Updated September 2026
A domestic violence arrest works differently from almost every other charge in Florida, and the difference catches families out every single day. Nobody gets bonded out at the jail window. The person is held until a judge sees them. Call (407) 254-5554 and we will explain exactly where your case sits and be ready the moment bond is set.
Why you cannot bond them out right now
Florida Statute 741.2901(3) says it plainly. When a defendant is arrested for an act of domestic violence, the defendant shall be held in custody until brought before the court for admittance to bail.
There is no bond schedule amount to pay, no paperwork that speeds it up, and no bail agent in Florida who can get around it. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling you something. The Orange and Osceola bond schedule says the same thing in its own words: domestic violence offenses must be set by a judge at first appearance.
First appearance is normally held within 24 hours of the arrest, including weekends and holidays. That is the hearing where the bond is set.
What counts as domestic violence
It is not a separate crime. It is a label that attaches to an underlying charge when the people involved are family or household members. Florida Statute 741.28 defines it as any assault, aggravated assault, battery, aggravated battery, sexual assault, sexual battery, stalking, aggravated stalking, kidnapping, false imprisonment, or any criminal offense resulting in physical injury or death of one family or household member by another.
Family or household member covers spouses, former spouses, people related by blood or marriage, people living together as a family now or in the past, and people who have a child in common. With the exception of parents of a child in common, they must be living together now or have lived together before in the same dwelling.
So a battery charge between roommates who are family, or between a couple who split up last year, carries the domestic violence label. The same battery between two strangers in a bar does not.
What happens at first appearance
A judge reviews the arrest report and sets the bond. Florida law requires the court to consider the safety of the alleged victim, their children, and anyone else who might be in danger if the person is released.
The judge will usually attach conditions along with the bond. A no contact order is the common one, which means no calls, no texts, no messages through other people, and often no going back to a shared home. Those conditions are part of the release, not a suggestion. Breaking one gets the bond revoked and the person back in jail, and that second time is much harder.
Bond amounts vary a lot here, because the judge is setting them case by case rather than reading off a schedule.
What we do while you wait
We look up the case, confirm the charges and the first appearance time, and have the paperwork ready so that the moment a bond is set we can post it rather than starting from scratch. Most of the delay families experience at this stage is paperwork that could have been done during the wait.
Once the bond is set, the premium is 10% of the amount, as Florida law requires. We take cards, Zelle and Cash App through Square, and we have payment plans.
Two things families ask us constantly
Can the alleged victim drop it? No. Once the arrest is made, whether the case goes forward is the State Attorney’s decision, not the other person’s. They can tell the prosecutor what they want, and it may carry weight, but they cannot call it off.
Can they go home afterwards? Only if the judge allows it. If there is a no contact order covering a shared address, the person needs somewhere else to stay on the night they are released. Work that out before the bond is posted, not in the parking lot.
What we need to get started
- The full name and date of birth of the person in jail.
- Which county they are in.
- A phone number we can reach you on.
That is enough for us to look up the case, confirm the real bond amount and tell you exactly what it costs before you pay anything. Call (407) 254-5554. Our Orlando office is across the street from the Orange County Jail and we answer 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Rather not call? Start here
Tell us who is in jail and where. Our team calls you straight back, any hour of the day.
Other counties
We write bonds across Central Florida. Orange and Osceola share one bond schedule. Seminole, Brevard and other counties set their own, so the number can be different for the same charge. We have offices in Kissimmee and Sanford, and we post bonds across Brevard County by phone.
Related reading
- What bail actually costs in Florida, and the two laws that decide it.
- When does my obligation as a cosigner end?
General information, not legal advice. Bond amounts change and a judge can always set a different amount than the schedule.