Approval of Surety Bonds | Clerk of Court

As a surety on a Уsurety bondФ you assume the financial responsibility for the amount of a bond that has been set for a person. You do so by pledging your cash or real estate as collateral for the bond. In addition to assuming financial responsibility for the bond amount, you are guaranteeing the appearance of the person on the appropriate date and time they are summoned to court. If that person fails to appear in court or violates the conditions of their bond, a judgment can be levied on the suretyТs property by the State. There are three kinds of officials who can approve Уsurety bondsФ. Those officials are the Clerk of Court, a magistrate, and a City Recorder. Bonds that are designated to be approved by the Clerk of Court are processed in the Criminal Records department, Suite 228 of the Greenville County Courthouse, located at the corner of Church and East North Street.

When a person desires to use property for a surety bond, a Certificate of Value for Bond must be completed by an attorney or a title search company. The property owner(s) must also complete a Notice of Pledge of Real Estate that must be filed with the Register of Deeds office for a fee of $10.00 before presenting both forms to the Clerk of Court. Each person whose name appears on the Certificate of Value and Notice of Pledge must be present to sign the bond form at the Clerk of Court office. Upon presentment of the completed Certificate of Value for Bond and the Notice of Pledge of Real Estate forms to the Clerk of Court, we will begin the process of release and take it to the Greenville Detention Center to be completed there.

Any property owner that is interested in bond approval to go to another county must have these forms completed also by an attorney or a title search company before the Clerk of Court will give a Certificate of Ownership.

If you do not have property to post for a surety, you may choose to pay a professional bondsman or you may post the full amount of the surety in cash. If the judge in the Order for Bail allows a percentage of the bond to be posted, you may do so at the Clerk of Court, Accounting department.

If the Order for Bail designates the bond to be approved by a Magistrate or City Recorder, those wishing to act as a surety must contact the Magistrate or City Recorder on duty for information on their bond approval procedures.

The Clerk of Court will not accept any information for bonds that have to be approved by a Magistrate or City Recorder.

Surety Bond Forms