How to Get Someone Out of Jail Fast in Central Florida

Three Things Decide How Fast Someone Gets Out

Your part is making sure the bond is ready the moment bail is set. That is where most lost time comes from.

1. Booking has to finish. The person is fingerprinted, photographed and entered into the system before bail can be posted.
2. Bail has to be set. Many charges have an amount on the county bond schedule and can be bonded right after booking. Others, like domestic violence and many felonies, wait for a judge at first appearance.
3. The jail processes the release. After the bond is posted, release time is up to the jail, and each county publishes different figures.

Steps That Save the Most Time

1. Get their full legal name and date of birth. A booking number helps if you have it.
2. Find out which county arrested them. That decides the jail, the bond schedule and the court times.
3. Look them up in the county’s official inmate search. Orange County’s updates every 30 minutes and shows the charges and the bond once it’s set.
4. Call a bondsman while booking is still going, not after. Coach Franklin Bail Bonds answers 24/7 at (407) 321-2663.
5. Do the paperwork by phone or online. You don’t have to drive to an office, and the bond is ready when bail is set.
6. If a cosigner is needed, have them available by phone so they can sign too.
7. Have a ride waiting. Volusia County does not release people from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. unless someone is there to pick them up.

What Slows a Release Down

• A charge that needs a judge. It waits for the next first appearance hearing, which runs once a day on weekends and court holidays.
• A DUI arrest. Florida holds the person until they are no longer impaired, their alcohol level is below 0.05, or 8 hours have passed (Fla. Stat. 316.193(9)).
• Headcount and meals. Orange County does not release people during headcount and meals, about 5:00–7:30 a.m. and p.m.
• Paying the jail directly with cash. If you post a cash bond yourself, the Orange County Booking & Release Center and the Osceola County jail do not take cash. When a bondsman posts the bond, you pay the bondsman instead.
• A hold from another county or agency. The person stays until that hold is resolved, even after bail is posted.

First Appearance Times by County

If the charge needs a judge, this is when bail gets set:

• Seminole County: 2:00 p.m. on weekdays, 9:00 a.m. on weekends and holidays. Booked after 7:00 a.m. on a weekday (2:00 a.m. on a weekend) means the next day’s docket.
• Orange County: 9:00 a.m. or 1:00 p.m. on weekdays, about 11:30 a.m. on weekends and holidays.
• Osceola County: typically 1:30 p.m. on weekdays, 11:00 a.m. by video on weekends and holidays.
• Volusia County: 1:30 p.m. on weekdays, 8:30 a.m. on weekends and holidays.

Release Times by Jail

These are the figures each county publishes for release after the bond is posted:

• Orange County: the bond process can take up to 12 hours.
• Osceola County: about 4 to 6 hours after the bond is paid, sometimes longer.
• Volusia County: about 2 to 4 hours once paperwork starts.
• Seminole County: no official figure; it depends on how busy booking is.