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Costa Mesa PD Jail Bail Bonds: How to Get Someone Out Fast

Costa Mesa PD jail bail bonds can usually be posted within an hour of booking being completed, and release from the city jail at 99 Fair Drive typically takes two to eight hours from that point. The Costa Mesa Police Department runs a 32-bed Type I detention facility — a short-term jail, not a long-term one. Most people are released or transferred to Orange County custody within 24 to 48 hours. That transfer window is the whole game: posting bail while your person is still in Costa Mesa is dramatically faster than posting after they have been moved to the Intake Release Center in Santa Ana. Call 714-671-8920 and a licensed agent will start the paperwork immediately.

Table of Contents

• The Costa Mesa jail at 99 Fair Drive
• Booking, fingerprints, and when bail can actually be posted
• The 24–48 hour transfer window
• What a Costa Mesa bail bond costs
• Two courthouses, one city — the Costa Mesa mix-up
• Why Costa Mesa’s jail hours are steadier than they used to be
• The OC Fair, South Coast Plaza, and out-of-town arrests
• Co-signing from out of state
• Costa Mesa bail bonds FAQ

The Costa Mesa jail at 99 Fair Drive

The Costa Mesa City Jail sits inside the Costa Mesa Police Department headquarters at 99 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92626. Custody staff can be reached around the clock at (714) 754-5113. It is a Type I facility under California’s jail classification system, which means it holds people who have been arrested and are awaiting bail, release, court, or transfer — not people serving long sentences.

Thirty-two beds is small. That matters more than it sounds. A small jail processes a small number of people at a time, so a quiet Tuesday night can mean a release in under two hours. A Saturday after a busy shift can mean eight. The one variable you control is how early the bond is filed, which is why the call should happen before you finish reading this page.

Booking, fingerprints, and when bail can actually be posted

Bail cannot be posted the second someone arrives at the jail. Booking has to finish first. In Costa Mesa that means the arresting officer completes the report, staff take a mug shot, personal property is inventoried, and fingerprints are taken and run against state and federal databases. Nobody walks out until those prints come back clean of holds and warrants.

That database check is the single most common reason a family feels stalled. You paid, the agent filed, and nothing is happening — because the jail is waiting on a records response, not on you. It can take forty-five minutes. It can take several hours. A bail agent who has filed at this jail before will tell you that plainly instead of letting you sit and refresh your phone.

Bail bonds can be filed at the Costa Mesa jail 24 hours a day. Cash bail, by contrast, means somebody physically brings the entire bail amount to the counter — for a $25,000 bail that is $25,000 in hand, returned only after the case fully concludes, which can be a year or more. A bond costs a fraction of that and requires no one to carry cash across town at 3 a.m.

The 24–48 hour transfer window

This is the part competitors bury at the bottom of the page. Costa Mesa is a short-term facility. When someone is not released, they are transported to the Orange County Intake Release Center at 550 N. Flower Street in Santa Ana, the county’s booking hub. Once that transfer happens:

• Your person joins a countywide intake queue instead of a 32-bed one
• Release times commonly stretch from a couple of hours to four to twelve
• The paperwork has to be re-filed at the county facility
• You are now driving to Santa Ana, not Fair Drive

Nothing about the bail amount changes. Only the wait does. If you take one thing from this page: a bond filed before the transfer bus leaves is worth several hours of your night.

What a Costa Mesa bail bond costs

California regulates bail bond premiums. The rate is a state-approved percentage of the full bail amount — typically 10% — and it is what you pay the bail agency to post the full bond on your behalf. On a $20,000 bail, that is $2,000. The premium is earned once the bond is posted; it is not a deposit that comes back at the end of the case.

Bail amounts themselves come from the Orange County uniform bail schedule, which sets a presumptive amount for each charge at the time of booking. That is precisely why release can happen the same night without waiting for a judge — the number already exists. A few things can move it:

• Bail enhancements. Additional charges or aggravating factors added during booking can raise the amount above the first figure quoted to you over the phone.
• Multiple counts. Charges stack, and so do their scheduled amounts.
• Holds. A probation, parole, immigration, or Penal Code 1275 hold blocks release no matter what is paid.

If you want the mechanics in more depth before you call, our guide to understanding bail costs and our overview of how bail works both cover this in plain language. Payment plans are available and worth asking about on the first call rather than the third.

Two courthouses, one city — the Costa Mesa mix-up

Here is something almost no other Costa Mesa bail page mentions, and it sends families to the wrong building constantly.

There is an Orange County courthouse in Costa Mesa — the Costa Mesa Justice Complex at 3390 Harbor Blvd. It is a full-security facility, and it does not handle traffic matters. But criminal arraignments for people arrested by Costa Mesa PD are generally heard at the Stephen K. Tamura West Justice Center, 8141 13th Street, Westminster, which serves Costa Mesa along with Cypress, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, Stanton, and Westminster.

So the courthouse closest to the jail is frequently not the courthouse on the paperwork. Before anyone drives anywhere, confirm the courtroom and date on the release paperwork or with the Orange County Superior Court. Missing an arraignment because you sat in the wrong lobby is an avoidable, expensive mistake — a failure to appear can trigger a warrant and put the bond at risk.

