Orange County Bail Schedule Explained

The Orange County bail schedule is the document that decides what bail is before anyone sees a judge. This page explains how it is built, how to read it, what happens when a charge is not listed in it, and where a judge can depart from it. It summarizes and explains the schedule — it does not reproduce it, and the official PDF is linked in full below.

Where the schedule comes from

Penal Code § 1269b(c) requires the superior court judges in each county 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. Subdivision (d) lets a court set the procedure by local rule; absent one, a majority of the judges adopt it.

Subdivision (e) tells them how. In adopting the felony schedule, the judges shall consider the seriousness of the offense charged, and shall assign an additional amount of required bail for each aggravating or enhancing factor chargeable in the complaint. That is why the figure quoted at a jail is often higher than the base entry for the code section.

Once adopted, the schedule is sent to the officer in charge of the county jail, to the officer in charge of each city jail in the county, to every superior court judge and commissioner in the county, and to the Judicial Council.

How to read it

The schedule is a list of code sections with dollar amounts, plus a set of general provisions at the front that do most of the real work. Four things to check, in this order:

1. Find the section as booked, not as you think the charge should be described. The schedule keys off code sections.
2. Check the subdivision. Penal Code § 245(a)(1) and § 245(a)(2) are different figures for what a family would describe the same way.
3. Check for enhancements and priors, which are added on top.
4. Check whether § 1270.1 applies, because if it does, the scheduled figure cannot simply be posted.

Felony figures for the charges we are called about most

From the 2026 edition. These are illustrative, not a substitute for the schedule itself.

What happens when a charge is not listed

This is the provision almost nobody outside the courthouse knows about, and it explains a great deal of apparent inconsistency.

Where a felony section has no individual entry, the Orange County schedule sets the presumptive amount from the state prison top term potential for the offense, using a general guideline table:

Several common firearm sections fall into this category rather than carrying a tabulated figure — Penal Code § 29800 among them. It is why two people booked the same night on what sounds like the same weapons charge can be quoted very different numbers. See weapons charges.

For misdemeanors not specifically listed, the schedule directs the use of the most current Judicial Council Uniform Bail and Penalty Schedule; where that too gives no guidance, bail defaults to $500.

Enhancements, priors and multiple counts

• One strike prior — $100,000.
• Two strike priors — $200,000. The schedule provides that where two or more strike priors are documented on non-serious or non-violent felony charges, bail is enhanced at $200,000.
• Multiple counts — the highest bail amount for any one felony offense, plus enhancement, applies. Felony bails do not stack count by count.
• Misdemeanors and infractions — these bails do not accumulate.

The practical effect is that a long complaint does not automatically produce an enormous figure, but a single strike prior can more than double it.

When the schedule cannot simply be posted

The Orange County schedule carries an express note about Penal Code § 1270.1: for violent felonies, serious felonies and specified domestic violence offenses — including corporal injury of a spouse, cohabitant, former spouse or cohabitant — a person may not be released on bail in an amount either more or less than the schedule, or on own recognizance, until a hearing has been held in open court.

That hearing requires two court days’ written notice to the prosecutor and the defense, an opportunity to be heard, appointed counsel if the detained person has none, and it takes place within the time prescribed by Penal Code § 825. The court considers past court appearances, the maximum potential sentence, and the danger posed by release, including threats made and past acts of violence.

This is the single biggest reason domestic violence arrests in Orange County take longer than families expect. It is a statute, not a delay anyone chose. More on the hearing itself: bail reduction hearings.

Where judicial discretion begins

The schedule binds the jail, not the judge. Penal Code § 1289 allows the court in which the charge is pending to increase or reduce bail on good cause shown. Penal Code § 1275 sets the factors, with public safety as the primary consideration — and § 1275(c) requires a finding of unusual circumstances, stated on the record, before bail is reduced below the county schedule for a serious felony under § 1192.7(c) or a violent felony under § 667.5(c). The statute adds that prior court appearances and the absence of new offenses do not, by themselves, count as unusual circumstances.

In the other direction, § 1270.1(e) permits a judge or magistrate, under § 1269c, to increase bail above the schedule without a hearing on a sworn peace officer’s declaration of facts justifying the increase, given under penalty of perjury.

Holds that sit on top of the schedule

A scheduled figure is not a guarantee of release. Independent of the amount:

• A warrant from another case or county has to be dealt with separately.
• A probation or parole hold is usually controlled by the court.
• A source-of-funds hold under Penal Code § 1275.1 stops bail being accepted until a judge is satisfied about where the money came from.
• A federal immigration detainer is outside the state system entirely.

Penal Code § 1269b(g) is explicit: posting bail discharges the person from custody as to the offense on which the bail is posted. Nothing more.

How Orange County compares with Los Angeles County

Orange County runs a conventional dollar schedule with no pre-arraignment release protocol. Los Angeles County, since 1 October 2023, designates most non-violent, non-serious offenses for release at $0 bail before arraignment, retaining money bail for domestic violence, nearly all serious or violent felonies, and constitutionally excluded offenses.

Two consequences worth holding on to. First, the same conduct can produce a completely different night depending on which side of the county line the arrest happened — and it is the city of arrest that decides, not where the person lives. Second, for domestic violence the counties converge: both require a § 1270.1 hearing, and the Los Angeles figures for § 273.5 are at or above Orange County’s.

See the Los Angeles County bail schedule and pre-arraignment release.

What a bail agent can and cannot do

Can: read the schedule against the charge as booked, including enhancements; tell you whether § 1270.1 applies; check for warrants and holds; post the bond at any hour.

Cannot: change a scheduled figure, obtain a reduction, remove a hold, or predict a judge’s decision.

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 Orange County and Los Angeles County can price the same charge very differently. See how California bail schedules work.

Common misunderstandings

• “The schedule is the final bail.” It is the pre-arraignment figure. A judge can change it under § 1289.
• “Ten charges means ten bails.” No — the highest single felony amount plus enhancement applies, and misdemeanor bails do not accumulate.
• “If the charge is not in the schedule there is no bail.” The opposite: it is set from the state prison top term potential.
• “I can pay the schedule amount and he walks out.” Not where § 1270.1 requires a hearing first, and not where a hold exists.
• “Orange County and LA County are basically the same.” They are not, and this is the mistake that costs families the most.

Related pages

Facilities: Intake Release Center, Theo Lacy, all Orange County jails. Courts: North Justice Center, Central Justice Center, all Orange County courts. Process: how bail works in California, what a bond costs.

Questions we are asked about the schedule

What is the Orange County bail schedule?

The uniform countywide schedule of bail adopted and annually revised by the superior court judges under Penal Code § 1269b(c). The current edition is effective 1 January 2026.

What if the charge is not on the schedule?

For felonies, bail is set from the state prison top term potential using the schedule’s general guideline table. For misdemeanors not listed, the Judicial Council Uniform Bail and Penalty Schedule applies, and failing that, $500.

Do bail amounts add up across multiple charges?

For felonies, the highest bail amount for any one offense, plus enhancement, applies. Misdemeanor and infraction bails do not accumulate.

How much do strike priors add?

The schedule provides $100,000 for one strike prior and $200,000 for two, and provides that where two or more strike priors are documented on non-serious or non-violent felony charges the bail is enhanced at $200,000.

Can I post the scheduled amount on a domestic violence arrest?

Not before the hearing Penal Code § 1270.1 requires for the offenses it lists, which include corporal injury to a spouse, cohabitant or former spouse or cohabitant.

How often does the schedule change?

Annually. Penal Code § 1269b(c) requires the judges to revise it each year.

Related