1. Listing of applicable state statutes and state court rules:

North Carolina General Statutes Chapter 15A: Criminal Procedure, Article 26: Bail

North Carolina General Statutes Chapter 58: Insurance, Article 71: Bail Bondsmen

The regulatory body is the Department of Insurance. [GS § 58-71-5]

North Carolina does not appear to allow governance by local rule.

2. Licensing requirements for agents:

• "Surety bondsman" means any person who is licensed by the Commissioner as a surety bondsman under this Article, is appointed by an insurer by power of attorney to execute or countersign bail bonds for the insurer in connection with judicial proceedings, and receives or is promised consideration for doing so.

• "Professional bondsman" shall mean any person who is approved and licensed by the Commissioner and who pledges cash or approved securities with the Commissioner as security for bail bonds written in connection with a judicial proceeding and receives or is promised money or other things of value in exchange.

• "Runner" shall mean a person employed by a bail bondsman for the purpose of assisting the bail bondsman in presenting the defendant in court when required, or to assist in apprehension and surrender of defendant to the court, or keeping defendant under necessary surveillance, or to execute bonds on behalf of the licensed bondsman when the power of attorney has been duly recorded.

A bail bondsman must comply with the following for licensure: [GS § 58-71-40]

•  Submit to and pay the fees for both fingerprints and background check and provide a passport sized photograph [ GS § 58-71-50]

•  Be 18 years of age or over. [ GS § 58-71-50(b)(1)]

•  Be a resident of this State. [ GS § 58-71-50(b)(2)]

•  Have knowledge, training, or experience of sufficient duration and extent to provide the competence necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of a licensee. [ GS § 58-71-50(b)(4)]

•  Have no outstanding bail bond obligations. [ GS § 58-71-50 (b)(5)]

•  Have no current or prior violations of any provision of this Article or of Article 26 of Chapter 15A of the General Statutes or of any similar provision of law of any other state. [ GS § 58-71-50(b)(6)]

•  Not have been in any manner disqualified under the laws of this State or any other state to engage in the bail bond business. [ GS § 58-71-50(b)(7)]

•  Complete at least three hours of continuing education in subjects related to the duties and responsibilities of a runner or bail bondsman every year. [GS § 58-71-71(b)]

•  Except in extenuating circumstances, a first-year licensee shall operate only under the supervision of and from the official business address of a licensed supervising bail bondsman for the first 12 months of licensure.

3. Notice of forfeiture provisions:

•  The court shall give notice of the entry of forfeiture by mailing a copy of the forfeiture to the defendant and to each surety

•  If a bail agent on behalf of an insurance company executed the bond, the court shall also provide a copy of the forfeiture to the bail agent, but failure to provide notice to the bail agent shall not affect the validity of any notice given to the insurance company.

•  Notice given under this section is effective when the notice is mailed.

•  Notice must be mailed within 30 days of the entry of forfeiture. If notice is not given within the prescribed time, the forfeiture shall not become a final judgment and shall not be enforced or reported.

4. Forfeiture to Judgment:

•  A forfeiture becomes a final judgment of forfeiture without further action by the court on the one hundred fiftieth day after notice is given if: [GS § 15A-544.6]

•  No order setting aside the forfeiture under G.S. 15A-544.5 is entered on or before that date; and

•  No motion to set aside the forfeiture is pending on that date.

5. Forfeiture defenses

A forfeiture shall be set aside for any one of the following reasons: [GS § 15A-544.5]

•  The defendant's failure to appear has been set aside by the court and any order for arrest issued for that failure to appear has been recalled.

•  All charges for which the defendant was bonded to appear have been finally disposed by the court other than by the State's taking dismissal with leave.

•  The defendant has been surrendered by a surety on the bail bond.

•  The defendant has been served with an Order for Arrest for the Failure to Appear on the criminal charge in the case in question.

•  The defendant died before or within the period between the forfeiture and the final judgment as demonstrated by the presentation of a death certificate.

•  The defendant was incarcerated in a unit of the Department of Correction and is serving a sentence or in a unit of the Federal Bureau of Prisons located within the borders of the State at the time of the failure to appear.

6. Remission period

There is no traditional remission period, but upon a showing of extraordinary circumstances, a surety may make a written motion to the court for relief from a final judgment within three years after the date the forfeiture becomes final. [GS 15A-544.8]

7. Bail agent's arrest authority [GS § 15A 540]

•  For the purpose of surrendering the defendant, the surety may arrest him before the forfeiture of the undertaking, or by his written authority endorsed on a certified copy of the undertaking, may request any judicial officer to order arrest of the defendant. [GS § 58-71-30]

•  Before there has been a breach of the conditions of a bail bond, the surety may surrender the defendant. Upon application by the surety after such surrender, the clerk must exonerate the surety from the bond.

