Tucked away in the rural upper-Midwest, there are plenty of opportunities in Iowa for those willing to put the work in to be successful. Iowa requires all bail bondsman and bounty hunters to be licensed with the state and to meet all minimum requirements and qualifications.
As far as Iowa is concerned, there are two important regulations that one must keep in mind when entering the career fields of both bail bondsman and bounty hunter:
- Bounty hunters are not permitted to cause any physical harm to fugitives and bail jumpers (this is important, because in other states it is frowned upon, but not entirely illegal to do so. In Iowa, a fugitive who has been physically harmed can sue both the bail bondsman and the bounty hunter.)
- Bounty hunters cannot enter a third party residence in order to apprehend a fugitive (this too is common in most states in the country, but Iowa’s laws regarding the ability to sue is much more strongly in favor of the fugitive than elsewhere.)
Bounty Hunter Salary in Iowa
Bounty hunters earn their income primarily through a fee paid upon the apprehension of a fugitive, and is not based on a traditional salary. The following is the average annual earnings for bounty hunters in the largest cities in Iowa:
- Des Moines: $81,000
- Cedar Rapids: $80,000
- Davenport: $86,000
Bail Bondsman Salary in Iowa
Bail bondsmen employed with big bail bonds companies often earn a traditional salary and then also earn a percentage of the fees on the bail bonds they issue (typically 10-percent of the amount of the bond.) The following is the average annual earnings for bail bondsman (not including the percentage of fees, which can double, triple, or add even more to the figures below):
- Des Moines: $20,000
- Cedar Rapids: $20,000
- Davenport: $22,000