1. Applicable Statutes

Delaware Supreme Court Rules, Rule 32

Delaware Statutes, Title 24: Professions and Occupations, Chapter 55: Bail enforcement agents/Bounty Hunters

The Department of Safety and Homeland Security is the regulatory body for licensing of bail enforcement agents.

2. Licensing Requirements

There are currently no licensing requirements for bail bond agents. See Section 10 for general requirements regarding Bail Enforcement Agents.

3. Notice of Forfeiture

If there is a breach of condition of a bond, this Court or the trial court may declare a forfeiture of the bail. The motion and such notice of the motion as the court prescribes may be served on the clerk of the court, who shall forthwith mail a copy to each obligor at the obligor's last known address. [ DE ST S CT Rule 32]

4. Forfeiture to Judgment

When a forfeiture has not been set aside, the trial court shall on motion enter a judgment of default and execution may issue thereon. By entering into a bond, the obligors submit to the jurisdiction of the trial court and irrevocably appoint the clerk of that court as their agent upon whom any papers affecting their liability may be served. The liability may be enforced on motion without the necessity of an independent action. [ DE ST S CT Rule 32]

5. Defenses to Forfeiture

This Court or the trial court may direct that a forfeiture be set aside, upon such conditions as the Court may impose, if it appears that justice does not require enforcement of the forfeiture. [ DE ST S CT Rule 32]

6. Remission

After entry of such judgment, the court may remit it in whole or in part under the conditions applying to the setting aside of forfeiture. [ DE ST S CT Rule 32]

7. Bail Agent's Arrest Authority

A bail agent must be licensed as a bail enforcement agent in order to arrest a defendant.

See [DE ST TI 24 § 5503].

8. Other Noteworthy Provisions

9. Noteworthy Appellate Decisions

State v. Edwards , 1995 WL 44267 ( Del. Sup. Jan 31, 1995).

A bail bondsman wrote two bail bonds for the defendant, Raymond Edwards, in the amounts of $99,500.00 and $100,500.00. The bondsman did not possess a single power of attorney to cover the full amount of the bail, so he provided several powers of attorney for each of the two bonds, adding the dollar amounts to reach the required $99,500.00 and $100,500.00. When the defendant failed to appear, the state moved to forfeit the bonds, which the court did. The surety company requested a rehearing of argument on the forfeiture and contended that the bondsman was acting outside of his authority when he used multiple powers of attorney. The court found that because the specific language used by International Fidelity on the faces of its powers of attorney specifically prohibits attaching multiple powers of attorney to any one bond, justice does not require forfeiture for the total amount of the bonds.

10. Bounty Hunter Provisions

"Bounty hunter" or "bail enforcement agent," as used within this chapter, shall mean any person or cooperative of persons, resident or nonresident, whose services or actions are performed for the purpose of capturing a fugitive, and including, but not limited to, any person who engages in the apprehension and return of persons who are released on bail and who have failed to appear at any stage of the proceedings to answer the charge before any state or federal court. (73 Del. Laws, c. 194, § 1.)

The Department of Safety and Homeland Security is the regulatory body for licensing of bail enforcement agents. The Department will promulgate regulations regarding the licensure and registration of bounty hunters and bail enforcement agents, which may include the term of a license or registration, reciprocity and the qualifications of a licensee, and may charge a fee not to exceed $500 for each application for licensure and each renewal of an existing license.

No person shall be issued a license pursuant to this chapter unless that person submits their name, social security number, age, race, sex, date of birth, height, weight, hair and eye color, address of legal residence and such other information as may be necessary to obtain a report of the applicant's entire criminal history record from the State Bureau of Identification and a report of the applicants entire federal criminal history record pursuant to the Federal Bureau of Investigation appropriation of Title 11 of Public Law 92-544. (73 Del. Laws, c. 194, § 1; 74 Del. Laws, c. 110, § 138.)

No person, other than a law enforcement officer as defined by § 222(13) of Title 11 or an employee of any state court acting at the direction of any judge, commissioner or master of any state court, shall apprehend, detain or arrest a suspected fugitive on behalf of another person, including a principal on a bond, wherever issued, unless that person is licensed by the Secretary of the Department of Safety and Homeland Security. (73 Del. Laws, c. 194, § 1; 74 Del. Laws, c. 110, § 138.) [DE ST TI 24 § 5503].