The statute regulating bail in Massachusetts is found under M.G.L. c. 276, Section 58.
According to the statute, if the judge or clerk determines that bail is required in your case
[you] shall be allowed to provide an equivalent amount in a surety company bond.
A “surety company” is a company that agrees to pay another person’s debt if that person defaults on an agreement.
An “equivalent amount” bond is a bond valued at ten times the amount of the defendant’s bail.
According to the Supreme Judicial Court:
we conclude that the words “equivalent amount” contained in the last sentence of the first paragraph of G. L. c. 276, s. 58, mean an amount equal in effect. In the bail context, we conclude that a surety bond set at an amount ten times the amount of a cash bail is equal in effect to that cash bail. The reasons are several: the amount of the surety bond is equal to the minimum value of bond that could be obtained with the sum set as cash bail; the financial burden on the defendant is virtually the same; and the effect of ensuring the defendant’s appearance in court throughout the proceedings is as great. The practice of setting the amount of the surety bond at ten times the amount of cash bail or, otherwise stated, of providing for a ten per cent cash equivalent to the surety bond, is therefore permitted by the statute.
Commonwealth v. Ray, 435 Mass. 249, 258 (2001).
So, for example, suppose your bail is set at $500. You can either pay the $500 in cash or find a surety company that will post a $5,000 bond on your behalf.