There are moments that arise, such as retirement or a new business pursuit, that could cause a bail bond agent to close their bail bond agency. This page provides general guidelines to bail bond agents who are closing a bail bond agency location.
Send a letter to us advising the date your bail bond agency will close, the location of your agency’s files, the location of the collateral being held on the bonds written and an explanation of how consumers will receive the return of their collateral at the conclusion of their cases. This should be done within 10 working days of the closing. The letter may be emailed to Bail.Bond@MyFloridaCFO.com. You will need to remove the bail bond agency's registration and delete the designated primary bail bond agent for the agency as well in the bail bond agency's Mi Perfil account. If you have not created the bail bond agency's Mi Perfil account yet, you will need to do that first, enter the owner information, and proceed accordingly. [s. 648.387, Estatuto de la Florida]
For more instructions, please see our Bail Bond Agency Primary Agent User Guide.
On a related matter, a bail bond agent must notify us within 10 working days if you change your name, residence address, principal business street address or mailing address, e-mail address, or contact telephone numbers. This is quickly and easily done by logging in to your individual Mi Perfil account. [s. 648.421, Estatuto de la Florida]
Mail a notice to each customer (defendants and indemnitors), advising them of the closing of the agency and whom they can contact regarding their bonds. If the managing general agent (MGA) or surety company has not yet approved a new servicing agent, then the notice should direct your customers to contact the MGA or surety company. The notice should include an office telephone number for the servicing agent or surety company.
Notify the department’s Division of Consumer Services of your agency’s closing in the event your customers contact them. You can do this by going to Consulte al FLDFS and selecting "Consumer Services" as the recipient.
You may download forms en nuestro sitio web.
You may find the answers you are looking for by reading our frequently asked questions.
Preguntas FrecuentesFlorida Statute sections
648.285 Bond agency; ownership requirements
648.29 Build-up funds posted by bail bond agent
648.295 Reporting and accounting of funds
648.36 Bail bond agent's records
648.41 Termination of appointment of temporary bail bond agents
648.44 Prohibitions; penalty
648.441 Furnishing supplies to unlicensed bail bond agent prohibited
648.442 Collateral security
648.45 Actions against a licensee; suspension or revocation of eligibility to hold a license
648.571 Failure to return collateral; penalty
Florida Administrative Code rules
69B-221.095 Soliciting Business
69B-221.110 Premium Shall Be Term Charge; Premium Refund; When
69B-221.145 Use of Credit Cards and Cash Advance Facilities in Conjunction with Issuing Bail Bonds
Where to find these guidelines
You can find all this information, and more, online, such as the Estatutos de la Florida y Administrative Code (rules). Be sure to check out the various Preguntas Frecuentes (FAQs) including ones specifically for bail bond agents and agencies. If you have any questions regarding these procedures, you may send an e-mail to Bail.Bond@MyFloridaCFO.com.