Volusia County Bond Schedule: Amounts, Posting, and Refunds

The Volusia County bond schedule is the preset list of bail amounts that lets someone post bond and get released from the Branch Jail before seeing a judge. It applies only to misdemeanors and third-degree felonies, and it follows the Florida Uniform Statewide Bond Schedule that took effect January 1, 2026.¹ Amounts run from $150 for a minor misdemeanor to $5,000 for a third-degree felony involving force. Anyone charged with a second-degree felony or higher, a domestic violence offense, or one of several other excluded categories cannot use the schedule and must wait for a first appearance hearing.

2026 Bond Amounts by Offense

The schedule sets amounts based on the severity of the charge and whether the offense involved force or the threat of force. An offense with force carries a bond roughly two times higher than the same level without force.¹

Second-degree misdemeanor, no force: $150
Second-degree misdemeanor with force: $250
First-degree misdemeanor, no force: $500
First-degree misdemeanor with force: $1,000
Third-degree felony, no force: $2,500
Third-degree felony with force: $5,000

No preset bond exists for second-degree felonies, first-degree felonies, life felonies, or capital felonies. Those charges require a first appearance hearing where a judge sets the bond individually.²

DUI and BUI Bonds

Driving or boating under the influence has its own tier on the schedule. A first-offense DUI charged as a second-degree misdemeanor is $500. A second-offense DUI at the misdemeanor level is $750. Any DUI charged as a first-degree misdemeanor is $1,000.¹

Who Cannot Use the Bond Schedule

A large group of defendants must be held until a judge decides whether to grant bail at all, regardless of the charge level. Under Florida law, that includes:²

Anyone already on pretrial release, probation, or community control when arrested.
Registered sex offenders and sexual predators, no matter the new charge.
Anyone arrested for violating a domestic violence or stalking injunction.
Anyone with three or more arrests in the six months before the current one.
Anyone previously sentenced as a habitual violent felony offender, three-time violent felony offender, violent career criminal, or prison releasee reoffender.
Anyone charged with a capital, life, first-degree, or second-degree felony.
Anyone charged with a “dangerous crime” under state law, including robbery, carjacking, kidnapping, sexual battery, arson, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, burglary of a dwelling, homicide, manslaughter, stalking, and human trafficking.

Domestic violence arrests get special treatment. Florida law requires anyone arrested for domestic violence to remain in custody until a judge reviews the case and considers the safety of the victim, the victim’s children, and others at risk.³ A domestic violence defendant cannot bond out through the schedule no matter how low-level the underlying charge looks.

If the defendant falls into any of these categories, they must be brought before a judge within twenty-four hours of arrest.⁴ At that first appearance, the judge can set a bond, impose non-monetary conditions, or order pretrial detention and deny bail entirely.⁵

How a Judge Can Change the Amount

Even when the schedule applies, it is a starting point. At first appearance or any later hearing, a judge can raise or lower the amount, add conditions, or release the defendant without any money at all. The schedule does not bind a judge in an individual case.¹

Florida law lists the factors the judge must weigh:⁶

The nature of the offense and the weight of the evidence.
Community ties, including family, length of residence, employment, and finances.
Prior convictions and any history of missing court.
Whether the defendant was already on release for another case.
The danger the defendant poses, including any risk of witness intimidation.
Whether the money being used for bail is tied to criminal activity.
The street value of any drugs involved in the charges.

Two rules tighten the judge’s hands when a defendant has already missed court in the same case. A defendant who missed court and later surrendered voluntarily cannot be released on their own recognizance. A defendant arrested after failing to appear cannot get any bond lower than $2,000 or twice the original bond, whichever is higher.⁶

In drug trafficking, large fraud, and similar cases, the court can require a source-of-funds hearing before release. The defendant has to prove the bail money, property, or collateral comes from a legitimate source, which usually means producing bank statements, tax returns, pay stubs, and other documentation.⁶ Until the court is satisfied, release stalls even if the full amount is available.

Non-Monetary Conditions

Release almost always comes with strings. Every released defendant must refrain from criminal activity, and the court can add conditions on top of that:⁷

No contact with the victim and a 500-foot distance from the victim’s home, workplace, and vehicle.
Curfew at a specified residence.
Travel restrictions, limits on associations, and sometimes passport surrender.
Regular check-ins with law enforcement or pretrial services.
No firearms, destructive devices, or other weapons.
No excessive alcohol, no controlled substances without a prescription, and sometimes drug testing or treatment.
GPS or electronic monitoring.