•  After there has been a breach of the conditions of a bail bond, a surety may surrender the defendant. A surety may arrest the defendant for the purpose of returning the defendant to the sheriff.

•  Alternatively, a surety may surrender a defendant who is already in the custody of any sheriff by appearing in person with a certified copy of the bail bond and informing the sheriff that the surety wishes to surrender the defendant.

•  When a defendant is surrendered by a surety, the sheriff shall without unnecessary delay take the defendant before a judicial official. The judicial official shall then determine whether the defendant is again entitled to release and, if so, upon what conditions.

8. Other noteworthy provisions.

•  Before July 1 of each year, every insurer shall furnish the Commissioner a list of all surety bondsmen appointed by the insurer to write bail bonds on the insurer's behalf.

•  If a defendant is convicted and sentenced to community punishment or intermediate punishment and no appeal is pending, then the court shall remit the bail bond to the obligor and shall not require that the bail bond continue to be posted while the defendant serves his or her sentence. (1995, c. 290, s. 4.) [GS § 15A-547.1]

9. Noteworthy appellate decisions.

State v. Coronel , 550 S.E.2d 561 (N.C. App. 2001)

After neither the sureties nor defendants appeared as required, the court ordered the bonds forfeited. Five months later, the court entered judgments of forfeiture. Ten months after the defendants failed to appear, the sureties filed motions to remit the bonds. They presented evidence that the defendants had fled to Mexico and the sureties had followed, but were unable to apprehend them, and that the defendants later died in a car accident three months after the judgment had been entered. Appellate Court held that the death of defendants was an extraordinary circumstance under which it could remit the bond, however, the bond was not remitted because the sureties search for the defendants was not diligent.

Shore v. Farmer , 351 N.C. 166 (N.C. 1999) (NO. 303A99)

Arrestee sued bail bondsman, asserting breach of contract and tort claims in connection with bondsman surrendering arrestee and her husband to authorities. After permitting arrestee to amend her pleadings at close of all evidence to assert claim for punitive damages, the Superior Court submitted case to jury only on breach of contract claim, and thereafter entered judgment on jury verdict awarding arrestee $150,000 in punitive damages. Bondsman appealed. The Court of Appeals affirmed. Bondsman appealed. The Supreme Court held that: (1) bondsman preserved his claim that punitive damages issue could not be submitted to jury, and (2) punitive damages were not recoverable.  Reversed and remanded.

State v. Harkness , 516 S.E.2d 166 (N.C.App. 1999)

Sureties brought action for full remission of bond after delivering principal to authorities. The Superior Court, Forsyth County , Thomas W. Ross, J., denied remission on ground that action was time-barred. Sureties appealed. The Court of Appeals, McGee, J., held that: (1) three-year statute of limitations governing actions against sureties did not apply, and (2) trial court had discretion to grant relief if sureties demonstrated "extraordinary cause."  Reversed and remanded.

State v. Mathis , 349 N.C. 503(1998) 

Defendants, licensed bail bondsmen, were convicted after jury trial of breaking and entering, and one defendant also was convicted of assaulting a woman and injury to real property. Defendants appealed. The Court of Appeals reversed and remanded, 126 N.C.App. 688, 486 S.E.2d 475. Certiorari was granted. The Supreme Court of North Carolina held that defendants were entitled to jury instruction on common law powers of bail bondsmen to break into residence and use force against third party when searching for their principal.  Court of Appeals' judgment affirmed.

State v. Cox , 370 S.E.2d 260 (N.C. App. 1988)

Judgment of forfeiture against surety for appearance bond of criminal defendant was null and void under requirements of bail forfeiture statute where surety was not personally served order of forfeiture and was not mailed copy of order of forfeiture or notice, though sheriff had record of surety's address throughout proceedings.

Tar Heel Bond Co. v. Krider , 11 S.E. 2d 291 (N.C. App. 1940)

Where judgment was entered on debt of surety on bail bond on failure of defendant to appear and scire facias was ordered to be served upon the surety, whether fact that principal was subsequently arrested should authorize a remission or reduction of the original forfeiture was a matter for the trial court's discretion, since the subsequent arrest of the principal and his trial and conviction did not serve to discharge the original forfeiture.

10. Bounty hunter provisions:

•  At this time, there are no specific provisions for bounty hunters.