The Superior Court of Riverside County’s bail schedule decides it. The schedule puts every offense in one of four release categories. Cite and Release (CR) and Book and Release (BR) mean no bail has to be posted, only a signed promise to appear. Pre-Arraignment Review (PAR) and Arraignment Review (AR) carry a scheduled bail amount that can be posted at any time; otherwise a judicial officer reviews bail and custody at arraignment. The charge’s listed category is the starting point, but a prior failure to appear or another hold can take CR or BR off the table.

Which schedule applies, and since when

The court’s current 2025 Felony and Misdemeanor Bail Schedule gives two dates. Its cover shows an effective date of October 20, 2025. Its text says the court “adopts this bail schedule effective October 24, 2025,” and that from that date the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office may release anyone charged with a CR or BR offense on a signed promise to appear.

The four release categories

  • Cite and Release (CR): no bail has to be posted. “Arrestees must sign a promise to appear in court as required by Penal Code section 1318.”
  • Book and Release (BR): also no bail, but the person “must be booked by the arresting agency” and signs the same section 1318 promise to appear for arraignment.
  • Pre-Arraignment Review (PAR): bail is set at the scheduled amount and can be posted at any time. The category is meant to give a person who has not posted bail a magistrate’s review of bail and custody before arraignment, but the schedule says that review depends on technology not yet in place: “Until such time as that technology is implemented, crimes designated as PAR are treated as AR.” The schedule lists the start date for that review as “to be determined.”
  • Arraignment Review (AR): bail is set at the scheduled amount and can be posted at any time. At arraignment, a judicial officer reviews bail and custody under Penal Code section 1275, which requires considering the protection of the public, the seriousness of the charge, the defendant’s criminal record, and the probability of appearing at trial or hearings. Under that section, “the public safety shall be the primary consideration.”

A real example from the schedule

In the October 2025 schedule’s Vehicle Code table, misdemeanor DUI under Vehicle Code section 23152 is listed as CR, with bail of $2,500; the same misdemeanor with one or more prior convictions is BR, at $5,000. A felony DUI under the same section is PAR, at $20,000. For a CR or BR offense, the listed amount matters only if an exception moves the case into PAR, which is currently handled as AR.

When CR or BR does not apply

Rule 3 of the schedule says CR and BR “do not apply if other factors exist,” such as “a prior failure to appear or other holds apart from the current arrest, which would prohibit release.” Once the arresting agency reports such a factor, “the offense category changes to PAR,” which is currently handled as AR. If one case includes counts in different categories, the strictest category controls; separate cases are assessed separately. Misdemeanors the schedule does not list are CR, and felonies it does not list are PAR.

The state law behind cite and release

Riverside’s categories sit on top of state law. Under Penal Code section 853.6, in the version in effect until January 1, 2031, a person arrested for a misdemeanor who does not demand to see a magistrate “shall, instead of being taken before a magistrate, be released” on a written notice to appear, although the officer may book the person first. The statute lists reasons an officer may decline to release, including intoxication that could endanger the person or others, a need for medical care, outstanding warrants, no satisfactory identification, a reasonable likelihood the offense would continue or that people or property would be endangered, reason to believe the person would not appear, an offense covered by Penal Code section 1270.1, and a store theft citation, arrest, or conviction in the previous six months. Certain domestic violence arrests follow separate rules. Riverside’s schedule also applies CR and BR to a number of felonies, which section 853.6 does not cover.

Practical next steps

  • Ask the arresting agency or the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office which category the charge carries, or have a lawyer check the schedule.
  • For a CR or BR charge, ask whether a prior failure to appear or another hold could move it to PAR.
  • For a PAR or AR charge, expect to post the scheduled amount or wait for arraignment, because PAR does not yet provide an early magistrate review. For what happens when a judge reviews bail, see the firm’s overview of bail hearings.
  • After a warrantless arrest on a bailable felony, Penal Code section 1269c lets the arrested person, or a lawyer, friend, or family member, ask a magistrate before arraignment for lower bail or own-recognizance release, except for offenses listed in section 1270.1(a). The schedule calls these requests bail deviations.
  • After arraignment, a motion for bail reduction is a separate step.

To work out which category applies to a Riverside County arrest, and whether a hold or an earlier missed court date changes it, call the Law Offices of David S. Chesley at (800) 755-5174.