You can file bankruptcy a second time, and federal law puts no cap on how many times you can file in a lifetime. What it does impose is a waiting period between cases, running from two to eight years depending on which chapter you used before and which one you want to use now. Miss the window and the court will still accept your petition, but it will refuse to discharge your debts, so you go through the whole process for nothing.
How Long You Have to Wait
The clock runs from the filing date of your first case to the filing date of your second. The date your debts were actually wiped out doesn’t count. Which two chapters are involved determines the length of the wait.
Chapter 7 to Chapter 7
This is the longest wait. Eight full years must pass between the first Chapter 7 filing date and the second one before the court will grant a discharge in the new case.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 727 – Discharge Filing at seven years and eleven months means the court accepts your petition and denies the discharge. Precision matters.
Chapter 7 to Chapter 13
If you received a Chapter 7 discharge and now want to file Chapter 13, the wait drops to four years from the Chapter 7 filing date.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 1328 – Discharge People often use this path to handle debts Chapter 7 didn’t eliminate, such as mortgage arrears, which Chapter 13 lets you catch up on through a structured repayment plan while keeping the property.
Chapter 13 to Chapter 7
Moving from Chapter 13 to Chapter 7 requires six years from the Chapter 13 filing date, with two exceptions that can eliminate the wait entirely. The six-year bar does not apply if you paid back 100% of your unsecured debts under your Chapter 13 plan. It also does not apply if you paid at least 70% and the court found that your plan was proposed in good faith and represented your best effort.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 727 – Discharge If you completed a Chapter 13 plan and paid a high percentage of your debts, pull your plan confirmation order and check the exact payout percentage. It could save you years.
Chapter 13 to Chapter 13
The shortest wait is here: two years between the filing dates of the two Chapter 13 cases.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 1328 – Discharge Because a typical Chapter 13 plan runs three to five years, most people who complete a plan have already cleared the two-year mark by the time new financial trouble hits.
If Your First Case Was Dismissed Instead of Discharged
The waiting periods above assume your prior case ended in discharge. If your earlier case was dismissed before that point, those rules don’t apply, but a different one might.
A dismissed case can block you from refiling for 180 days in two situations. First, if the court dismissed your case because you ignored court orders or failed to appear at required hearings. Second, if you voluntarily asked the court to dismiss your own case after a creditor had already filed a motion to lift the automatic stay.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 109 – Who May Be a Debtor That second one catches people off guard: if a creditor is about to get permission to repossess your car or foreclose on your house, walking away from your case to refile later triggers the 180-day lockout.
The Automatic Stay Gets Weaker for Repeat Filers
The automatic stay stops creditors from collecting, garnishing wages, or foreclosing the moment you file. First-time filers get it automatically and keep it for the whole case. Repeat filers get less.
One Prior Dismissal in the Past Year
If you had a bankruptcy case pending within the last year that was dismissed, the stay in your new case expires after 30 days unless you act.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 362 – Automatic Stay You have to file a motion inside that 30-day window and convince the judge your new filing is in good faith. The court presumes it isn’t, so you’re overcoming that presumption with clear and convincing evidence. It’s a high bar.
Courts want to hear what led to the earlier dismissal and see that your financial circumstances have materially changed. If the prior case was dismissed because you didn’t file paperwork, missed plan payments, or ignored court orders, the presumption of bad faith gets harder to overcome.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 362 – Automatic Stay
Two or More Prior Dismissals in the Past Year
If two or more bankruptcy cases were pending and dismissed within the previous year, no automatic stay goes into effect at all when you file again.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 362 – Automatic Stay You file, and creditors keep calling, garnishing, and foreclosing as if you hadn’t. Any stay protection has to be requested from the court, under the same good-faith standard. At that point the bankruptcy offers little immediate relief while still landing on your record.
You Still Have to Qualify
Clearing the waiting period doesn’t mean you’re eligible. You have to independently meet the requirements of whichever chapter you’re filing under, and your situation may look different than it did the first time.
The Chapter 7 Means Test
Chapter 7 filers must pass the means test, which compares household income to the median income in your state. Below the median, you qualify. Above it, a formula built on your actual expenses determines whether you have enough disposable income to fund a repayment plan instead.5United States Department of Justice. Means Testing Passing the first time doesn’t mean you’ll pass again. A raise, a new job, or a spouse’s income can flip the result.
Chapter 13 Debt Limits
Chapter 13 requires regular income and caps how much debt you can carry. As of April 2025, you must owe less than $526,700 in unsecured debt and less than $1,580,125 in secured debt.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 109 – Who May Be a Debtor Those limits adjust every three years. If your debts have grown since your first case, confirm you’re still under the caps.
Credit Counseling and Debtor Education, Again
Every individual filer must complete two courses: credit counseling before filing and debtor education after filing.6United States Courts. Credit Counseling and Debtor Education Courses There’s no repeat-filer exemption. Even if you took both during your first bankruptcy, you take them again.
The pre-filing credit counseling has to happen within 180 days before you file, from a nonprofit agency approved by the U.S. Trustee’s office.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 109 – Who May Be a Debtor The debtor education course happens after you file but before the court will grant your discharge. The two cannot be taken at the same time.6United States Courts. Credit Counseling and Debtor Education Courses Skip either one and the court closes your case without discharging your debts.
What It Costs
Court filing fees are $338 for Chapter 7 (filing, administrative, and trustee surcharges combined) and $313 for Chapter 13. Chapter 7 filers whose income is below 150% of the federal poverty guidelines can apply for a fee waiver, and most filers can request to pay in installments over 120 days. Chapter 13 filers cannot get a fee waiver or installment plan; the fee is due at filing.
Attorney fees vary by region and case complexity, generally running from roughly $1,000 to $3,500 for a straightforward Chapter 7 and higher for Chapter 13. A second filing can be more complicated than the first, especially if you need to litigate a motion to extend the automatic stay or deal with debts that survived the earlier case. Some attorneys charge more for repeat filers because of the extra court filings involved.
What a Second Filing Does to Your Credit
Each bankruptcy is a separate entry on your credit report. A second filing does not reset the first. Chapter 7 stays on your report for ten years from the filing date, Chapter 13 for seven. A second filing adds a new mark with its own expiration, so you can have two overlapping bankruptcy entries for years.
Lenders will see both. A single discharged bankruptcy several years back may not disqualify you from new credit, but two filings signal a pattern that makes lenders more cautious. Getting a mortgage, a car loan, or a credit card after a second bankruptcy is harder, and rebuilding credit takes longer the second time.