What Our San Antonio Clients Say About Us
Fast, Reliable Bail Services When You Need Them Most!
You just got the call. It’s the Bexar County Jail, or maybe it’s the detention center on South Frio, and someone you love is sitting in there right now. Could be your son. Your husband. Could be your kid sister, and you’re not even sure how she ended up in the system. That’s exactly what we do. McRae Bail Bonds posts bonds across San Antonio and Bexar County around the clock. Call (210) 533-5292.
Need help right now? Call us today and let’s get this handled.
Why San Antonio Families Call Us First!
John McRae has been writing bail bonds in San Antonio since the 1980s. McRae Bail Bonds has been licensed and active in Bexar County for over 30 years now, holding company license number 46 with the Bexar County Bail Bond Board. Our license runs through 2028, and we’ve kept a long-standing clean record with the board the whole way.
Call our number and you get John or somebody John trained personally. We pick up at 3 AM. We pick up on Christmas. Spanish-speaking families don’t have to wait around for an interpreter, because we have bilingual agents on the phones too. Beyond Bexar, we work cases in Comal, Guadalupe, Kendall, Atascosa, Wilson, and Medina Counties.
Almost 40 years in one city counts for something. We know which deputies work which shifts, which courts move quick, which ones drag. Payment plans are on the table when families need them, and the 10% you see is the 10% you pay. No add-ons, no admin fees, no surprises buried in the contract.
Bail Bond Jail & Detention Facilities in San Antonio TX
Half the time you don’t even know where they took him. The cop said something at the scene but you were too rattled to catch it, and now you’re sitting at the kitchen table wondering if he’s at the city detention center on South Frio or already moved over to the county on North Comal. Every minute spent guessing is a minute he’s still locked up.
San Antonio runs two main intake points and they don’t work the same way. City arrests usually start at the downtown detention center, and most folks then get walked over to the Bexar County Adult Detention Center at 200 N. Comal Street for full booking. Magistration happens at the South Tower within about 24 hours, but actual release after a bond posts can drag because of how Bexar County’s paperwork still moves.
We work both buildings regularly. John knows the deputies on shift, the intake clerks, and which forms get pushed through fastest. If your person ended up in Comal, Guadalupe, Kendall, Atascosa, Wilson, or Medina County instead, we work those jails too.
How Bail Bonds Work in San Antonio TX
Nobody hands you a manual when somebody you love gets arrested. Suddenly you’re hearing words like magistration, premium, surety, indemnitor, and your brain checks out. You need it explained in plain English so you can make a decision and move on with your day.
Here’s how it goes in Bexar County. Booking comes first, then a magistrate sets bail somewhere in the next 24 to 48 hours. By Texas law, the standard bond fee is 10% of the bail amount, and you don’t get that back. The wrinkle in San Antonio is the jail itself, since release can still take hours after we post the bond because of how Bexar processes things on their end.
Before you sign anything, we walk you through all of it. The 10%, the cosigner question, what works as collateral, what court dates are coming up. Some families pay it all upfront. Some put down a portion and pay the rest over a few months. Vehicle titles, property, we’ve worked with all of it.
Felony Bail Bonds in San Antonio TX
A felony charge changes the math entirely. Bail jumps into the tens of thousands and the conditions get tight fast. You don’t want somebody who’s going to be figuring this out as they go.
Felony cases in Bexar County run through the Cadena-Reeves Justice Center on Dolorosa Street, and the bonds reflect what’s at stake. Drug possession felonies, aggravated assault, weapons charges, all of these come with bigger numbers and stricter pretrial conditions through Bexar County Pretrial Services. Bonds in the $25,000 to $100,000 range happen on serious felony cases more often than people realize.
State jail felony all the way up to first-degree, we post bonds across the range. John has decades of experience working out payment plans and accepting collateral on bonds other companies won’t even quote. Once a judge sets the bond, we can usually write it.
Misdemeanor Bail Bonds in San Antonio TX
A misdemeanor on paper still means your sister spent the night in jail, and her job is on the line if she misses another shift. You want her out today. Not whenever the system feels like processing her.
Class A and Class B misdemeanors in Bexar County still go through the same booking and magistration setup at the county jail on North Comal. Bail amounts run lower, sure, but the release timing is the same long wait everyone deals with at this facility. Pushing paperwork through cleanly on our end is one of the things that helps move release along when the jail is ready to process it.
Theft, public intoxication, criminal trespass, evading, you name the Class A or B and we’ve posted bond on it. Same 10% fee structure as everything else, with payment plans built so the bond cost doesn’t punish a whole family. These cases are our daily bread.
DWI Bail Bonds in San Antonio TX
Maybe it happened on I-35. Maybe out near Loop 1604, or coming back from somewhere off I-10. Either way your son is sitting in jail, and the only thing you can think about right now is how this messes with his license, his job, and whatever’s left of his record.
