Rule 537 - Professional Bondsmen(A) A professional bondsman, licensed under Chapter 57, Subchapter B, of the Judicial Code, 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 5741-49, before acting as a surety in any proceeding pending before this court, shall post cash and/or own real estate in the amounts herein set forth and shall comply with the following procedures: (1) Cash (a) A professional bondsman may post cash with the Clerk of Courts as security for bail to be written, and the clerk shall receive said cash and give the professional bondsman a receipt therefore.(b) The Clerk of Courts shall deposit all sums that a professional bondsman has posted with said clerk into a federally insured interest bearing account with any federally insured financial institution. The clerk shall deposit said funds, subject to withdrawal upon thirty (30) days written notice to the financial institution, or subject to such longer period of notice, not exceeding one (1) year, as the professional bondsman may direct.(c) The clerk shall pay the interest from time to time received on such deposit to the professional bondsman, who deposited the same, less any amount which the clerk is by law authorized to retain.(d) A professional bondsman may, at any time, upon ten (10) days notice to the clerk, and upon presentation and surrender of the clerk's receipt for the sum deposited, withdraw the whole or any part of the cash deposited, not required for bail then written and outstanding on the security thereof, less any penalty for early withdrawal charged by the financial institution in which the clerk has deposited said sum, and less any amount which the clerk is, by law, authorized to retain. If the professional bondsman does not withdraw the entire sum, which he or she deposited, the clerk shall issue to the professional bondsman a new receipt for the remaining balance of the deposit.(e) A professional bondsman, may, at any time, increase the cash on deposit with the clerk. Whenever the professional bondsman increases his or her cash on deposit, he or she shall surrender the clerk's receipt for the sum therefore deposited and the clerk shall issue to the professional bondsman a new receipt for the new total balance on deposit.(f) If a professional bondsman loses or is otherwise unable to produce the clerk's receipt for cash deposited, he or she shall petition the court and the court, upon being satisfied that the receipt cannot be produced, may direct the clerk to issue to the professional bondsman a duplicate receipt for the amount deposited. The clerk shall clearly and legibly mark or stamp the duplicate receipt "DUPLICATE" and shall note thereon the date on which the original receipt was issued, the date on which the duplicate was delivered, and the date of the court order authorizing said duplicate.(g) Whenever a professional bondsman desires to write bail on the security of cash deposited with the clerk and thereby act as surety in any case pending before the Magisterial District Judge, he or she shall file with the Magisterial District Judge a copy of the clerk's current receipt for said cash, and in addition, an affidavit sworn to before any official authorized to administer oaths, setting forth the then total amount of cash then on deposit with the clerk, the total amount of bail offered and accepted on the security of said cash and still in force, the amount of bail then desired to be written, and the total fee, premium and/or charge which the bondsman has received and/or is entitled to receive for the bail about to be written.(h) Whenever a professional bondsman desires to write bail on the security of cash deposited with the clerk and thereby act as surety in any cash pending in the Court of Common Pleas, he or she shall file with the clerk an affidavit sworn before any official authorized to administer oaths, setting forth the then total amount of cash then on deposit with the clerk, the total amount of bail offered and accepted on the security of said cash, and still in force, the amount of bail then desired to be written, and the total fee, premium and/or charge which the bondsman has received and/or is entitled to receive for the bail about to be written. (i) No bail shall be accepted from any professional bondsman at any time when the total amount of bail then written on the security of cash deposited with the clerk is, or when added to the bail about to be written, will exceed ten times the cash then on deposit.