7:4-3. Form and Place of Deposit; Location of Real Estate; Record of Recognizances, Discharge and Forfeiture

7:4-3. Form and Place of Deposit; Location of Real Estate; Record of
Recognizances, Discharge and Forfeiture

(a) Deposit of Bail; Execution of Recognizance. A defendant admitted to bail,
shall, together with the sureties, if any, sign and execute a recognizance before the
person authorized to take monetary bail or, if the defendant is in custody, the person in
charge of the place of confinement. The recognizance shall contain the terms set forth
in R. 1:13-3(b) and shall be conditioned upon the defendant's appearance at all stages
of the proceedings until the final determination of the matter, unless otherwise ordered
by the court. The total recognizance may be satisfied by more than one surety, if
necessary. Cash may be accepted, and in proper cases, within the court's discretion,
the posting of security may be waived. A corporate surety shall be one approved by the
Commissioner of Insurance. A corporate surety shall execute the recognizance under
its duly acknowledged corporate seal, and shall attach to its bond written proof of the
corporate authority and qualifications of the officers or agents executing the
recognizance. Real estate offered as security for bail for non-indictable offenses shall
be approved by and deposited with the clerk of the county in which the offense occurred
and not with the municipal court administrator.

A defendant charged on an initial Complaint-Warrant (CDR-2) with a
disorderly persons offense and released on non- monetary conditions shall be released
pursuant to the release order prepared by the judge and need not complete a
recognizance form.

(b) Limitation on Individual Surety. Unless the court for good cause otherwise
permits, no surety, other than an approved corporate surety, shall enter into a
recognizance if there remains any previous undischarged recognizance or bail that was
undertaken by that surety.

(c) Real Estate in Other Counties. Real estate owned by a surety located in a
county other than the one in which the bail is taken may be accepted, in which case the
municipal court administrator of the court in which the bail is taken shall certify and
transmit a copy of the recognizance to the clerk of the county in which the real estate is
situated, and it shall be there recorded in the same manner as if taken in that county.

(d) Record of Recognizance. In municipal court proceedings, the record of the
recognizance shall be entered by the municipal court administrator or designee in the
manner required by the Administrative Director of the Courts to be maintained for that
purpose.

(e) Record of Discharge; Forfeiture. When any recognizance shall be
discharged by court order on proof of compliance with the conditions thereof or by
reason of the judgment in any matter, the municipal court administrator or deputy court
administrator shall enter the word "discharged" and the date of discharge at the end of
the record of such recognizance. When any recognizance is forfeited, the municipal
court administrator or deputy court administrator shall enter the word "forfeited" andthe
date of forfeiture at the end of the record of such recognizance and shall give notice of
such forfeiture by ordinary mail to the municipal attorney, the defendant and any surety
or insurer, bail agent or agency whose names appear in the bail recognizance. Notice to
any insurer, bail agent or agency shall be sent to the address recorded in the Bail
Registry maintained by the Clerk of the Superior Court pursuant to R. 1:13-3. When real
estate of the surety located in a county other than the one in which the bail was taken is
affected, the municipal court administrator or deputy court administrator in which such
recognizance is given shall immediately send notice of the discharge or forfeiture and
the date thereof to the clerk of the county where such real estate is situated, who shall
make the appropriate entry at the end of the record of such recognizance.

(f) Cash Deposit. When a person other than the defendant deposits cash in lieu
of bond, the person making the deposit shall file an affidavit or certification explaining
the lawful ownership thereof, and on discharge, such cash shall be returned to the
owner named in the affidavit or certification, unless otherwise ordered by the court.

(g) Ten Percent Cash Bail. Unless otherwise specified in the order setting the
bail, bail may be satisfied by the deposit in court of cash in the amount of ten percent of
the amount of bail fixed together with defendant's executed recognizance for the
remaining ninety percent. No surety shall be required, unless specifically ordered by the
court. If a ten percent bail is made by cash owned by one other than the defendant, the
owner shall charge no fee for the cash deposited, other than lawful interest, and shall
submit an affidavit or certification with the deposit detailing the rate of interest,
confirming that no other fee is being charged, and listing the names of any other
persons for whom the owner has deposited bail. A person making the ten percent
deposit who is not the owner, shall file an affidavit or certification identifying the lawful
owner of the cash, and, on discharge, the cash deposit shall be returned to the owner
named in the affidavit or certification, unless otherwise ordered by the court.

Note: Source - R. (1969) 7:5-1, 3:26-4. Adopted October 6, 1997 to be effective February 1, 1998;
subsection (e) amended December 8, 1998 to be effective January 15, 1999; caption amended, and
paragraphs (e), (f), and (g) amended July 28, 2004 to be effective September 1, 2004; paragraph (a)
caption and text amended August 30, 2016 to be effective January 1, 2017; paragraph (a) amended
November 14, 2016 to be effective January 1, 2017.