A bail bond is one of the many accessible pretrial release structures within the United States criminal justice system in 2022, which means that it is one of those tools courts use to ensure that a criminal defendant will appear for their court appointments.

There are two forms of pretrial release structures: (1) a financial form and (2) a non-financial form. The 2nd form would usually include discharge on their own recognizance, supervised release, and an unsecured bond.

A bail bond belongs to the 1st form of pretrial release structure when the judge decides how much the defendant must pay in court fines if the defendant fails to meet the terms of conditional release from custody.