Why Costa Mesa’s jail hours are steadier than they used to be

For several years Costa Mesa contracted jail operations out to a private security company. That arrangement ended in 2022, and the city moved to staffing the jail with its own full-time correctional staff. The practical effect for families is consistency: the facility’s intake and release coverage is now run by city employees on city shifts rather than a contractor’s roster.

Why does a bail agency care about staffing history? Because release speed at a small jail is almost entirely a function of who is on shift and how many people they are processing. Agencies still working from old information will quote you timelines that no longer reflect how this jail runs. Current information is part of the service.

The OC Fair, South Coast Plaza, and out-of-town arrests

Costa Mesa’s geography creates a booking pattern you will not find in a bedroom community. The OC Fair & Event Center sits at 88 Fair Drive — directly across the street from the police department. During the summer fair and year-round concerts and events at the fairgrounds, the nearest booking facility to a crowd of tens of thousands of people is, quite literally, across the road.

Add South Coast Plaza, one of the largest shopping centers in the country, the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, and the restaurant and nightlife corridor along 19th Street and in the SoBeCa district. The result is a steady share of arrestees who do not live in Costa Mesa — visitors, shoppers, concertgoers, people in from Riverside or San Diego or out of state.

That creates the problem this jail specializes in producing: an arrestee in Costa Mesa and a co-signer three hundred miles away.

Co-signing from out of state

You do not have to be standing in Orange County to bail someone out of the Costa Mesa jail. Remote e-signature means a co-signer in Sacramento, Phoenix, or Dallas can complete the paperwork from a phone in a few minutes while a licensed agent files at the jail locally.

What a co-signer is agreeing to, stated plainly: you are guaranteeing the defendant appears in court. If they appear, the bond is exonerated when the case ends. If they do not, you are on the hook for the full bail amount. A good agency explains that before you sign, not after. Typically you will need a government-issued ID, a phone number that reaches you, and basic employment or residence information.

Full name, date of birth, the jail they are in, and the booking number if you have it — that is enough for an agent to start. Not having the booking number is not a reason to wait; we can find it.

Costa Mesa bail bonds FAQ

How long does release from the Costa Mesa jail take after bail is posted?

Typically two to eight hours from the point booking is complete, and sometimes less at this facility because it only has 32 beds. The variables are fingerprint clearance, how many people are being processed at once, and shift staffing. After a transfer to Orange County custody in Santa Ana, expect considerably longer.

Where is the Costa Mesa city jail located?

Inside Costa Mesa Police Department headquarters at 99 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92626. Custody staff can be reached 24 hours a day at (714) 754-5113.

Can bail be posted at the Costa Mesa jail in the middle of the night?

Yes. Bail bonds can be filed at the facility around the clock, which is the main reason a bond beats cash bail for an overnight arrest. Our line answers 24/7 at 714-671-8920.

How much does a Costa Mesa bail bond cost?

The premium is a state-regulated percentage of the full bail amount, typically 10%. On $20,000 bail the premium is $2,000. The premium is earned when the bond is posted and is not refunded at the end of the case. Payment plans are available.

What happens if my person is transferred to Orange County jail before I post bail?

The bond can still be posted — it just takes longer and happens at the Intake Release Center, 550 N. Flower Street, Santa Ana, instead of at Fair Drive. The bail amount does not change. This is why calling early matters.

Which court will the case be heard in?

Criminal cases from Costa Mesa arrests are generally arraigned at the Stephen K. Tamura West Justice Center in Westminster, not at the Costa Mesa Justice Complex on Harbor Blvd. Always confirm the courtroom on the release paperwork.

Can I bail someone out if I live in another state?

Yes. Co-signing is completed by remote e-signature, and a licensed agent files at the jail in person. You will need a government ID and basic contact and employment information.

What if there is a hold on the person in custody?

A probation, parole, immigration, or Penal Code 1275 source-of-funds hold prevents release regardless of whether bail is paid. An agent can check for holds before you commit any money, and should.

What information do you need to start?

Full name, date of birth, and the facility. A booking number speeds things up but is not required — we can locate it. See also our 5 things to do after an arrest.

Do you handle other Orange County jails?

Yes, countywide. We post bonds at Santa Ana, Anaheim, Huntington Beach, Fullerton, and the county facilities. See our Orange County bail bonds page.

Call Big Boy Bail Bonds — 24 Hours a Day

Nobody plans to search for bail bonds at 2 a.m. That is exactly why we answer the phone. If someone is in the Costa Mesa city jail, the clock on the transfer window is already running.

Call 714-671-8920 now. A licensed California bail agent will confirm the bail amount, check for holds, take the co-signer information over the phone or by e-signature, and file at 99 Fair Drive. No sales presentation. No paperwork maze. Just the fastest legal path from a booking cell to your front door.

About Big Boy Bail Bonds, Inc.

Big Boy Bail Bonds, Inc. is a licensed California bail agency serving Orange County, Los Angeles County, Santa Clara County, Alameda County, and locations statewide. We have been licensed and writing bonds since 2005 — more than twenty years of filing at city jails, sheriff’s stations, and county intake facilities across California. Agents are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including holidays. Orange County line: 714-671-8920.