Orange County

Nearly three decades in these courts and jails

American Freedom Bail Bonds has been posting bail across Orange County since October 1997. We run three licensed offices — in Anaheim, Brea and La Habra — and a real person answers the phone 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

If someone you care about has just been arrested, you do not need to read this whole page. Call us. We will find out where they are being held, what the bail amount is, and what it will take to get them released.

Because bail is posted at the jail rather than at our office, we help families throughout the county — and into the neighbouring Los Angeles County communities near our La Habra office.

Start here

Find what you need

Everything below links straight through to the detail. If you already know what you are looking for, jump to it.

WhereCities & AreasThe Orange County communities we cover, city by city, with the local police department and courthouse for each.Browse citiesCourtOrange County CourthousesWhich of the four justice centers hears the case, where it is, and what to expect when you arrive.See courthousesCustodyJails & Inmate InformationWhere people are held after an Orange County arrest, and how to find someone who is in custody right now.Find someoneUsOur 3 OfficesAnaheim, Brea and La Habra — addresses, phone numbers and directions for each licensed office.Office locationsChargesBail ServicesGuidance by charge — domestic violence, DUI, felony, misdemeanor, drug charges and warrants.All services

What happens after an arrest in Orange County

Most people calling us have never dealt with the jail system before. The sequence is usually the same, and knowing it makes the wait far less frightening.

1. Arrest and transport. A city police department makes the arrest. Some cities hold people briefly in their own facility; others transport straight to county custody.
2. Booking. Fingerprints, photograph, property inventory and a records check. Booking commonly takes several hours, and no one can be bailed out until it is finished.
3. Bail is set. Most charges have a bail amount attached under the county bail schedule. Some do not, and some arrests carry a hold that prevents release regardless of money. We will tell you honestly which situation you are in.
4. The bond is posted. Once we have the paperwork signed and the bond posted at the correct facility, the jail begins the release process.
5. Release. Release timing is controlled by the jail, not by us. It can take anywhere from a couple of hours to considerably longer depending on how busy the facility is.
6. First court date. The arraignment happens at whichever justice center covers the city where the arrest occurred.

Orange County courthouses

Which courthouse handles a case depends on where the arrest took place. These are the Superior Court of California, County of Orange justice centers that hear criminal and traffic matters.

Those are the justice centers where criminal and traffic cases from each city are filed. Felony trials are assigned to whichever justice center has a courtroom available, so a felony case can be tried at a different building. Source: the court’s own Court Designation List, revised 30 June 2025.

Two other Orange County facilities are easy to confuse with the four above. The Lamoreaux Justice Center at 341 The City Drive South in Orange handles juvenile and family matters rather than adult criminal cases. The Costa Mesa Justice Complex at 3390 Harbor Blvd hears certain criminal matters but, according to the court, does not handle traffic.

Every justice center is a full security facility. You will pass through a weapons screening device and your belongings will be x-rayed. Knives, scissors, mace and pepper spray are not permitted, so leave them in your vehicle. Criminal and traffic divisions are generally open Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Our three offices all sit inside the North Justice Center area — Anaheim, Brea and La Habra are three of the eight cities it serves. That is the corner of the county we know best.

Where people are held in Orange County

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department operates the county jail system. Which facility someone is in depends on where they were arrested and how far along the process is.

• Intake Release Center — 550 N Flower St, Santa Ana. The county’s main booking and release point, and where most Orange County arrests are processed. The Sheriff’s Department lists bond acceptance here as 24 hours a day.
• Theo Lacy Facility — 501 The City Drive South, Orange. The Sheriff’s Department lists bond acceptance here as daily 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
• James A. Musick Facility — 13420 Alton Parkway, Irvine. Bonds are not posted here.

The Sheriff’s Department states that bonds are accepted at the Intake Release Center and Theo Lacy only, and that a person bringing a bond will be fingerprinted and identified unless they are a licensed bail agent. Note that a facility’s bond acceptance hours are not the same as its jail cashiering hours, which run later at Theo Lacy. Hours can change — we confirm them before we travel.

Several cities also operate their own short-term holding facilities before transferring people to county custody. If you are not certain where someone is, call us, or start with our find an inmate guide. Locating a person in custody is one of the first things we do, and there is no charge for it.

All three offices serve the whole county, so if you are not sure which to call, any of them will help you. Open 24 hours, 7 days a week. California bail licence number 1841014. Full details for each office: Anaheim, Brea and La Habra.

What a bail bond costs

A bail bond premium is a percentage of the full bail amount, and the rate is governed by a schedule filed with the California Department of Insurance. Rather than quote a number here that may not fit your situation, we will give you the exact figure on the phone once we know the bail amount and the charge.

We offer payment plans and financing where the circumstances allow. If affordability is the thing standing in your way, say so on the call — it is a normal conversation for us and there are usually more options than people expect. You can review our payment options before you call.

The cities we serve

Anaheim, Brea and La Habra are the only locations where American Freedom Bail Bonds has a physical office.

We serve clients well beyond those three cities. Where we do not have an office, we say so plainly and tell you which of our three offices is handling your case. See our service areas for the communities we cover, or our office locations for addresses and directions.

Orange County is large enough that the practical detail differs by area, so we keep a short guide for each: north Orange County around Fullerton and Buena Park, central Orange County around Santa Ana and Orange, west Orange County from Cypress down to Costa Mesa, south Orange County along the I-5 corridor, and the south coast from Newport Beach to San Clemente.

Why families call us

• Serving Southern California since 1997. Nearly three decades of working with these specific courts and jails.
• Three real offices. Anaheim, Brea and La Habra — not a call centre routing you somewhere else.
• Available 24/7. Arrests do not keep business hours, and neither do we.
• Licensed in California. Bail licence number 1841014.
• Straight answers. If a bond will not solve your problem, we will tell you that instead of taking your money.

You can read what our clients have said on our testimonials page, or learn more about our company.

What to do right now

1. Write down what you know — full name and date of birth of the person arrested, roughly when and where it happened, and which agency arrested them.
2. Call us. We will locate them and confirm the bail amount.
3. Have one person co-sign. Usually a family member with stable local ties. We will explain exactly what co-signing means before anyone commits.
4. Ask every question you have. There is no such thing as a stupid question at two in the morning, and we would much rather answer it now.

More answers are on our frequently asked questions page and in our California bail bond resources. If you would rather write to us first, use our contact page.

The charges we handle

Charge-specific guidance is under bail bond services — domestic violence, DUI, felony, misdemeanor, drug charges and warrants. Cost options are on payment plans. Court detail is on Orange County courthouses.