Often you will not need to. Under the Los Angeles Superior Court’s Pre-Arraignment Release Protocol, many lower-level misdemeanor and felony bookings carry $0 bail, and the person is released on a promise to appear, sometimes with conditions, either right away or after a magistrate’s review. Money bail applies mainly to serious or violent charges and certain sentencing enhancements, and a few charges bar release before arraignment altogether.
First, confirm the person is actually in custody
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department runs the Inmate Information Center, an online search by name and date of birth. The site warns that records are not available for bookings made within the last 2 hours, and it requires solving a reCAPTCHA. You can also call the inmate information line listed on the LASD Custody FAQ to get a booking number; have the person’s complete name and date of birth or date of arrest ready.
Does this booking require bail money?
The court’s 2026 Felony Bail Schedule (effective January 1, 2026) contains the county’s Pre-Arraignment Release Protocol, which has governed release before arraignment since October 1, 2023. Each eligible offense carries one of three $0-bail designations:
- Cite and Release (CR): released at the time of arrest on a promise to appear at arraignment.
- Book and Release (BR): released after booking at a police station or other facility on a promise to appear.
- Magistrate Review (MR): still $0 bail, but a magistrate decides any release conditions first.
Two exceptions send a CR or BR booking to a magistrate instead: the person was on felony probation, parole, or post-release community supervision at the time of the offense, or, for certain offenses, the person failed to appear in court three or more times in the three years before the arrest, resulting in warrants. The court publishes a separate misdemeanor bail schedule for misdemeanor offenses.
If the case goes to magistrate review
For an MR booking, a magistrate (the court keeps them on duty around the clock) considers the known facts and a risk assessment report, then either releases the person on their own recognizance, releases them on $0 bail with the least restrictive non-financial conditions needed, or defers release until arraignment. Deferral requires a finding, by clear and convincing evidence, that public or victim safety or the person’s appearance in court cannot reasonably be assured with non-financial conditions, unless the person is otherwise ineligible for release by statute. A person who does not accept the conditions stays in custody until arraignment.
When money bail is required
The schedule states plainly: “Zero-dollar bail is not available for serious or violent crimes.” It requires money bail for offenses listed in Penal Code section 1270.1 (serious and violent felonies other than residential burglary, plus specific domestic violence, stalking, felony criminal threat, witness intimidation, and protective-order offenses) and for charges alleging an enhancement of the kind listed in Penal Code section 1269b(e), such as weapon use or great bodily injury. Capital crimes and the other crimes the schedule lists under California Constitution article I, sections 12(a) to (c) and 28(f)(3), and Penal Code section 1270.5, are not eligible for release before arraignment at all.
For money-bail offenses, the schedule lists an amount. In the 2026 schedule (effective January 1, 2026), for example, assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm (Penal Code 245(a)(1)) is listed at $30,000, while assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury (245(a)(4)) is an MR offense at $0. Enhancements and qualifying prior convictions can add to the listed amount.
Asking for less before arraignment. For a person arrested without a warrant, the schedule says an attorney, friend, or family member may ask a magistrate for bail below the schedule, or for own-recognizance release, by calling the court’s Pre-Arraignment Support Unit (the number is printed in the schedule) within two hours of booking. Penal Code section 1269c allows that request except for offenses listed in section 1270.1(a), which need a hearing in open court. Two hours is short, and it overlaps the period when the online locator may not yet show the booking.
Paying safely. LASD says its personnel “will never ask for payment over the phone or by email” and that financial transactions with the department are handled at patrol stations, courthouses, and custody facilities. It warns that impostors tell people to settle a supposed legal problem by “posting bail” with gift cards or Bitcoin (LASD scam warning). Confirm the amount and how to pay with the facility holding the person, a licensed bail agent, or a lawyer before you hand money to anyone.
Arraignment resets the question
Pre-arraignment release orders do not bind the judge at arraignment, which the schedule says typically happens within 48 hours of arrest unless a weekend or holiday closes the court. At arraignment the judge has the full range of bail and custody options. In In re Humphrey (2021) 11 Cal.5th 135, which the schedule cites for its $0-bail approach, the California Supreme Court said “the common practice of conditioning freedom solely on whether an arrestee can afford bail is unconstitutional,” and held that when money bail is necessary, the court must consider the arrestee’s ability to pay. For how that hearing works, see the firm’s overview of bail hearings.
Practical next steps
- Confirm custody and the booking number, by phone if the online search has not caught up.
- Check the charge’s designation (CR, BR, MR, or a dollar amount). If money bail applies and the charge is not a section 1270.1(a) offense, the two-hour window to ask a magistrate for less starts at booking.
- Pay only through the facility, the court, or a licensed bail agent, never a caller, and bring information about what the person can afford to arraignment.
The Law Offices of David S. Chesley can look at the booking charge and custody status with you and explain which release path fits. Call (800) 755-5174.