How to remove a bounty in Starfield

Learning how to remove a bounty in Starfield is crucial if you’ve been caught committing a crime. With a bounty on your head, every space cop in the vicinity will beon the lookout for you. Not ideal, especially if you’re in the middle of completing a mission or even just exploring.

On the subject of crime, we’ve got a guide on how to smuggle and sell contraband in Starfield to help you get some quick credits. And if you’ve got a stolen ship on your hands, you’ll want to check out our Starfield where to sell ships guide, too. With that, let’s take a look at how to remove a bounty in Starfield so you can finally get back on the right side of the law.

How do you remove a bounty in Starfield?

There are four ways to remove a bounty in Starfield:

• Pay a fine
• Visit a Bounty Clearance Kiosk
• Go to jail
• Bribe the guards

Like any self-respecting Bethesda RPG, committing crimes and avoiding the consequences is part and parcel of the experience, and Starfield is no different.

Paying a fine

If you’re accosted by a guard in an area where you have a bounty on your head, you’ll have the option to pay a fee to get the bounty cleared. Depending on the seriousness of your crime and the number of crimes committed, this could be anything from a few hundred credits to 100,000. This is not the ideal way to pay off the bounty, however, as paying off a bounty to a guard will result in any stolen goods you have on you being confiscated. That’s where Bounty Clearance Kiosks come in.

Visit a Bounty Clearance Kiosk

You can use Trackers Alliance Self-Service Bounty Clearance Kiosks (a long name, we know) to remove a bounty in Starfield. They are in all of the Settled Systems’ major settlements, including cities like New Atlantis, Cydonia, and Neon, and usually near the city’s spaceport. Interact with one and select ‘Clear Bounty’. You will then be charged a fee similar to paying a guard, and you’ll remove the bounty.

You can’t use a Bounty Clearance Kiosk to clear a bounty that’s been placed on you by the main faction whose airspace or territory you’re in. For example, if you’ve committed a crime on Jemison, you can’t clear the bounty at a kiosk on any United Colonies-controlled planet. Instead, head somewhere in Freestar Collective space like Akila City and clear the bounty there.

And if you’ve somehow managed to get yourself a bounty with every single faction, there’s still a way you can pay your fees. Bounty Clearance Kiosks can be constructed in your Starfield outposts, letting you pay the fine from anywhere. These kiosks are found under the Miscellaneous tab in the outpost build mode.

Bounty Clearance Kiosks can be found in the following locations:

• New Atlantis – In the Viewport Bar near the New Atlantis spaceport
• Akila City – Next to the mission board in the Hitching Post bar
• Cydonia – To the left of the entrance to the Broken Spear bar
• Neon – On the right-hand wall as you enter the Astral Lounge
• Hopetown – On the back wall of the Pit Stop bar

Go to jail

Serving jail time is probably the easiest out of the four options to remove a bounty in Starfield. You’ll be taken to jail, have any stolen goods or contraband confiscated, and the length of your sentence will be determined by the severity of your crimes. While you won’t have to pay for your crimes in terms of credits, you will pay in terms of XP. 

The longer you spend locked up, the more XP you lose, so if you’re just shy of that next level up, you might want to rethink going to jail. You won’t ever lose levels by going to jail, so if you’ve only just levelled up it might be your best option. 

Once on the inside, you can actually decide to break out of jail, lockpicking the jail’s storage box to recover your gear, and escaping. However, this does defeat the purpose of this guide as you’ll still have a bounty active, so only do this if you want to keep your XP and would rather use a different solution.

Bribe a guard

Sometimes, when a guard accosts you, you’ll have the option to bribe your way out of a crime. This can occasionally be a great option if the bribe is lower than the fee you would otherwise pay to remove the bounty, and you’ll get to keep any stolen items you have with you. However, if the guard turns down your bribe, you’ll be arrested, and will have to pay an even higher fee to clear the bounty.

If you’ve unlocked the Negotiation skill on the second tier of the social skill tree, you’ll be able to negotiate lower bribes that cost less credits with each rank. At Rank 4, you can waive the bribe fee entirely, wriggling your way out of a bounty for absolutely nothing – definitely something worth investing in if you’re the type to get in trouble often.

That’s everything you need to know about how to remove a bounty in Starfield. If you’re wanting to pass that time quickly while in jail, then check out how to wait and pass time in Starfield. And if you’re looking to get that XP you lost while in the slammer, our how to level up fast guide will have you covered. We also have a Starfield tips and tricks beginner’s guide full of helpful early game advice, along with the best Starfield ships and the best Starfield reactor if you want a vessel to match your criminal antics.