Bexar County DWI Bail Information

Whether a low-BAC San Antonio DWI even results in a jail booking can come down to the roadside breath test. Under SAPD Procedure 507, if you blow under 0.08, you're 21 or older, you have no other charges, and a drug recognition officer doesn't find other impairment, the officer can skip the jail entirely and take you to the Growdon Road facility to get your car and be released to a sober adult. The DWI charge stays alive, but there's no formal booking record for that night.

If you are booked, it happens at the Adult Detention Center, 200 North Comal Street, which runs 24 hours a day. The administrative line is 210-335-6315.

The sobering hold comes before release

Bexar County holds intoxicated arrestees until they're no longer a danger to themselves, and in practice that runs 6 to 12 hours. A bond posted by a family member in hour two does not get you out in hour two. The release order isn't executed until your blood alcohol has dropped and you can function.

Finding someone

For an arrest in the last day, use the Central Magistrate search, which lists Class B and higher arrests from the past 24 hours. Once the person is classified and housed, switch to the Inmate and Bond Information line at 210-335-6201, which needs a full name and date of birth.

Posting bond

A surety bond through a licensed bail bondsman runs 10 percent of the face amount. That premium is the bondsman's fee and it's gone for good, dismissal or acquittal notwithstanding. Whoever co-signs owes the entire bond, not the premium, if the defendant misses court, and any collateral they put up, a house title or a car title, can be seized and sold. A co-signer who loses confidence can ask the bondsman to pull off the bond, which sends the defendant back to jail. Find a licensed bondsman through the directory on this site.

There is no automatic PR bond for a first-timer. Texas law bars a standing order that skips the individual look at each defendant. What Bexar County does have is Pretrial Services, which interviews non-violent first offenders who live in the county and can recommend release without a cash payment; reach them at 210-335-8964. For someone stuck in jail purely because of money, the Texas Organizing Project runs a community bail fund in San Antonio that pays bonds outright.

The walk-through for a pre-set warrant

If there's already a warrant with a bond amount attached and the charge is non-violent, you can often skip general booking entirely. The Booking and Release Satellite Office in the basement of the courthouse at 100 Dolorosa, Suite B10.2, processes these as a walk-through, frequently without a holding cell or jail clothes. Confirm eligibility first at 210-335-2592.

Release delays even after bond posts

Detention officers work 12-hour shifts, and inmate movement freezes during the changeovers around 6 to 7 AM and 6 to 7 PM for headcounts. A bond posted at 5:45 PM often sits until after 7:30. Releases then come out in a batch.

Getting keys or a phone from a jailed relative

Property is handled at the BCSO Property and Evidence Room, 127 North Comal Street, Door C. It's appointment only, Monday through Friday, 8 to 5. Call 210-335-6092 or email BCSOproperty@bexar.org. If the inmate is still in custody, they have to sign a form authorizing you specifically before the appointment.

The 15-day license deadline

Separate from all of this, you have 15 days from the arrest to request a hearing to keep your license, or it suspends automatically around day 40. See the license-suspension guide.