A bonding agent leaves a professional bonding company. How soon must the company tell the Board?Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0780-05-20-.05(2)
A judge refuses a licensed professional bondsman's request to write bail in the court. What must the judge provide?T.C.A. 40-11-321 (2025 Pub. Ch. 491, sec. 17)
A licensee is convicted of a violation of the bail chapter and the license is revoked. For how long is the person barred from licensure?T.C.A. 40-11-321 (2025 Pub. Ch. 491, sec. 17)
After the first staggered terms, how long is a term on the Board?T.C.A. 40-11-321 (2025 Pub. Ch. 491, sec. 17)
Does a Board license oblige a judge to let the bondsman write bail in the judge's court?T.C.A. 40-11-321 (2025 Pub. Ch. 491, sec. 17)
How long must a Board member wait after completing a term before being reappointed?T.C.A. 40-11-321 (2025 Pub. Ch. 491, sec. 17)
How many members sit on the Board of Professional Bondsmen?T.C.A. 40-11-321 (2025 Pub. Ch. 491, sec. 17)
How many of the Board's seats are filled by licensed professional bondsmen?T.C.A. 40-11-321 (2025 Pub. Ch. 491, sec. 17)
Show all 101 questions (93 more)
The Board and the license, continued
How old must a person be to apply for a professional bondsman license?T.C.A. 40-11-321 (2025 Pub. Ch. 491, sec. 17)
How recent must the background check filed with a license application be?Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0780-05-20-.03(5)
On top of its $500 application fee, what does a professional bonding company pay for each affiliated bondsman or bonding agent?Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0780-05-20-.03(3)
Since what date must a person hold a license from the Board of Professional Bondsmen to operate as a professional bondsman in Tennessee?T.C.A. 40-11-321 (2025 Pub. Ch. 491, sec. 17)
What civil penalty may the Board assess for each violation of Title 40, Chapter 11 or its rules?Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0780-05-20-.06(2)
What does each license and renewal form have the licensee declare under penalty of perjury?T.C.A. 40-11-321 (2025 Pub. Ch. 491, sec. 17)
What does the Board call the first step toward a professional bondsman license?Board of Professional Bondsmen, How to Get a License
What is the application fee for an individual professional bondsman license?Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0780-05-20-.03(2)
What must a licensed professional bondsman list on licensure and at each renewal?T.C.A. 40-11-321 (2025 Pub. Ch. 491, sec. 17)
What must each licensed professional bondsman tell the Board in writing about the courts?2025 Pub. Ch. 491, sec. 18
When does a professional bondsman license become inactive?T.C.A. 40-11-321 (2025 Pub. Ch. 491, sec. 17)
When does a professional bondsman's certificate of licensure expire?T.C.A. 40-11-321 (2025 Pub. Ch. 491, sec. 17)
Where must the Board post its registry of licensed professional bondsmen?T.C.A. 40-11-321 (2025 Pub. Ch. 491, sec. 17)
Which body is the centralized entity for filing and evaluating complaints against professional bondsmen?T.C.A. 40-11-321 (2025 Pub. Ch. 491, sec. 17)
Who appoints three of the seven Board members?T.C.A. 40-11-321 (2025 Pub. Ch. 491, sec. 17)
Who may review and approve an application when the applicant meets every requirement and has no disqualifying factor?Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0780-05-20-.04(2)
Whom does the Board's registry list besides current licensees?T.C.A. 40-11-321 (2025 Pub. Ch. 491, sec. 17)
Whom does the Board's rule leave out of its definition of "professional bondsman"?Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0780-05-20-.02(6)
Discipline and court approval 12
A court revokes a bondsman's privileges under T.C.A. 40-11-125(d). Where does the appeal go?T.C.A. 40-11-125(d) (2025 Pub. Ch. 491, sec. 4)
A district attorney general finds that a professional bondsman violated the bail chapter. What may the district attorney general do?T.C.A. 40-11-127 (2025 Pub. Ch. 491, sec. 5)
A professional bondsman is arrested for a felony. How soon must the Board be notified in writing?T.C.A. 40-11-319(a) (2025 Pub. Ch. 491, sec. 14)
After a court limits a bondsman for insolvency or false reports under T.C.A. 40-11-306, what must the court do?T.C.A. 40-11-306 (2025 Pub. Ch. 491, sec. 9)
