Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-11-122 (2026)
Bail bond secured by real estate or sureties
✓ current as of May 2026
In lieu of the bail deposit provided for in § 40-11-118, any defendant for whom bail has been set may execute a bail bond which may be secured as provided in this section. The bail bond may be secured by:
- (1) Real estate situated in this state with nonexempt unencumbered equity owned by the defendant or the defendant's surety worth one and one-half (1½) times the amount of bail set. If the bail bond is secured by real estate, the defendant or the defendant's surety shall execute a deed of trust conveying the real estate in trust to the clerk who shall immediately file the deed of trust in the office of the register of the county in which the real estate is situated. The costs of preparation of the deed of trust and recordation shall be paid by the defendant;
- (2) A written undertaking signed by the defendant and at least two (2) sufficient sureties, and approved by the magistrate or officer. Sureties under this section shall not be professional bondsmen or attorneys; or
- (3) A solvent corporate surety or sureties or a professional bail bondsman as approved, qualified or regulated by §§ 40-11-101 - 40-11-144 and part 3 of this chapter. No bond shall be approved unless the surety on the bond appears to be qualified.
Acts 1978, ch. 506, § 22; T.C.A., § 40-1222.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 10
cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1996–2025 · leading case: In Re Sanford & Sons Bail Bonds, Inc., 96 S.W.3d 199 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2002).
In Re Sanford & Sons Bail Bonds, Inc., 96 S.W.3d 199 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2002). “§ 40-11-122 (1997). 3 Typically, prior to the execution of a bail bond or simultaneously therewith, [a professional] bondsman and the defendant form a contract in which the bail bondsman agrees, for a fee, to act as the defendant’s surety.”
Graham v. Gen. Sessions Court of Franklin Cnty., 157 S.W.3d 790 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2004). “40-11-114 through T.C.A. 40-11-122, the Court finds that there is a tremendous amount of confusion concerning bonding procedures.”
State v. Clements, 925 S.W.2d 224 (Tenn. 1996). “More common than the cash bond are the “secured” appearance bonds, which are controlled by Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-11-122. That section provides, in pertinent part: In lieu of the bail deposit provided for in § 40-11-118, any defendant for whom bail has been set may execute a bail…”
State of Tennessee Ex Rel. Rachel Beth Haynes v. Allan Vincent Daugherty (Tenn. Ct. App. 2019). “See Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-11-102 (providing that “all defendants shall be bailable by sufficient sureties .”
Danny Blankenship Bonding Co. v. State of Tennessee (Tenn. Crim. App. 2016). “Section 40-11-139 states: (a) If the defendant whose release is secured under § 40-11-122 does not comply with the conditions of the bail bond, the court having jurisdiction shall enter an order declaring the bail to be forfeited.”
State of Tennessee Ex Rel. Rachel Beth Haynes v. Allan Vincent Daugherty - Concurring in part & dissenting in part (Tenn. Ct. App. 2019). “§ 40-11-122(3) (2018). But, as the State points out, the statute upon which Mr.”
In Re: Cumberland Bail Bonding (Tenn. 2020). “In another portion of the 1978 Act, the General Assembly has declared its intent that Tennessee Code Annotated sections 40-11-101 to 40-11-144 “shall be supplemental to the laws providing for and regulating professional bail bondsmen, who may continue to secure the bail bonds…”
State of Tennessee v. Jose S. Loredo (In Re A Close Bonding Co., LLC, Sur.) (Tenn. Crim. App. 2024). ““If the defendant whose release is secured under § 40-11-122 does not comply with the conditions of the bail bond, the court having jurisdiction shall enter an order declaring the bail to be forfeited.”
State of Tennessee v. Clayton Nelvis (Tenn. Crim. App. 2025). “§ 40-11-122(3). When a bondsman assumes that role, he or she guarantees the defendant’s appearance in court or, failing that, undertakes to pay the full bail amount on the defendant’s behalf.”
State of Tennessee v. Nathaniel Buchanan, In Re: McAdoo Bonding Co., Sur. (Tenn. Crim. App. 2025). “6 In July 2023, Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-11-139 provided as follows: (a) If the defendant whose release is secured under § 40-11-122 does not comply with the conditions of the bail bond, the court having jurisdiction shall enter an order declaring the bail to be…”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-11-122(1) — 2 cases
In Re Sanford & Sons Bail Bonds, Inc., 96 S.W.3d 199 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2002). “§ 40-11-122 (1997). 3 Typically, prior to the execution of a bail bond or simultaneously therewith, [a professional] bondsman and the defendant form a contract in which the bail bondsman agrees, for a fee, to act as the defendant’s surety.”
Graham v. Gen. Sessions Court of Franklin Cnty., 157 S.W.3d 790 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2004). “40-11-114 through T.C.A. 40-11-122, the Court finds that there is a tremendous amount of confusion concerning bonding procedures.”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-11-122(3) — 3 cases
Graham v. Gen. Sessions Court of Franklin Cnty., 157 S.W.3d 790 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2004). “40-11-114 through T.C.A. 40-11-122, the Court finds that there is a tremendous amount of confusion concerning bonding procedures.”
State of Tennessee Ex Rel. Rachel Beth Haynes v. Allan Vincent Daugherty - Concurring in part & dissenting in part (Tenn. Ct. App. 2019). “§ 40-11-122(3) (2018). But, as the State points out, the statute upon which Mr.”
State of Tennessee v. Clayton Nelvis (Tenn. Crim. App. 2025). “§ 40-11-122(3). When a bondsman assumes that role, he or she guarantees the defendant’s appearance in court or, failing that, undertakes to pay the full bail amount on the defendant’s behalf.”
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.