen or lawful resident, and an Arizona resident for at least one full year immediately before you apply. That residency rule is the one that catches people who move to Arizona expecting to get licensed right away. You’ll submit a sworn affidavit attesting to your residency when you apply.¹

You’ll also submit fingerprints for both state and FBI criminal history checks. DIFI won’t issue your license until those come back clean.¹

Criminal history matters heavily here. The director of DIFI has broad authority to deny, suspend, or revoke insurance producer licenses, and bail bond agents fall under that authority. Separately, ARS 20-340.03 prohibits licensed agents from employing anyone convicted of a felony, any theft offense (even misdemeanor theft), or any crime involving a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument. Felony convictions that have been set aside or where civil rights have been restored are an exception. Theft and weapons convictions get no such relief.² Applicants apply the same standard to themselves when weighing whether their record will clear.

Pass the Series 13-35 Exam

Arizona does not require pre-licensing education. No mandatory course, no classroom hours. You can self-study and go straight to the test.

The exam is the Arizona Bail Bond Agent Series 13-35, administered by Prometric. It has 60 multiple-choice questions and a one-hour time limit.³ You need 70% to pass. The content covers Arizona bail bond statutes, ethics, and industry practice, so plan to study Title 20 of the Arizona Revised Statutes carefully even without a formal course. Prometric handles registration and collects the exam fee; check Prometric’s Arizona insurance registration page for the current amount.

Once you pass, move quickly. Your passing score is only valid for a limited window, and you’ll need to finish your license application within that time or retake the exam.

Get a Surety Company to Appoint You

A bail bond agent works under the financial backing of a surety insurance company licensed in Arizona. Before DIFI will process your application, a surety company has to formally appoint you as its agent. That appointment authorizes you to execute bonds on the insurer’s behalf, and the insurer will issue you a power of attorney document to that effect.

Finding a surety to appoint you usually means contacting companies that write bail bonds in Arizona. Some are more open to appointing new agents than others, and many will want to see you’ve already passed the exam before they’ll talk seriously. If you plan to write bonds in federal court down the road, ask early whether the surety appears on the U.S. Treasury’s approved list (Department Circular 570), because not every insurer qualifies for federal court work.⁴

File the $10,000 Bond With the State

Beyond the surety’s appointment of you, you must file and maintain a $10,000 bond in favor of the State of Arizona, executed by a surety insurer authorized in the state. The bond gets deposited with the state treasurer through the director’s office, and its purpose is to guarantee that you properly account for and return any money or collateral that passes through your hands during bail bond transactions.⁵

You file this bond on Form L-195, which DIFI provides. It stays in force until the director releases it or the surety cancels it with 30 days’ advance written notice. If your surety cancels the bond and you can’t line up a replacement, your license effectively stops working.⁶

Submit Your Application to DIFI

With the exam passed, the surety appointment secured, and the $10,000 bond in place, you’re ready to file. The quickest route is through the National Insurance Producer Registry at nipr.com. Bail bond applicants also need to send Form L-195 (your surety bond) and Form L-BBAA directly to DIFI’s Insurance Licensing Section by mail or email.⁷

The total initial application fee is $142: a $120 non-refundable license fee plus a $22 FBI fingerprint processing fee.⁸

Your application package needs to include:

Proof of lawful presence, using Form L-152 or equivalent documentation
The signed $10,000 bond on Form L-195
Your fingerprint card, placed in a sealed envelope with the fingerprint verification form (Form L-FPV). The person taking your prints seals the envelope. Don’t open it, don’t fold it, or the card will be rejected.⁹
A residency affidavit attesting to at least one year of Arizona residency

DIFI cannot issue your license until both the state and FBI criminal history results come back. That’s the step that catches most applicants off guard, because it’s out of DIFI’s hands. Build in extra time after you’ve submitted everything else.

After You’re Licensed

A few things are worth knowing before you start writing bonds, because they shape your first year on the job.

Renewal

Arizona doesn’t require continuing education for bail bond agents. There are no CE hours to track or report. The renewal fee is $120, matching the initial license fee. You can renew up to 90 days before your expiration date through NIPR or by submitting Form L-191 with payment. Miss the expiration date and you must stop conducting business immediately; the late renewal fee is an extra $100 on top of the $120.¹⁰ Your $10,000 surety bond has to stay in force through renewal. If it lapses, the license won’t renew.⁵

Premium Rates

Arizona regulates what you can charge. The standard non-refundable premium is 10% of the total bail amount, with reduced rates near 8% in limited circumstances. These rates are filed by the surety insurer and approved by DIFI. You can’t discount, rebate, or negotiate around them. Charging more or less than the filed rate is a violation of Arizona insurance law and grounds for discipline. Beyond the premium, you can require collateral, which must be returned once the bond obligation is satisfied and any outstanding fees are paid.

Cash Reporting

Bail bond work often involves large cash payments, which triggers federal reporting. If you receive more than $10,000 in cash in a single transaction or in related transactions, you have to file IRS Form 8300 within 15 days, and you have to send a written statement to each person named on the Form 8300 by January 31 of the following year.¹¹ Build this into your intake workflow from the start.

Forfeiture Risk

When a defendant fails to appear, the court declares the bond forfeited, and the surety company (and you, depending on your agreement with the surety) faces exposure for the full bond amount.¹² This is the core financial risk of the work, and it’s the reason agents screen defendants carefully, require collateral, and stay in contact with families throughout a case.

Who You Can Hire

Once you’re licensed, ARS 20-340.03 restricts who you can employ or help employ. Anyone with a felony conviction, a theft conviction of any level, or a conviction involving a deadly weapon is off-limits. The statute reads “employment” broadly to cover salary, commission, contract work, and ownership or control of the bail bond business. A felony that’s been set aside or where civil rights have been restored is an exception; theft and weapons convictions are not.² Screen receptionists, skip tracers, and subcontractors before bringing them on. A wrong hire can cost you the license you just earned.

1
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 20-340.01 – Bail Bond Agents; Licensure; Business Entities; Place of Business; Receipt; Maintenance of Records
2
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 20-340.03 – Bail Bond Agent Prohibitions
3
Prometric. Arizona Examination for Bail Bond Agent Series 13-35
4
Bureau of the Fiscal Service. Surety Bonds
5
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 20-340.02 – Bail Bond Agents; Bond
6
Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions. Form L-195 – Bond of Bail Bond Agent Licensing
7
National Insurance Producer Registry. Arizona Resident Licensing for Individuals
8
Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions. Licensing – Insurance Professionals
9
Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions. Form L-FPV – Fingerprint Verification Form
10
Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions. Bail Bond Agent License Renewal
11
Internal Revenue Service. Form 8300 and Reporting Cash Payments of Over $10,000
12
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-3858 – Forfeiture of Bail