Before a clerk may accept a professional bondsman's undertaking, what two things must be true of the bondsman?T.C.A. 40-11-124(c) (2025 Pub. Ch. 491, sec. 2)
The Board learns a bondsman was discharged in bankruptcy with forfeitures left unpaid. What may the Board do?T.C.A. 40-11-317(c) (2025 Pub. Ch. 491, sec. 13)
The Board notifies a bondsman of the right to a hearing before a sanction. How long does the bondsman have to ask for one in writing?T.C.A. 40-11-125(b) (2025 Pub. Ch. 491, sec. 4)
On what finding may a court itself suspend an approved bondsman's privileges in that court?T.C.A. 40-11-125(d) (2025 Pub. Ch. 491, sec. 4)
Under which law are the Board's disciplinary hearings held?T.C.A. 40-11-125(b) (2025 Pub. Ch. 491, sec. 4)
What follows when a bondsman fails to report a felony arrest as T.C.A. 40-11-319 requires?T.C.A. 40-11-319(d) (2025 Pub. Ch. 491, sec. 16)
Which is a ground for discipline listed in T.C.A. 40-11-125(a)?T.C.A. 40-11-125(a)
Who supplies clerks, sheriffs and inferior courts with the current list of bondsmen licensed by the Board?T.C.A. 40-11-124(c) (2025 Pub. Ch. 491, sec. 2)
Premiums, receipts and reports 21
A bondsman agrees to take the premium in installments. How much must be collected when the bond is signed?T.C.A. 40-11-316(d) (2025 Pub. Ch. 318)
A bondsman pledges cash with the court as collateral. What is the least the bondsman's capacity may be?T.C.A. 40-11-302(e)(1) (2022 Pub. Ch. 800)
A bondsman pledges equity in real estate with the court. What is the least the bondsman's capacity may be?T.C.A. 40-11-302(e)(2)
A charge is still pending after the first 12 months of the bond. What is the most a premium renewal fee may be?T.C.A. 40-11-316(a)
A person paid a bondsman under a contract that T.C.A. 40-11-311 makes void. What may the person recover by suit?T.C.A. 40-11-311(b)
Besides the premium and the initiation fee, what does the statutory notice say a professional bondsman may collect?T.C.A. 40-11-151 (2025 Pub. Ch. 318)
By when must a premium taken in installments be paid in full?T.C.A. 40-11-316(d) (2025 Pub. Ch. 318)
By which dates each year does a professional bondsman file the report of assets and liabilities?T.C.A. 40-11-303(a)
Is failing to file the quarterly report with the Department of Revenue a crime?2025 Pub. Ch. 396, sec. 1
May a bondsman charge interest on premium installments?T.C.A. 40-11-316(d) (2025 Pub. Ch. 318)
Since the 2025 act, with whom is the semiannual report of assets and liabilities filed?T.C.A. 40-11-303(a) (2025 Pub. Ch. 491, sec. 8)
Up to what amount may a professional bondsman act as surety on listed civil bonds without qualifying as an insurance company?T.C.A. 40-11-302(c)
What experience must an applicant for approval as a bonding company owner have?T.C.A. 40-11-317(b)
What grade of offense is a violation of part 3 of the bail chapter, the part on professional bondsmen?T.C.A. 40-11-312
What may the Department of Revenue use the bondsmen's quarterly reports for?2025 Pub. Ch. 396, sec. 1
What must a bondsman keep of every receipt given for money or other consideration?T.C.A. 40-11-304
What must every person who uses a professional bondsman receive with the bail bond?T.C.A. 40-11-151 (2025 Pub. Ch. 318)
What one-time bond initiation fee may a professional bondsman add to the premium?T.C.A. 40-11-316(b)
What premium does a professional bondsman assess on the bond of a Tennessee resident?T.C.A. 40-11-316(a) (2025 Pub. Ch. 318)
What premium may be assessed on the bond of a defendant who is not a Tennessee resident?T.C.A. 40-11-316(c) (2025 Pub. Ch. 318)
With which department does every licensed professional bondsman file a quarterly report of bonds issued?2025 Pub. Ch. 396, sec. 1
Who may act, and conduct 14
A bondsman takes money on a promise to get a charge dismissed. What does T.C.A. 40-11-307 call that?T.C.A. 40-11-307
A principal asks the bondsman to recommend a lawyer. How does T.C.A. 40-11-126 treat a recommendation?T.C.A. 40-11-126(1)
For whom may a practicing attorney sign a criminal appearance bond as surety?T.C.A. 40-11-149
May a professional bondsman pay an attorney to represent a person for whom the bondsman is surety?T.C.A. 40-11-310
