2015 New York Laws
CPL - Criminal Procedure
Part 3 - SPECIAL PROCEEDINGS AND MISCELLANEOUS PROCEDURES
Title P - PROCEDURES FOR SECURING ATTENDANCE AT CRIMINAL ACTIONS AND PROCEEDINGS OF DEFENDANTS AND WITNESSES UNDER CONTROL OF COURT--RECOGNIZANCE, BAIL
Article 520 - (520.10 - 520.40) BAIL AND BAIL BONDS
520.20 - Bail and bail bonds; posting of bail bond and justifying affidavits; form and contents thereof.

520.20  Bail  and  bail  bonds;  posting  of bail bond and justifying
           affidavits; form and contents thereof.
1. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) when a bail bond is  to  be
  posted  in  satisfaction of bail, the obligor or obligors must submit to
  the court a bail  bond  in  the  amount  fixed,  executed  in  the  form
  prescribed  in subdivision two, accompanied by a justifying affidavit of
  each obligor, executed in the form prescribed in subdivision four.
(b) When a bail bond is to be posted in satisfaction of bail fixed for
  a  defendant  charged  by  information  or  simplified  information   or
  prosecutor's  information  with  one  or more traffic infractions and no
  other offense, the defendant may submit to the court, with  the  consent
  of  the court, an insurance company bail bond covering the amount fixed,
  executed in  a  form  prescribed  by  the  superintendent  of  financial
  services.
2. Except as provided in paragraph (b) of subdivision one, a bail bond
  must be subscribed and sworn to by each obligor and must state:
(a) The name, residential address and occupation of each obligor; and
(b) The title of the criminal action or proceeding involved; and
(c)  The  offense  or offenses which are the subjects of the action or
  proceeding involved, and the status of such action or proceeding; and
(d) The name of the principal and the nature of his involvement in  or
  connection with such action or proceeding; and
(e) That the obligor, or the obligors jointly and severally, undertake
  that  the  principal  will  appear in such action or proceeding whenever
  required and will at all times render himself amenable to the orders and
  processes of the court; and
(f) That in the event that the principal does not comply with any such
  requirement, order or process, such obligor or obligors will pay to  the
  people  of  the state of New York a designated sum of money fixed by the
  court.
3. A bail bond posted in the course of a criminal action is  effective
  and  binding  upon  the  obligor  or  obligors  until  the imposition of
  sentence or other termination of the action, regardless of  whether  the
  action  is  dismissed in the local criminal court after an indictment on
  the same charge or charges  by  a  superior  court,  and  regardless  of
  whether  such  action is partially conducted or prosecuted in a court or
  courts other than the one in which the action was pending when such bond
  was posted, unless prior to such  termination  such  order  of  bail  is
  vacated  or revoked or the principal is surrendered, or unless the terms
  of such bond expressly limit  its  effectiveness  to  a  lesser  period;
  provided, however, the effectiveness of such bond may only be limited to
  a  lesser  period  if  the  obligor  or  obligors  submit  notice of the
  limitation to the court and the district attorney not less than fourteen
  days before effectiveness ends.
4. A justifying affidavit must be  subscribed  and  sworn  to  by  the
  obligor-affiant  and  must  state  his  name,  residential  address  and
  occupation. Depending upon the kind of bail  bond  which  it  justifies,
  such affidavit must contain further statements as follows:
(a) An affidavit justifying an insurance company bail bond must state:
(i) The amount of the premium paid to the obligor; and
(ii)  All  security  and  all  promises  of  indemnity received by the
  surety-obligor in connection with its execution of  the  bond,  and  the
  name,  occupation and residential and business addresses of every person
  who has given any such indemnifying security or promise.
An  action  by  the  surety-obligor  against  an  indemnitor,  seeking
  retention  of  security  deposited  by  the  latter  with  the former or
  enforcement of any indemnity agreement  of  a  kind  described  in  this

  sub-paragraph,  will  not  lie  except  with  respect  to agreements and
  security specified in the justifying affidavit.
(b)  An affidavit justifying a secured bail bond must state every item
  of personal property deposited and of real property pledged as security,
  the value of each such item, and the nature and amount of every lien  or
  encumbrance thereon.
(c)  An  affidavit  justifying  a  partially  secured  bail bond or an
  unsecured  bail  bond  must  state  the  place   and   nature   of   the
  obligor-affiant's business or employment, the length of time he has been
  engaged therein, his income during the past year, and his average income
  over the past five years.