Licensed California Bail Agent #1845390
About Chad Conley
Built from the ground up. Nearly twenty years in bail. No shortcuts, no cold calls, no exceptions.
Where I Come From
I didn't inherit a book of business or a family name in this industry. I came from the building trades, and when the 2008 downturn hit, I started over in fugitive recovery.
My cousin and best friend, Matt Charles, opened that door. We went to bail school together. Matt had a heart attack before we could finish, so I took the licensing exam alone. I've carried him with me every year since.
I learned the business from the street up: recovery work for bail companies across Southern California, more than two years in the field with retired Orange County Sheriff's Lieutenant Bill Hunt, and mentorship from Don of Don's Bail Bonds, the longest-serving agent I ever knew.
Then I got licensed and built my reputation one bond at a time. I started in Orange County and grew across Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
Standing Up for Fair Pricing
California voters passed Proposition 103 in 1988, and it changed how insurance rates work in this state, including bail. With bail bond attorney John Rohrbaugh, I studied what it meant for the families paying premiums.
What we found was simple: bail agents may offer rebates. In 2012 I advertised a reduced net cost, and in 2014 I explained it publicly in writing. Very few agents were willing to say it out loud.
Not everyone welcomed that. A complaint was filed against me with the Department of Insurance. The Department took no action, and I kept telling families the truth.
In 2019, my 2014 statement was quoted in the complaint in Crain v. Accredited Surety, an antitrust class action over California bail pricing. I was never a party to that case. In 2026, several defendants reached proposed settlements totaling $69.4 million, which still need the court's approval.
A Principled Stand
California regulation 10 CCR §2071 bars bail agents from recommending attorneys to the people they bond. I believed families in crisis deserved better guidance. So in 2016 I challenged the rule in Conley v. Jones, Los Angeles Superior Court Case No. BC630383.
The court upheld the regulation. I respect that ruling, and I follow it fully.
Then I built what the law allows: a free Southern California Resource Directory of attorneys, investigators, treatment and recovery services, offered as a public list. No referral fees and no financial relationships. Ever.
The result of that lawsuit:
The Southern California Resource DirectoryAttorneys, investigators, rehab, and recovery services. No referral fees. Ever.
Continuing Legal Education
Author of an approved one-hour MCLE course for attorneys.
The course covers what criminal defense attorneys need to know about their clients' bail bondsman — how bail is set, what the bondsman's obligations are, how Prop 103 affects pricing, and what attorneys should be asking on behalf of their clients.
It's not a marketing stunt. It's because attorneys and bail agents should be working together better than they do, and someone had to build the bridge.
State Bar of California, MCLE Provider #17859, approved November 2, 2015.
Why I Understand the People Who Call Me
Every license I hold, I earned the hard way. For my contractor license, I put together a written plan for my company, interviewed with the licensing board, and gathered a stack of letters of recommendation. I did the same for my bail license. Amazing people stood behind me, including a mayor of Laguna Beach and more than twenty attorneys who have recommended me over the years.
The road I've walked gave me something no license can teach: I don't judge the people who call me. When your phone rings at 2 a.m. and someone you love is in jail, you don't need a man who has never been tested. You need someone who has been in the fire and knows the way through it.
I sit down with my clients. I listen. I tell them the truth, even when it costs me the bond. And I want every one of them to walk out, take care of their case, and build something better.
Every person who calls me, I try to help, whether they use me or not. That's how I operate.
Building, and Coming Back Stronger
From 2020 to 2024, I stepped back from day-to-day bail work and returned to building, leading large construction projects, while keeping my bail license active the whole time.
In fall 2024, I came back full time and wrote my first $2 million bond.
I rebuilt my office in Pomona on my own terms: no cold calls, no referral fees, no pressure. Just the work, done right.
The Hardest Part of the Job
In fall 2024, I wrote a $2 million bond for a defendant in one of the most closely watched cases in Southern California. I did it because that's what bail is: a person is presumed innocent, the court sets bail, and a licensed agent makes it possible for that person to prepare a defense.
The case ended in a conviction, and my thoughts remain with the victim's family.
You do this job with integrity, you follow the law, and you carry the outcomes with respect. That's the work.