Real estate securing a bail bond must have unencumbered equity worth how much?T.C.A. 40-11-122(1)
Since July 1, 2026, how often may an entity that is not family, employer, guardian or a professional bondsman post security for one defendant?2026 Pub. Ch. 941, sec. 1
Under the 2025 rewrite of T.C.A. 40-11-313, who may not act as a professional bondsman?T.C.A. 40-11-313 (2025 Pub. Ch. 491, sec. 11)
Under the same 2026 act, what is the most such an outside entity may post for one defendant in a calendar year?2026 Pub. Ch. 941, sec. 1
What must a bondsman's receipt for collateral show?T.C.A. 40-11-126(8)
When must collateral taken from a principal be returned?T.C.A. 40-11-126(8)
Where does T.C.A. 40-11-126 forbid soliciting bail business?T.C.A. 40-11-126(6)
Which county official may still act as a professional bondsman under T.C.A. 40-11-313?T.C.A. 40-11-313 (2025 Pub. Ch. 491, sec. 11)
Which does T.C.A. 40-11-126 require of anyone in business as a professional bondsman?T.C.A. 40-11-126(9)
Which of these may not be a bail bondsman or share in the benefits of a bail bond?T.C.A. 40-11-128
Surrender, arrest and forfeiture 20
A bond stays in effect with no original indictment sought by the state. After how long may it no longer be forfeited against the surety?T.C.A. 40-11-138(c)
A bondsman surrenders a defendant. Within what time must the court have the defendant brought before it?T.C.A. 40-11-137(b)
A capias issues for a violent felony, and the defendant is not placed on a fugitive database. After how long may the court relieve the surety?T.C.A. 40-11-139(d) (2026 Pub. Ch. 1026)
A defendant who failed to appear is arrested on a capias. What happens to the surety on the forfeited bond?T.C.A. 40-11-139(a)
A judge remits a forfeiture on petition. What clerk's commission is kept in most counties?T.C.A. 40-11-204(a)
After a surrender, who fixes how much premium, if any, is refunded?T.C.A. 40-11-137(c)
After forfeiture and before payment, how may a bondsman be exonerated?T.C.A. 40-11-203(a)
The court finds a surrender was arbitrary. What may it order?T.C.A. 40-11-137(b)
How long after a final forfeit is entered before execution may issue?T.C.A. 40-11-139(c)
How long after the surety is served with scire facias may the court enter judgment on a forfeited bail?T.C.A. 40-11-139(b)
To whom is a defendant surrendered?T.C.A. 40-11-136
What is the limit of a bondsman's liability on a bail bond?T.C.A. 40-11-201(c)
What is the only identifying title a bondsman's clothing may bear while arresting a defendant?T.C.A. 40-11-133(e) (2021 Pub. Ch. 520)
What must a bondsman produce to have a sheriff's aid in arresting the defendant?T.C.A. 40-11-134
What must a professional bail bondsman do before employing a bounty hunter to apprehend a defendant?T.C.A. 40-11-320
What words must a bounty hunter's clothing prominently display while bounty hunting?T.C.A. 40-11-318(g)
Which disposition of the charge releases a bondsman from the bail bond?T.C.A. 40-11-138(b)
Which must a bounty hunter present to local law enforcement before taking a person into custody?T.C.A. 40-11-318(c)
Which showing stops a forfeiture from being entered when the principal does not appear?T.C.A. 40-11-201(b)
Who is barred from serving as a bounty hunter in Tennessee?T.C.A. 40-11-318(b) (2021 Pub. Ch. 520)
Continuing education 8
The clerk notifies an agent that the continuing education certificate is missing. How long before the judge suspends the agent?T.C.A. 40-11-403
How long before a continuing education class must an applicant submit to a criminal history background check?2023 Pub. Ch. 417, sec. 2
How many hours of continuing education must a professional bail bondsman or bonding agent obtain in each 12-month period?T.C.A. 40-11-401(a)
Of a bounty hunter's eight yearly hours, how many must focus on bounty hunting?T.C.A. 40-11-401(b) (2021 Pub. Ch. 520)
What is the most that may be charged in a year for the eight hours of continuing education?T.C.A. 40-11-404(b) (2023 Pub. Ch. 417)
What is the most the clerk may charge to process a continuing education application and background check?2023 Pub. Ch. 417, sec. 2
Who may not attend a bail continuing education class under the 2023 act?2023 Pub. Ch. 417, sec. 2
With which filing does an agent file the yearly certificate of compliance with continuing education?T.C.A. 40-11-402
