Los Angeles County Bail Schedule Explained

The Los Angeles County bail schedules do two jobs at once. For a minority of offenses they set a dollar figure, exactly as any county schedule does. For the majority they instead assign a pre-arraignment release designation — and the bail is $0. Reading one without understanding the other is how families end up paying for a bond they never needed. This page explains the structure; the official PDFs are linked in full below.

Where the schedule comes from

The same statute governs every California county. Penal Code § 1269b(c) requires the superior court judges to prepare, adopt and annually revise a uniform countywide schedule of bail for all bailable felony offenses and for all misdemeanor and infraction offenses except Vehicle Code infractions, considering the seriousness of the offense and assigning an additional amount for each aggravating or enhancing factor chargeable.

What makes Los Angeles County distinct is what its judges chose to put in that schedule. Since 1 October 2023 the schedules have carried Pre-Arraignment Release Protocols, and the current editions are effective 1 January 2026.

How to read an entry

Each offense carries either a dollar amount or one of three designations:

• CR — cite and release. Cited and released at the location of arrest on a promise to appear, at $0 bail, unless an exception applies.
• BR — book and release. Booked into a law enforcement facility and then released on a promise to appear, at $0 bail, unless an exception applies.
• MR — magistrate review. $0 bail, with non-financial conditions determined by a magistrate available around the clock. Used for offenses posing greater public risk and for certain felony probation violations.

Some entries carry neither — a dollar figure with a reference to Penal Code § 1270.1, which means a hearing in open court is required before release on own recognizance or on any amount other than the schedule.

The general provisions that do the heavy lifting

• Felony offenses with no entry. The 2026 felony schedule provides that where a crime has no specific schedule entry, bail shall be set at $0 and the offense designated BR.
• Misdemeanors with no entry. The 2026 misdemeanor schedule provides that a misdemeanor not otherwise listed shall be set at $0 and designated CR.
• More than one offense. The pre-arraignment release protocol is determined by the strictest release protocol designated among the offenses. One serious charge governs the whole booking.
• At arraignment. All release conditions set before arraignment are reconsidered by the judge presiding over the arraignment.

Compare Orange County, where an unlisted felony is not $0 at all — it is set from the state prison top term potential. That single difference is the sharpest divergence between the two schedules.

What stays on money bail

Three categories are excluded from the protocols: domestic violence offenses; nearly all serious or violent felonies; and capital offenses and certain felonies excluded under article I, section 12 of the California Constitution.

Selected 2026 figures from the schedules for offenses in and around those categories:

The § 273.5 annotation is the clearest illustration of how the schedule works. It is not given a release designation at all, because Penal Code § 1270.1(a)(2) requires a hearing in open court first. No protocol can override a statute.

Orange County and Los Angeles County side by side

Read the bottom three rows together and the pattern is clear. On serious and domestic violence charges the two counties are broadly aligned. On everything else they are not remotely alike — and it is the city of arrest that decides which applies, not where anyone lives. An arrest in La Mirada, Whittier or Norwalk is a Los Angeles County matter.

Enhancements and judicial discretion

Enhancement amounts are added per person per case, except where offenses involve separate victims or separate dates. Above the schedule, the same statewide rules apply as anywhere in California: Penal Code § 1289 lets the court increase or reduce bail on good cause shown, § 1275 makes public safety the primary consideration, and § 1275(c) requires a finding of unusual circumstances on the record before bail is reduced below the schedule for a serious or violent felony. See bail reduction hearings.

Holds still apply

A $0 designation is not a promise of release. A warrant from another case or county, a probation or parole hold, a source-of-funds hold under Penal Code § 1275.1, or a federal immigration detainer all sit on top of whatever the schedule says. Penal Code § 1269b(g) discharges a person only as to the offense on which bail was posted.

What a bail agent can and cannot do

Can: tell you whether the offense as booked is designated for release or carries a figure; check for warrants and holds the schedule does not address; post a bond where one is genuinely needed; tell you when you do not need one.

Cannot: change a designation, influence a magistrate’s conditions, or affect what happens at arraignment.

Why this schedule exists at all

Penal Code 1269b requires the judges of each county to adopt and annually revise a countywide schedule — which is why Los Angeles County and Orange County can price the same charge very differently. See how California bail schedules work.

Common misunderstandings

• “LA has no bail any more.” It has no money bail for most non-violent, non-serious offenses before arraignment. Money bail is intact for domestic violence and for nearly all serious and violent felonies.
• “$0 bail means the case is over.” It does not. The prosecution still decides what to file, and there is still a court date.
• “If it is not on the schedule, there is no bail anywhere.” True in Los Angeles County; the opposite in Orange County.
• “He lives in Orange County so OC rules apply.” No. The city of arrest decides.
• “The worst charge sets the amount.” For the release protocol, the strictest designation among the offenses governs — which is not always the charge a family would consider the worst.

Related pages

Facilities: Inmate Reception Center, Century Regional Detention Facility, all Los Angeles County facilities. Courts: Norwalk, Whittier, all Los Angeles County courthouses. Process: pre-arraignment release, how bail works in California.

Questions we are asked about the LA schedule

What is the Los Angeles County bail schedule?

The uniform countywide schedule of bail adopted and annually revised by the superior court judges under Penal Code § 1269b(c), published as separate felony and misdemeanor schedules. The current editions are effective 1 January 2026 and incorporate the Pre-Arraignment Release Protocols.

What do CR, BR and MR mean?

Cite and release, book and release, and magistrate review. The first two mean $0 bail and release on a promise to appear; the third means $0 bail with non-financial conditions set by a magistrate.

What if a charge is not on the LA County schedule?

A felony with no specific entry is set at $0 and designated BR. A misdemeanor not otherwise listed is set at $0 and designated CR.

Which offenses still require money bail in LA County?

Domestic violence offenses, nearly all serious or violent felonies, and capital offenses and certain felonies excluded under article I, section 12 of the California Constitution.

What happens when someone is booked on several charges?

The strictest release protocol designated among the offenses determines the outcome.

Is the LA County schedule the same as Orange County’s?

No. The two are broadly aligned on serious and domestic violence charges and very different everywhere else, principally because Los Angeles County applies pre-arraignment release protocols and Orange County does not.