Violating any condition can get pretrial release revoked and the defendant sent back into custody.

How to Post Bond in Volusia County

Before posting anything, you need the defendant’s full legal name, date of birth, and the booking number assigned at intake. The Volusia County Division of Corrections runs an online inmate search that shows current charges, bond amount, and booking details.⁸

Cash bonds are posted at the Volusia County Branch Jail, 1300 Red John Drive, Daytona Beach, FL 32124.⁹ The facility operates around the clock, but there is an overnight catch. Inmates are not released between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. unless a responsible party is physically on-site to transport them off the property.¹⁰ Payment can be made with cash at the clerk window or through a kiosk that accepts credit and debit cards for a convenience fee.¹¹

Once payment clears, administrative release typically takes two to four hours depending on volume and staffing.¹² The person posting bond gets a receipt and paperwork with the defendant’s upcoming court dates. Keep that documentation.

Cash Bond vs. Surety Bond

A cash bond is the full amount paid directly to the jail or clerk. When the case ends, the clerk refunds the cash to whoever posted it, but only after withholding enough to cover any unpaid court costs, prosecution costs, representation fees, and criminal penalties.¹³ Every cash bond form carries a notice that funds are subject to forfeiture and withholding.

A surety bond is written by a licensed bail bond agent who posts the full amount for a non-refundable premium. In Florida, that premium is 10% of the bond.¹⁴ On a $2,500 third-degree felony bond, that is $250 you will not get back regardless of how the case ends. The agent may also require collateral such as property titles, vehicle titles, or certificates of deposit.

Whoever co-signs for a surety bond, called the indemnitor, is on the hook for the full bond amount plus the agent’s recovery costs if the defendant skips court. Understand that exposure before signing.

What Happens If the Defendant Misses Court

The clerk enters a bond forfeiture the moment the defendant fails to appear at the required time and place, and the court issues a warrant.¹⁵ If a surety bond was used, the clerk must notify the bond agent and surety company within five days, and the forfeiture must be paid within sixty days of that notice.

A defendant who shows up later the same day may still save the bond, because the judge has discretion to set aside a forfeiture if the appearance happened on the required day. Appearing any day after the required date counts as a forfeiture, and the court cannot block the clerk from entering it.

Within the sixty-day window, the court can discharge the forfeiture on limited grounds: the absence was caused by circumstances genuinely beyond the defendant’s control, the defendant was confined in a hospital or detention facility in another jurisdiction, the defendant was deported, or the defendant died. A bail agent who surrenders or locates the defendant within sixty days can also have the forfeiture discharged, provided the agent pays the costs of returning the defendant.

Getting a Cash Bond Refund

When the case ends, whether by dismissal, acquittal, or completion of a sentence, the clerk refunds the cash bond to whoever originally posted it. The refund is not necessarily the full amount. Florida law requires the clerk to deduct outstanding court costs, prosecution costs, court-appointed attorney fees, and criminal penalties first.¹³ If the bond does not cover all of those costs, the clerk either collects the difference from the defendant or sets up a payment plan.

Keep the bond receipt and contact the Volusia County Clerk of Court if a refund check does not arrive within a reasonable time after the case closes. Changing the name or address on the refund typically requires a notarized assignment and valid photo identification.

1
Florida Supreme Court. AOSC25-69 – In Re: Uniform Statewide Bond Schedule
2
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 903.011 – Pretrial Release
3
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 741.2901 – Domestic Violence Cases
4
Florida Courts. Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure 3.130
5
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 907.041 – Pretrial Detention
6
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 903.046 – Purpose of and Criteria for Bail Determination
7
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 903.047 – Conditions of Pretrial Release
8
Volusia County. Corrections
9
Volusia County. Contact Information
10
Volusia County. Jail and Bond Information
11
Volusia County. Inmate Accounts and Mail Procedures
12
Volusia County. Frequently Asked Questions
13
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 903.286 – Return of Cash Bond
14
Florida Department of Financial Services. Bail Bonds Overview
15
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 903.26 – Forfeiture of the Bond