Mont. Code Ann. » TITLE 46. CRIMINAL PROCEDURE · CHAPTER 9. BAIL · Part 4. Furnishing Bail
Montana Code Annotated

Mont. Code Ann. § 46-9-401 (2026)

Forms Of Bail

✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section MT-LEGleg.mt.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar
  1. MCA Contents
  2. TITLE 46
  3. CHAPTER 9
  4. Part 4
  5. 46-9-401 Forms of bail

TITLE 46. CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

CHAPTER 9. BAIL

Part 4. Furnishing Bail

Forms Of Bail

46-9-401. Forms of bail. (1) Bail may be furnished in the following ways:

(a) by a deposit with the court of an amount equal to the required bail of cash, stocks, bonds, certificates of deposit, or other personal property approved by the court;

(b) by pledging real estate situated within the state with an unencumbered equity, not exempt, owned by the defendant or sureties at a value double the amount of the required bail;

(c) by posting a written undertaking executed by the defendant and by two sufficient sureties;

(d) by posting a commercial surety bond executed by the defendant and by a qualified agent for and on behalf of the surety company; or

(e) by posting an offender's driver's license in lieu of bail if the summons describes a violation of any offense as provided in 61-5-214 and if the offender is the holder of an unexpired driver's license.

(2) The amount of the bond must ensure the appearance of the defendant at all times required through all stages of the proceeding including trial de novo, if any, and unless the bond is denied by the court pursuant to 46-9-107, must remain in effect until final sentence is pronounced in open court.

(3) Whenever a driver's license is accepted in lieu of bail, the judge shall return the driver's license to the defendant:

(a) after the required bail has been posted or there has been a final determination of the charge; and

(b) if the defendant pleaded guilty or was convicted, after a $25 administrative fee has been paid to the court.

History: En. 95-1112 by Sec. 1, Ch. 196, L. 1967; R.C.M. 1947, 95-1112; amd. Sec. 79, Ch. 800, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 465, L. 2003; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 360, L. 2009; amd. Sec. 6, Ch. 592, L. 2023.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 6 cases, 1981–2019 · leading case: State, Ex Rel. Coburn v. Bennett, 655 P.2d 502 (Mont. 1982).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
State, Ex Rel. Coburn v. Bennett, 655 P.2d 502 (Mont. 1982). · cites it 6× “Coburn's parents furnished bail by using their residence as security, the unencumbered value of which was twice the amount of the bail as required by section 46-9-401(2), MCA. Coburn was released sometime in the early afternoon of May 21, 1982.”
State v. Rodriguez, 628 P.2d 280 (Mont. 1981). · cites it 3× “II, § 21 and section 46-9-401, MCA. The constitutional provision states that “[a]ll persons shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, .”
State v. Erickson, 2005 MT 276 (Mont. 2005). · cites it 2× “¶24 It is clear under the circumstances of this case that, if Erickson’s $5,000 bond was revoked by his bondsman pursuant to § 46-9-401(3), MCA, on September 18, 2002, and he was surrendered to the Sheriff, he was then incarcerated awaiting trial on the charges in DC-01-055 as…”
Siroky v. Richland Cnty., 894 P.2d 309 (Mont. 1995). · cites it 5× “” Section 46-9-401, MCA, sets forth numerous ways that bail may be furnished, one of which is by a deposit of cash with the court of an amount equal to the required bail.”
State v. Kelvin Erickson, 2008 MT 50 (Mont. 2008). · cites it 2× “We *432 further stated that [i]t is clear under the circumstances of this case that, if Erickson’s $5,000 bond was revoked by his bondsman pursuant to § 46-9-401(3), MCA, on September 18, 2002, and he was surrendered to the Sheriff, he was then incarcerated awaiting trial on the…”
Mitchell v. First Call Bail & Sur., Inc. (D. Mont. 2019). “There is nothing in the plain language of section 46—9-510(d) that limits a “surety company” to send only its employees to “arrest and surrender” a defendant rather than an independent 3 Montana Code Annotated § 46-9-401(1)(d) provides “[T]he surety company may arrest the…”
Mont. Code Ann. § 46-9-401(1)(d): 1 case
Mitchell v. First Call Bail & Sur., Inc. (D. Mont. 2019). “There is nothing in the plain language of section 46—9-510(d) that limits a “surety company” to send only its employees to “arrest and surrender” a defendant rather than an independent 3 Montana Code Annotated § 46-9-401(1)(d) provides “[T]he surety company may arrest the…”
Mont. Code Ann. § 46-9-401(2): 1 case
State, Ex Rel. Coburn v. Bennett, 655 P.2d 502 (Mont. 1982). “Coburn's parents furnished bail by using their residence as security, the unencumbered value of which was twice the amount of the bail as required by section 46-9-401(2), MCA. Coburn was released sometime in the early afternoon of May 21, 1982.”
Mont. Code Ann. § 46-9-401(3): 2 cases
State v. Erickson, 2005 MT 276 (Mont. 2005). “¶24 It is clear under the circumstances of this case that, if Erickson’s $5,000 bond was revoked by his bondsman pursuant to § 46-9-401(3), MCA, on September 18, 2002, and he was surrendered to the Sheriff, he was then incarcerated awaiting trial on the charges in DC-01-055 as…”
State v. Kelvin Erickson, 2008 MT 50 (Mont. 2008). “We *432 further stated that [i]t is clear under the circumstances of this case that, if Erickson’s $5,000 bond was revoked by his bondsman pursuant to § 46-9-401(3), MCA, on September 18, 2002, and he was surrendered to the Sheriff, he was then incarcerated awaiting trial on the…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.