Can Bounty Hunters Break & Enter?

Bail bondsmen hire bounty hunters to track and locate arrestees who fail to appear in court. Bounty hunter’s job is to assist bail bondsmen in ensuring that you appear in court.

However, bounty hunters are not just required to track and locate a criminal fugitive, but also to apprehend them and return them to court. Depending on the individual state’s laws, bounty hunters can break and enter your private property without a warrant in order to take you back into custody.

Based on specific county laws, a bounty hunter may be allowed to enter the fugitive’s home without a warrant and make an arrest to get the person back into jail or court custody.

However, in some cases and states, the bounty hunter won’t be allowed entry into the fugitive’s property without an official warrant. When done otherwise, the bounty hunter can be charged with trespassing.

See a list of what bounty hunters can and cannot do.