How this list was compiled: Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 40, Chapter 11 (bail), parts 1 to 4, read on October 15, 2026. Text changed since 2021 was read in the enacted Public Chapters on the Secretary of State's site (https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/acts/): 2021 Pub. Ch. 520, 2022 Pub. Ch. 800, 2023 Pub. Ch. 417, 2025 Pub. Ch. 318, 396 and 491 (the Board of Professional Bondsmen), 2026 Pub. Ch. 941 and 1026. Sections not changed since 2021 were read in a public copy that is not on a state site: Release 76 of the Tennessee Code, dated 2021-05-21, posted by Public.Resource.Org on the Internet Archive (https://archive.org/download/gov.tn.tca/release76.2021.05.21/gov.tn.tca.title.40.html); their links open that 2021 copy, and each was compared that day with a commercial copy of the current code, which agreed. The state's own current code sits in a legal publisher's viewer, linked from the Board of Professional Bondsmen's Laws page (https://www.tn.gov/commerce/regboards/bonds/rules-laws/laws.html). Rules of the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, Chapter 0780-05-20, Professional Bondsmen, effective June 17, 2026 (https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/rules/0780/0780-05/0780-05-20.20260617.pdf), and the Board's page How to Get a License (https://www.tn.gov/commerce/regboards/bonds/license/get.html). Each question names its section, act or rule and links to it. Licence: Own work. Every question, wrong choice and explanation was written for this site from the text of the law named under "source". Nothing comes from an examination, sample questions, a testing vendor, a continuing education course or a prep publisher.
How it works
Tennessee licenses a bail bond agent as a professional bondsman, and the Board's rule lists no examination. This unofficial Tennessee bail bond agent practice test is 101 questions of our own from Title 40, Chapter 11. Not affiliated with the Tennessee Board of Professional Bondsmen.
Read the full guide
A state license since 2026
Since March 1, 2026 a professional bondsman needs a license from the Board of Professional Bondsmen. It runs two years, and a judge may still deny a licensed bondsman the privilege of writing bail in that judge's court (T.C.A. 40-11-321).
Numbers the law sets
Eight hours of continuing education a year. Bonding capacity of at least 15 times the cash pledged with the court, or 10 times pledged real estate equity. Judgment on a forfeiture no sooner than 180 days after the surety is served (T.C.A. 40-11-401, 40-11-302, 40-11-139).
What is left out
Each court's local rules for bondsmen, the insurance licensing law in Title 56 and the sections on how a judge sets bail are not asked.
Report a felony arrest to the Board in writing within 72 hours, or bonding privileges are suspended automatically (T.C.A. 40-11-319).
Collect at least half the premium when the bond is signed; installments carry no interest (T.C.A. 40-11-316).
File assets and liabilities by January 31 and July 31, and bond counts with the Department of Revenue quarterly (T.C.A. 40-11-303; 2025 Pub. Ch. 396).
Questions and answers
Is there a bail bondsman exam in Tennessee?
The Board of Professional Bondsmen's licensing page and its rule 0780-05-20-.03 list an application, background checks and fees, and no examination. The state's insurance candidate handbook says limited insurance producers, the bail bonds line among them, take no written examination.
How do I become a bail bondsman in Tennessee?
Get approval from the court in each judicial district you will serve, then apply to the Board of Professional Bondsmen: age 18, TBI and FBI background checks dated within 12 months, and a $250 fee (T.C.A. 40-11-321; Rule 0780-05-20-.03).
How much does a bail bondsman charge in Tennessee?
Ten percent of the bond's face value for a Tennessee resident and 10% to 15% for a nonresident, plus a one-time initiation fee of up to $25 and a $12 bail tax (T.C.A. 40-11-316, 40-11-151).
Can a felon be a bail bondsman in Tennessee?
No. T.C.A. 40-11-128 lists convicted felons among the persons who shall not be bail bondsmen or agents of bail bondsmen, or receive any benefit from the execution of a bail bond.