WEST VIRGINIA STATE MANAGING BAIL BOND AGENT/OPERATOR
IMPORTANT: This is a commission-only independent contractor business opportunity, not a salaried management position. The selected candidate will be expected to invest time and personal resources into establishing the West Virginia operation and may assume substantial financial responsibility for business written under their authority.
Company Description
John Craven General Agency Inc (Craven Bail Bonds) is a family-owned bail bond agency that has operated continuously since 1978. Headquartered in Ohio, we serve local and state courts through an experienced, fully licensed team.
Craven Bail Bonds is now expanding into West Virginia. We are selecting one State Managing Agent to establish and operate the company’s West Virginia territory, build the business, and recruit a statewide network of subagents who report to them.
The Opportunity
The State Managing Agent (SMA) is not a traditional salaried manager or employee. This is an independent, commission-only owner-operator opportunity for someone who wants to build and run a business under the Craven Bail Bonds brand.
The SMA will establish a home-base office in West Virginia and build the operation from the ground up with training, systems, and ongoing guidance from Craven Bail Bonds’ Ohio headquarters.
The SMA will be responsible for:
- Establishing and operating the West Virginia home-base office
- Building the company’s bail bond business in the local market
- Recruiting, training, and managing subagents throughout West Virginia
- Hiring, supervising, and, when necessary, terminating local staff and agents
- Developing relationships with courts, jails, attorneys, and community partners
- Ensuring 24/7 phone and bond-posting coverage
- Managing bond files, payment plans, accounts receivable, collateral, and documentation
- Overseeing forfeitures, recovery efforts, collections, and other bond-related risks
- Monitoring production, expenses, performance metrics, and financial results
- Ensuring that all staff and subagents follow applicable laws, underwriting requirements, company procedures, and brand standards
- Reporting production, incidents, forfeitures, and other required information to Craven Bail Bonds headquarters
Subagents operating within West Virginia will report directly to the SMA. The SMA will provide their day-to-day supervision and support, while Craven Bail Bonds headquarters retains final approval over appointments, terminations, high-risk underwriting decisions, and matters presenting significant legal, regulatory, or reputational risk.
Compensation
This is a commission-only, independent contractor opportunity. There is no salary, hourly wage, guaranteed income, or traditional employee benefits.
For premium revenue generated directly by the SMA:
- 70% is allocated to the State Managing Agent
- 25% is allocated to Craven Bail Bonds
- 5% is allocated to a reserve account administered by Craven Bail Bonds under the SMA agreement
The SMA’s 70% is a gross revenue share before operating expenses, taxes, and other business costs. It should not be considered guaranteed income or net profit.
The SMA can also earn an override margin from business written by recruited subagents. Subagent commissions are paid from the SMA’s 70% share. For example, if a subagent receives 40% of premium revenue, the SMA retains the remaining 30% before operating expenses. Actual subagent commission percentages may vary.
Financial Responsibility and Liability
The State Managing Agent assumes meaningful financial responsibility for the West Virginia operation.
Under the SMA agreement, the SMA will be financially responsible for the performance of business written under their authority, including applicable business written by recruited subagents. This responsibility may include bond forfeitures, recovery expenses, unpaid obligations, chargebacks, collection expenses, compliance costs, and other bond-related losses or liabilities, as defined in the final written agreement.
The SMA is also responsible for their own taxes, benefits, licensing expenses, and applicable costs of establishing and operating the West Virginia office. The 5% reserve account is maintained according to the SMA agreement and does not replace the SMA’s contractual indemnity or financial-responsibility obligations.
Applicants should have access to sufficient startup resources and financial runway to establish the operation and support themselves while building the business. Commission income may be inconsistent during the launch period, and no specific earnings are guaranteed.
What Craven Bail Bonds Provides
- Hands-on initial training, including training at our Ohio headquarters, local training, self-guided instruction, and agent shadowing
- Weekly coaching during the first six months
- Direct access to the company owner for guidance and support
- A proven operating manual and county-by-county launch framework
- Access to established bail-management, payment-processing, electronic-signature, phone, and skip-tracing systems
- Underwriting guidance and structured approval limits while the SMA gains experience
- Brand, marketing, website, and local-search support
- Assistance with recruiting, screening, training, and appointing subagents
- Ongoing operational, compliance, and business-development support
Qualifications
- Must currently reside in West Virginia and intend to remain in the state
- Must be eligible and willing to obtain and maintain all required West Virginia bail bondsman licenses, appointments, registrations, and continuing education
- Must successfully complete required background and reference checks
- Bachelor’s degree required
- Prior business ownership, management, sales, insurance, collections, criminal justice, or regulated-industry experience is strongly preferred
- Strong leadership skills and the ability to recruit, coach, supervise, and hold others accountable
- Business and financial acumen, including budgeting, expense management, basic reporting, and performance tracking
- Excellent judgment and the ability to make responsible decisions under time pressure
- Strong communication and relationship-building skills
- High standards of honesty, compassion, professionalism, and confidentiality
- Ability to learn detailed legal, court, underwriting, and documentation requirements
- Comfort using common office software and learning specialized case-management systems
- Willingness to personally handle calls and operational responsibilities during the launch period
- Ability to provide or arrange reliable transportation and travel throughout West Virginia as the operation expands
Schedule and Location
This opportunity requires a full-time business commitment and an on-site presence in West Virginia. The SMA will establish a physical home-base office, with the location selected in coordination with Craven Bail Bonds.
Bail does not keep traditional business hours. The SMA is responsible for ensuring dependable coverage during nights, weekends, and holidays. During the initial launch period, this will require substantial personal availability until additional staff and agents are recruited and trained.
Who Will Succeed
This opportunity is best suited for someone who:
- Has an entrepreneurial, long-term owner mentality
- Is deeply connected to their West Virginia community
- Can be firm and accountable while treating families with compassion
- Is comfortable accepting financial risk in exchange for the opportunity to build a statewide business
- Understands that relationships and reputation must be earned over time
- Wants to build and lead a team rather than simply work individual shifts
- Is prepared to follow a proven system while taking ownership of local execution
This opportunity is not:
- A salaried management position
- A guaranteed-income position
- A conventional 9-to-5 job
- A passive investment
- A franchise
- A position where Craven Bail Bonds provides all startup expenses
- A role where the SMA simply supervises employees
- A position with limited personal financial exposure
Qualified candidates will be invited to an initial virtual interview, followed by additional financial documentation, background and reference checks and a detailed review of the SMA agreement, compensation structure, reserve requirements, startup obligations, and financial liability.
Finalists will be invited to an in-person, full-day assessment and interview at Craven Bail Bonds' headquarters in Springfield, Ohio. Candidates should expect to discuss their business plan, financial readiness, leadership experience, market strategy, underwriting judgment, and understanding of the SMA Agreement.
Application Question(s):
- What do you know about how the bail bond business works?
- Please research and describe below your state’s licensing requirements for bail bond agents.
- Have you ever been arrested, charged, or convicted of anything? Explain the circumstances.
- When would you be able to start if we moved forward?
- Describe your current financial situation: can you support yourself for 6–12 months while building a book with irregular income?
- Are you comfortable being on call nights, weekends, and holidays, and going into jails to meet clients?
- Being a state managing agent requires a significant amount of financial responsibility if a defendant fails to appear, is this something you are comfortable with?
- Do you have reliable transportation and a smartphone or computer you can use for the job?
- Are you willing to study for and pass the state licensing exam within 30 days at your own expense?
- What is the highest level of education you have completed?
- What experience, professional relationships, or community connections do you have in the West Virginia market where you would operate? How long have you been familiar with that area?
Work Location: In person
