What a 1275 Hold Is and How to Clear It
The court believes the bail money might come from criminal activity, and will not take it until the source is proven. Here is what proving it looks like.
This is not legal advice. It is general information about how the process usually works in California, written to help you understand what is happening. Every case turns on its own facts, and law and local practice change. For advice about a specific case, speak to a licensed criminal defense attorney. If you cannot afford one, ask the court to appoint a public defender at the first hearing.
You arrive to post bail and the jail tells you there is a “1275 hold” on the case. The number comes from Penal Code section 1275.1, and it means one thing: someone — the arresting agency, the prosecutor, or the judge — has stated probable cause to believe the bail money would come from a felony. Until the source of the funds is proven legitimate, the court will not accept bail from anyone.
Which cases get them
1275 holds are routine in cases where money is part of the allegation: drug sales, theft and fraud charges, organized retail theft. The logic is simple — the court will not let the proceeds of the alleged crime buy the release. But the hold attaches to the case, not to you, which means a family member with entirely legitimate money still has to prove it.
What clearing it takes
The person supplying the money files a declaration identifying the source, supported by documents, and a judge decides at a hearing. What persuades:
- Pay stubs and an employment letter covering the period the money accumulated.
- Bank statements showing the money sitting in the account before the arrest — money that appears the day after an arrest raises exactly the question the hold exists to ask.
- Loan or sale paperwork if the money was borrowed or came from selling something: the loan agreement, the title transfer, the escrow statement.
- A declaration from each contributor if several family members are pooling funds — each source gets traced.
How long it takes and who to call
Days, not hours. The hearing has to be calendared, the documents gathered, and the prosecutor given a chance to object. This is a hearing before a judge, so a defense attorney should run it — a bail agent cannot argue it for you, though experienced agents know the local procedure and can tell you what the judge in that courthouse usually wants to see.
Two practical rules. First, find out about the hold before paying any premium — a bond cannot be posted over an uncleared 1275 hold, and the premium is not refundable. Second, do not move money between accounts to “tidy up” before the hearing; transfers made after the arrest look like exactly what the court is checking for, and they turn a clean story into a suspicious one.