What I've Built
State Bar-Approved Course
In 2015, the State Bar of California approved my one-hour continuing-education course for attorneys on how bail works.
Prop 103 Rebate Work
One of the first California bail agents to tell families publicly that Prop 103 allows premium rebates. My 2014 statement was quoted in a 2019 federal antitrust complaint over bail pricing.
Southern California Resource Directory
Attorneys, investigators, treatment and recovery services, offered as a free public list. No referral fees. No financial relationships.
Spanish-Language Bail Services
Full Spanish-language bail bond services for Southern California's Spanish-speaking community — not a translation, a real service.
The Road Back
A resource for defendants and families navigating life after arrest. Because getting out of jail is only the first step.
No Cold Calls — Ever
Chad Conley Bail Bonds does not purchase arrest data or cold-call defendants or their families. Period.
Know Who You're Calling
I put my story on this page because you deserve to know who you're dealing with before you call.
Nearly twenty years in bail. Fugitive recovery first, then a license, then a stand for fair pricing and a stand in court. I know this system, and I'll be straight with you from the first minute.
That's the deal.
Read the full Judge Me pageThe Record
Chad's Track Record
Licensed Bail Agent
Started in fugitive recovery after the 2008 downturn, working with bail companies across Southern California, then licensed for more than fifteen years. CDI #1845390.
Publicly Explained Prop 103 Rebates
Advertised a reduced net cost in 2012 and explained in writing in 2014 that Prop 103 allows premium rebates.
State Bar MCLE Approval
November 2015: State Bar of California approval for "Demystifying the Bail Bond Process," Single Activity Provider #17859, 1.0 hour of attorney continuing-education credit.
A Principled Stand in Court
Conley v. Jones (BC630383), challenging the rule that bars bail agents from recommending attorneys. The court upheld the rule in 2018. Chad follows it fully.
Quoted in a Federal Antitrust Complaint
Chad's 2014 public statement on rebates was quoted in the 2019 Crain v. Accredited Surety complaint. He was never a party to the case.
Industry Antitrust Litigation Continues
In 2026, several defendants reached proposed settlements totaling $69.4 million, which still need court approval. The case continues against the remaining defendants.
All case references are matters of public record. Nothing on this page constitutes legal advice.
Full Disclosure
California Department of Insurance License #1845390. Active. In good standing.
I am not affiliated with any law enforcement agency. I am not an immigration agent. I post bail bonds for people arrested on criminal charges — regardless of immigration status.
I do not take referral fees from attorneys, investigators, or any service provider listed in my resource directory.
I do not purchase arrest data. I do not cold-call defendants or their families.
If you have a question about my background that isn't answered here, ask me directly. I'll tell you.
More From Chad
“I Told Her Not to Do It”
About a week and a half ago I got a call from a young woman. Early 20s. Her boyfriend was in custody on a domestic violence charge — and she was the victim.
She didn't call the police. A witness did. They were outside, got into an argument, and he threw her to the ground in public. Someone else made the call.
I always ask what happened, when, where, who's involved. So I did. And the more she talked, the more I knew what I was looking at.
No family backing him. Not one friend. No job for two to three months — probably longer. They didn't even live together. She had a three-year-old and a five-year-old. She made just over a thousand dollars a month. He watched the kids so she could work. That was it. That was his contribution.
And this wasn't the first time he put his hands on her.
Here she is — the victim — calling me to bail him out.
I did the math in my head. Down payment. Monthly payments. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas coming. Two little kids. Her family willing to babysit — meaning she doesn't even need him for that anymore. She was about to hand over more than a month of her salary to a guy who had nothing to offer her, had already hurt her more than once, and had zero reason to show up to court.
I told her she shouldn't do it.
I know. I'm a bail bond company. That's not what I'm supposed to say. But I told her to let him go to arraignment. See if they OR him. If they do, she just saved two thousand dollars. If they don't, she can make that decision then — with more information.
I don't do that often. But this was absolutely one of those times.
She called me back. She had decided not to do it, and she thanked me for the honest talk. Sometimes the strongest thing you can do for someone is tell them the hard truth, even when it costs you the business.