Bail is the means by which a defendant charged with a criminal offence can get released from custody before trial. A recognizance is a form of bail. There are several types of bail. The least intrusive is when the police give you a document requiring you to appear in court to answer to the charges. This document can take several forms: a Summons, a Promise to Appear or an Appearance Notice. While you are required to follow the document’s instructions, it does not contain any bail restrictions or make you or a surety liable to lose any money.
An Undertaking is a document where you formally promise to attend court on a certain date, and to follow its conditions, such as abstaining from contact with certain people, not having any weapons in your possession, or avoiding certain places. It is considered to be a step up from a Summons or Appearance Notice, and if you do not follow its conditions, you can be charged with breaching the Undertaking. No money is on the line, and no surety is required to guarantee the bail.
A Recognizance is the most formal type of bail. It can only be granted by a court, which means that you will stay in police custody until they can get you to court, up to 24 hours after arrest. A recognizance requires you to promise formally to the court that you will follow its conditions, and failure to do so will result in criminal charges of breaching a court order, and will make it more difficult to get out on bail next time. In addition, the promise to the court is backed up by a sum of money which can be forfeited to the government if the bail conditions are not followed. There are two types of recognizance: one where you alone make the promise to the court, which is usually backed up by a liability of $500, which you stand to lose if you breach the order; and one where you need another person to supervise you while on bail. That supervisor is called a surety, and the surety will stand to lose the amount of money pledged to the court on your behalf. That amount of money can vary depending on the seriousness of the offence and other perceived risk factors.