Red Dead Redemption 2 Bounty guide: How to get rid of your bounty

Have you been gallivanting carelessly around the wild west and ended up with a price on your head in Red Dead Redemption 2? It's easily done; something as simple as accidentally riding into a stranger on your horse can land Arthur Morgan with a bounty against him.

Having a bounty against you in an area means that the law will be on the lookout for you, and will try to apprehend you where they can. Certain actions can decrease or increase your bounty, and if your pockets are lined with plenty of money, you can actually get rid of your bounty. With that in mind, Here's how to get rid of your bounty in Red Dead Redemption 2.

How to get rid of your bounty in Red Dead Redemption 2

The age of outlaws might be coming to an end as the west is tamed in Red Dead Redemption 2, but Arthur Morgan and the rest of the Van der Linde gang are still tough enough to tangle with the strong arm of the law when push comes to shove.

The thing is with being a wanted bank robber is that there's usually a fat price on your head, which can make day-to-day life a bit of a chore. Commit enough crimes and bounty hunters and lawmen will start to try and track you down, which - if you resist - just snowballs into a higher and higher reward for your capture.

In the early game when money's tight, it's quite easy to run up a big bounty that's tough to pay off, especially considering the bounties you can collect for murderers at the Valentine Sheriff's office are less than $100, and camp upgrades in Red Dead Redemption 2 can run into the hundreds of dollars.

Removing your own bounty is quite simple though, if not very well communicated. All you need to do is visit a Post Office and speak to the Clerk behind the counter. Here, you'll have the option to pay off your bounties. They're divided by county, so if you go on rampages across the country, then you're going to have to get rid of each one individually.

In the early game, the easiest place to find a Post Office is in the southeast of Valentine.

Something to remember is that you can receive a bounty by completing story missions - often quite large ones - so it's often not efficient to keep paying your bounties off as they appear because you'll just get more as you progress naturally through the game.

Plus, if there's an area where you have a bounty - let's use Saint Denis as an example - you can leave for a few days and when you come back lawmen around the city won't be hostile to you anymore unless you cause more trouble. You can even still pick up wanted posters of other criminals. So, a lot of the time there's no rush to pay off your bounty.

However, while you do have a bounty, you can't use stagecoach fast travel.

How to surrender in Red Dead Redemption 2

Alternatively, when the Sheriffs come a-knocking, you can give yourself up and surrender to serve your time in the cells.

To do this, you need to initiate a conversation with the pursuing lawman like you would with any other character, by pressing the left trigger to target them. You should then get a button prompt that lets you surrender.

After surrendering, you'll be taken away to jail for a few days and your bounty will be collected from your pockets. If you're low on money, one player on Reddit recommended donating all money to camp before turning yourself into the police. This way, you can spend your money on camp upgrades first rather than seeing all your cash go to waste. And your Honor Rank will increase as a result of peacefully surrendering to the cops.

Make sure you've not got any weapons drawn when you try and do this, or the situation might get messy. You can check out our guide to see what happens if that bounty suddenly turns into a Wanted Dead or Alive matter and how it can affect the honor system in Red Dead Redemption 2.

How to decrease your bounty in Red Dead Redemption 2

If you don't feel like paying your bounty or surrendering to the law in Red Dead Redemption 2, your only alternative is to wait it out. As mentioned, lawmen will eventually stop being hostile towards Arthur and the gang after some time has passed, so you'll be safe to roam cities even with a bounty looming over your head.

Just be careful to not cause any further trouble, or the law will quickly be onto you again.

If you're new to Red Dead Redemption 2, then check out our guides on how to upgrade your bows and arrows, how to level up and use Dead Eye and where to find the best horse.

You can also check out our guide to the best weapons in Red Dead Redemption 2, and our complete Red Dead Redemption 2 guide here.