If you commit a crime against one of the factions that control the Settled Systems in Starfield, big or small, you will acquire a bounty that you’ll want to get rid of before finding yourself in a jail cell or altercation with the offended faction.
Clearing a bounty in Starfield is a relatively simple task, given you have credits to do so. Still, there are some facets to this gameplay mechanic that you should know before attempting to exonerate yourself of a crime. If you are trying to clear a bounty in Starfield, here’s what you will need to do.
Clearing bounties in Starfield, explained
To remove a bounty that you have gained with any major faction in Starfield, you will need to visit a Trackers Alliance Self-Service Bounty Clearance Kiosk or surrender to a guard of said faction. The kiosk is the better option if you have contraband on you.
Visit a kiosk
The Bounty Clearance Kiosks can be found in almost every major city. These kiosks offer you the opportunity to clear your bounty without having to surrender contraband or spend time in jail.
The upside of kiosks is you can avoid dealing with guards directly while holding onto your contraband without having to pay extra. However, you cannot use the bounty kiosks while within the space of the faction you have an active bounty with.
- If you have a bounty with the Freestar Collective, you will not be able to use the kiosks in Neon or Akila City, since those are in Freestar space.
- If you have a bounty with the United Colonies, you will not be able to use the kiosks in New Atlantis or Cydonia, since those are in UC space.
Surrender to the guards
If you’re on a planet with an active bounty, you can walk up to a guard representing the faction that has a bounty on you, and surrender to them.
Talk to the guard and they will recognize you as wanted and place you under arrest. You then have three different options if you want to resolve your bounty:
- Go quietly to jail. You will not pay a fine, but you will spend a number of days in jail relative to your crime, and lose experience for every day spent in jail. You will also have all contraband on you seized.
- Pay the standard fine but lose your contraband. You will be taken to the local jail for processing but you will not spend any time in jail. You will lose your contraband, but you have the chance to steal it back, however, you will risk getting another bounty if you are caught.
- Pay the ‘enhanced’ fee to keep your contraband. You will still be taken to the local jail for processing but you will not spend any time in jail and you will keep any contraband on you. This option is available even if you don’t have any contraband, so don’t select if you don’t have any contraband not worth keeping.
There’s also another option to fight, but as you can expect this will not take away your bounty. If you’re in a firefight with the local authorities, you have the option to surrender by sheathing your weapon (hold R on keyboard, or X on the Xbox controller), but this will only work once.
It’s very important to know none of the surrender options are as ideal as using a kiosk since you will either lose contraband, lose XP from sitting in jail, or pay extra to keep your contraband.
