2023 Indiana Code › Title 27. Insurance › Article 10. Indiana Bail Law › Chapter 2. General Provisions › 27-10-2-10. Recognizances; Affidavits; Forms

Sec. 10. (a) Recognizances for the appearance of prisoners shall in all cases and in all courts be in writing, be taken with at least one (1) resident freehold surety or be secured by a surety company, and be substantially in the following form:
STATE OF INDIANA
)
)
SS:
COUNTY OF _________________
)
State of Indiana.
vs.
John Doe
We, A B and C D, jointly and severally acknowledge ourselves bound to the state of Indiana in ______ dollars. If A B (the prisoner) shall appear on the ____ day of ________, 20___, in the ___________ court, to answer a charge of (here state the offense) and from day to day and from term to term thereof, and abide the order of the court until the cause is determined and not depart therefrom without leave, then this recognizance shall be void, else to remain in full force.
If the above named defendant does not appear at any time fixed in this bond, the court shall order CD (the surety) to produce the defendant. The court shall mail notice of this order to CD, the surety at __________ and __________ in __________ county and state of Indiana. If the surety does not produce the defendant, and does not pay all costs and late surrender fees in compliance with IC 27-10-2-12, the court shall, three hundred sixty-five (365) days after the mailing of the above notice to the surety, declare the bond forfeited, enter judgment forthwith against the surety, and certify the judgment to the clerk for record. Such forfeiture shall be without pleadings and without change of judge or change of venue. The obligors on such bond may appeal to the ruling of the court and appeal to the court of appeals as in other civil cases, and on appeal the evidence may be reviewed. Execution shall issue forthwith to the sheriff against the properties of each of us to be levied as other executions are levied.
Witness our hand and seals this ___ day of _________, 20___.
A B __________ (SEAL)
C D __________ (SEAL)
taken and approved this ___ day of _________, 20___.
__________________________
(Officer taking surety)
Affidavits shall be taken from each personal surety substantially
as follows:
State of Indiana
)
County of ______________
)
I, C D, being duly sworn, on oath say, that I am worth in my personal rights and name, over and above all debts and liabilities of any and every kind, not less than _______ dollars, and that I possess real estate in my own name, located in the above-named county, which is worth over and above all encumbrances and liens, more than ______ dollars; that I am surety on the following recognizance bonds and none other, aggregating the total amount of ________ to-wit: (Here name bonds and amounts, if any) ________, And that I am not surety on any recognizance bond of any kind in any court which bond has been forfeited which judgment remains unpaid.
C D _______________ (SEAL)
Subscribed and sworn to before me, this ___ day of __________, 20___.
_________________________________
(Officer administering oath)
(b) Printed forms of the above bonds shall be kept by all clerks of court that are authorized by law to admit prisoners to bail and shall be supplied by the clerks to sheriffs.
(c) For the purposes of this article, a cause is determined when a:
(1) judgment of conviction or acquittal is entered for a misdemeanor;
(2) judgment is withheld in a misdemeanor case;
(3) judgment of acquittal is entered in a felony case;
(4) sentence is imposed in a felony case; or
(5) defendant has been ordered or admitted to a diversion program.
As added by P.L.261-1985, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.355-1989(ss), SEC.3; P.L.2-2005, SEC.73.