DWI is one of the most common bookings in Bexar County, and bail amounts shift around based on whether it’s a first arrest, a repeat, or charged as a felony because of priors or a child in the vehicle. Most of these bonds carry conditions like an ignition interlock, no-alcohol orders, or pretrial supervision. Bexar County magistrates do not go easy on DWI, especially second and third offenses.
First-time DWI, repeat DWI, felony DWI with priors, we post bond on all of it. We also break down what conditions attach to the bond before you sign, so nobody gets caught off guard a week later. Almost 40 years of doing this, in this city specifically.
Domestic Violence Bail Bonds in San Antonio TX
Family violence cases come with extra strings attached. There’s usually a no-contact order, sometimes an emergency protective order from the magistrate, and your husband or wife may not be allowed back in the house once they’re out. You need a bondsman who actually understands the rules before you start making decisions.
Bexar County uses Magistrate’s Orders for Emergency Protection in family violence cases. These can run 31 to 91 days and include strict conditions about contact, where someone can stay, and firearms. Violating one becomes its own separate criminal charge. The Bexar County Family Justice Center coordinates with the courts on these, and the conditions are enforced strictly.
Assault family violence, continuous family violence, violations of protective orders, all of those bonds we post. Before release, we sit down and explain exactly what the no-contact terms mean, so the situation doesn’t escalate. Discretion isn’t a feature, it’s just how we work.
Assault Bail Bonds in San Antonio TX
Assault charges run from a bar fight to something a lot more serious, and the bail amount tracks that range. Right now you’re trying to figure out whether your brother is looking at a quick walk-out or weeks behind glass, and answers aren’t coming fast.
Assault is a huge slice of the Bexar County criminal docket. Simple assault, assault with bodily injury, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, assault on a public servant, all of those run through the same court system but the magistrate treats them very differently. Aggravated assault charges in San Antonio routinely come with bonds at $50,000 and up.
Whatever level the charge sits at, we post the bond and start the paperwork at the Bexar County Jail. The 10% rate is the 10% rate, period. No surprise fees waiting for you at the office.
Drug Charge Bail Bonds in San Antonio TX
Texas drug charges run from a small bag of weed all the way to serious controlled substance felonies. The bail depends on what was found, how much, and which penalty group it falls under. Meanwhile your family member is sitting in jail while you try to make sense of any of that.
Possession of a controlled substance is one of the most common bookings going into the Bexar County Adult Detention Center, especially substances in PG1 and PG1B, which carry felony weight even at small amounts. Penalty group, weight, and prior history all push the number around. Bexar County prosecutors do not treat drug cases as throwaways, so bonds can land all over the map.
Possession, possession with intent to distribute, manufacture and delivery, paraphernalia cases, we’ve handled all of it. Across every penalty group in Texas. We know how the local courts move drug cases, and we know how to push the bond through.
Why McRae Bail Bonds Gets Results
Bail bonds isn’t a complicated product, but everything around it is. Which magistrate is on the bench at the South Tower tonight. How long Bexar’s release queue is running at 11 PM on a Friday. Which forms the intake clerks at the Bexar County Adult Detention Center expect from a licensed bondsman. The job is the small operational stuff, and it adds up.
John’s been writing bonds in San Antonio since the 1980s. Your call goes to us, not to a call center out of state. When you reach McRae Bail Bonds, you’re talking to a person who knows the building your family member is in. We’re on file with the Bexar County Bail Bond Board as company license 46, and we’ve been on that list a long time now.
We don’t promise miracles. The jail moves at the jail’s own pace, and we’ll tell you that straight when you call. The 10% you’re quoted is what you’ll pay. The bond agreement gets walked through with you before any signature lands on it.
Forty years in Bexar County means we also know where things tend to fall apart. Families show up confused, the conditions of the bond don’t always get understood at booking, court appearances can slip through the cracks. We try to head that stuff off when the bond is written, not after.
Our Service Areas
Every neighborhood inside the city, we serve. Downtown, Southtown, Stone Oak, Alamo Heights, the Medical Center area, out toward Helotes and Universal City and Schertz. Arrests happen wherever they happen, and we don’t get picky about location. If somebody got picked up near the Pearl, off I-35, or way out in the suburbs, we know that jurisdiction.
Almost four decades working the local courts and jails has a way of teaching you things. That kind of familiarity takes time to build. Our service areas stretch outside Bexar into Comal County (New Braunfels), Guadalupe County (Seguin), Kendall County (Boerne), plus Atascosa, Wilson, and Medina Counties, and each one of those jails and courts has its own way of doing things.
Not sure if we cover the county where your person was arrested? Just call. If we can write the bond, we will, and if we can’t, we’ll tell you who to call instead.
About McRae Bail Bonds
McRae Bail Bonds is a licensed bail bond company based right here in San Antonio. John McRae founded it and still runs it. Almost 40 years of hands-on bail bond experience under his belt, and he’s the licensee of record with the Bexar County Bail Bond Board under company license number 46.
