Study subjects were all persons arrested over a 1-year period and logged into the jail of a medium-sized county in a Southeastern State and who were included in the pretrial release program. To be eligible for program consideration, arrestees must not have been accused of excluded offenses (e.g., murder or public drunkenness) or be otherwise ineligible (e.g., have an out-of-State detainer) under specified criteria. Defendants agreeing to participate in the program (281) were released by the court on unsecured appearance bond and were supervised by program staff during the release period. Other study subjects were defendants disqualified for the program (310) by the program staff but subsequently granted pretrial release by a magistrate. The disqualified defendants were over twice as likely as program participants to miss a required court appearance at some point prior to case disposition. The difference in appearance rates was effectively limited to persons accused of traffic offenses and those released on unsecured appearance bond. Pretrial release programs should be expanded, and magistrates rather than pretrial release program staff should apply the eligibility standards for pretrial release. A reduction in the time between release and trial could significantly reduce the nonappearance rate. 6 tables, a 10-item bibliography, and the list of program eligibility criteria.