(2) Real Estate (a) A professional bondsman who desires to write bail against real estate shall record the deed or deeds for such real estate in the county or counties where the same is situated and shall file with the Clerk of Courts a statement, under oath, approved by the court, listing the real estate owned by him or her and situated in Pennsylvania. Such statement shall also set forth: i. The description of each tract of real estate, its location by county, municipality and post office address, if any, the deed book volume and page where a copy of the deed is recorded and the acreage or square footage contained in each tract;ii. An averment that the professional bondsman filing the statement is the sole equitable and legal owner of said real estate and the exact name in which said bondsman holds title;iii. The fair market value of each tract of real estate as of the date of said statement as determined by an experienced real estate broker and appraiser. The professional bondsman shall attach a copy of said appraisement to the statement;iv. The cost of each tract of real estate when first acquired, the latest assessed valuation for county tax purposes, the mortgages, liens and encumbrances against the real estate, and the balance unpaid on each encumbrance as of the date of the statement;v. The net value of said real estate. (The total fair market value of all tracts of real estate less the total of all encumbrances against the same.)(b) The professional bondsman shall file the statement required by subsection (a) hereof before writing any bail on the basis of said real estate, and thereafter on or before January 31st of each year. If the ownership of any tract or tracts of real estate set forth on said statement changes after the statement has been filed, or if the mortgages, liens and encumbrances increase in principal amount after the statement has been filed, the professional bondsman shall file a revised statement setting forth each such change not later than ten (10) days after such change first occur.(c) Whenever a professional bondsman desires to write bail on the security of said real estate and thereby act as surety in any case pending before a Magisterial District Judge, he or she shall file with the Magisterial District Judge a copy of his or her latest statement filed with the Clerk of Courts pursuant to subsection (a) hereof, and in addition an affidavit sworn to before any official authorized to administer oaths, setting forth the then total amount of bail offered and accepted against said real estate and still in force, the amount of bail then desired to be written, and the total fee, premium and/or charge which the bondsman has received and/or is entitled to receive for the bail then about to be written.(d) Whenever a professional bondsman desires to write bail on the security of said real estate and thereby act as surety in any case pending in the Court of Common Pleas, he or she shall file, in addition to the statement required to be filed with the Clerk of Courts pursuant to subsection (a) hereof, an affidavit sworn to before any official authorized to administer oaths, setting forth the then total amount of bail offered and accepted against said real estate, and still in force, the amount of bail then desired to be written, and the total fee, premium and/or charge which the bondsman has received and/or is entitled to receive for the bail then about to be written.(e) No bail shall be accepted from any professional bondsman whenever the total amount of bail written on the security of the professional bondsman's real estate is, or when added to the bail then about to be written will, exceed five (5) times the net value of said real estate as the net value has been determined pursuant to subparagraph (A)(2)(a) hereof.(B) Neither the Clerk of Courts nor any Magisterial District Judge shall accept bail from any professional bondsman if the fee, premium and/or charge received, or to be received, by said professional bondsman for writing said bail exceeds the amount from time to time authorized by the Judicial Code. Comment to (B):
The Judicial Code presently limits the fees which can be charged by a professional bondsman to ten (10%) percent of the first one hundred ($100.00) dollars of bail written in any case and five (5%) percent of any amount in excess of one hundred ($100.00) dollars. 5748(a).
(C) The Magisterial District Judge shall make the copy of the receipt and the affidavit filed by a professional bondsman pursuant to subsection (A)(1)(g) hereof, or the statement and affidavit filed with him by a professional bondsman pursuant to subsection (A)(2)(c) hereof, a part of the proceedings in the case in which the same was filed and shall forward said receipt copy and affidavit, or said statement and affidavit with the other papers in said case to this court at the same time as the transcript of the proceedings in said case are returned to this court, and the same shall become a part of the record of the case.(D) Whenever any bail written by a professional bondsman has been forfeited, the professional bondsman shall not write any additional bail until he or she had made settlement for the forfeiture obligation and paid the same or the forfeiture has been remitted by the court.(E) A professional bondsman shall not accept or receive, in addition to the fee permitted by law, any cash, securities, assets and/or property of any kind, whether to secure compliance with the terms of the bail or for any other reason relating to his or her writing bail.(F) No bail shall be accepted from any professional bondsman at any time when such bondsman is not in full compliance with the provisions of this rule.