San Antonio and the surrounding counties are where we’ve put in over three decades of work. Texas Department of Insurance licensing is current and maintained, our Bexar County Bail Bond Board record is long-standing and clean, and the current license runs through August 31, 2028.
Forty years in, the work hasn’t really changed. Answer the phone. Walk people through the process honestly. Get their family member home as fast as the jail will allow. Around-the-clock availability, bilingual agents, payment plans that bend when families need them to bend, that’s just what real help looks like in this business.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. How do I bail someone out of jail in San Antonio?
Get their full legal name, date of birth, and which facility they’re in, Bexar County Jail on North Comal or the downtown detention center on South Frio. If you have their booking number, even better. Then call McRae Bail Bonds and we’ll start the paperwork while you’re still on the phone. John McRae has been personally walking bonds through Bexar County facilities for over 30 year; he knows every intake procedure, every shift rotation, and exactly how to move your case fast. Most families get their loved one home in 2 to 4 hours. Don’t waste time calling ten companies. Call the one that’s been doing this in San Antonio since the 1980s.
2. How much does a bail bond cost in San Antonio, and is it refundable?
The standard bail bond fee in Texas is 10% of the total bail amount set by the court. If bail is set at $10,000, you pay $1,000 to the bondsman, that fee is not refundable. What you’re paying for is the bondsman covering the full bail amount and getting your family member released, usually within hours instead of days or weeks. If you pay the full bail amount in cash directly to the court, you do eventually get that back minus court fees, but most families don’t have tens of thousands sitting around. McRae Bail Bonds also works with families on collateral, payment plans, and creative solutions when money is tight.
3. Is it worth using a bail bondsman, or should I pay cash bail?
Unless you have the full bail amount in cash and don’t mind it being tied up for months while the case moves through the courts, a bondsman is the faster and more practical choice for most San Antonio families. The 10% fee is a fraction of what you stand to lose if your husband misses another week at H-E-B, your daughter loses her nursing position at University Hospital, or your son’s construction crew gets reassigned. John McRae has watched families lose jobs, custody, and homes trying to scrape together full bail instead of making one phone call. The math is simple: the bond fee keeps your family employed and together while the case gets resolved.
4. How long do you sit in jail if you can’t make bail in Texas?
Until the case is resolved, which could be weeks, months, or over a year depending on the charges and court backlog. Texas law requires a bond hearing within 48 hours of arrest, but weekends and holidays stretch that out, and some charges mean longer holds. John McRae has seen people sit for eight months in Bexar County on charges that were eventually dismissed; and families that never financially recovered from the lost income, missed rent, and broken relationships. Every day someone stays in jail costs more on the outside than a bail bond ever would.
5. Can you bail someone out of jail at night or on weekends in San Antonio?
Yes, and this is where experience matters more than anything else. McRae Bail Bonds operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, because arrests don’t wait for business hours. The night and weekend crews at Bexar County facilities know John McRae personally; they’ve been processing his bonds for decades. While other companies send calls to voicemail or tell you to wait until Monday, we’re already working with staff who trust our paperwork and move it through fast. Don’t let your loved one sit through the weekend because you called a company that doesn’t actually work nights.
6. What if I can’t afford the bail bond fee?
McRae Bail Bonds has found solutions for thousands of San Antonio families in every financial situation; teachers, nurses, construction workers, retirees on Social Security, single parents stretching every dollar. We accept car titles, jewelry, electronics, and other valuables as collateral. We offer payment plans. We’ve worked with families who pooled money across three generations to get one person home. What you truly cannot afford is leaving someone in jail while jobs are lost, rent goes unpaid, and relationships fall apart. If there’s a way to make it work, we’ll find it.
7. Can a bail bondsman deny you, or are some people ineligible for bail?
A bail bondsman can decline a case if the risk is too high; for example, if the defendant is a serious flight risk or the co-signer can’t handle the financial responsibility. Some bigger chain operations deny people based on rigid corporate policies. McRae Bail Bonds looks at the whole picture, not just credit scores and criminal history. John McRae has found ways to help families that other companies walked away from because he understands this community. Separately, if a judge sets a cash-only bond, no bondsman can post it; but we can point you to attorneys who handle bond reduction hearings and tell you which judges may reconsider. Straight answers, not false hope.
8. What should I know before calling a bail bondsman in San Antonio?
Have the arrested person’s full legal name, date of birth, and which jail they’re in. The booking number helps but isn’t required. Know the charges if you can. And most importantly, just tell the truth about your situation;John McRae has heard everything in 40 years and nothing shocks him. What matters is getting your family member home, not making the story sound better than it is. McRae Bail Bonds is a family-owned operation that has served San Antonio since the 1980s, speaks Spanish, and accepts all major credit cards, cash, and checks. Our office is at 4023 S. Presa St., San Antonio, TX 78223.