You can refile Chapter 13 after a dismissal in most situations, but the protection you get the second time is not the same. Two rules do the real work: a 180-day filing bar that applies in specific circumstances, and a shortened or missing automatic stay when you refile within a year of a prior dismissed case. Everything else about refiling flows from those two limits.
When You Are Blocked From Refiling
Two situations stop a new filing outright.
The first is a dismissal “with prejudice.” Most Chapter 13 dismissals are without prejudice, and the Bankruptcy Code’s default rule is that a dismissal does not block you from filing again.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 349 – Effect of Dismissal A with-prejudice order is different: the court has specifically barred you from refiling for a set period, sometimes a year or two, sometimes longer. Courts reserve this for genuine abuse, such as hiding assets, filing in bad faith to stall creditors, or repeatedly ignoring court orders. One Connecticut bankruptcy court barred a debtor from filing any bankruptcy case for two years after finding a pattern of bad-faith conduct.2United States Bankruptcy Court District of Connecticut. Order Dismissing Chapter 13 Case – In re Joseph M. Gurz Read your dismissal order carefully. If it says “with prejudice,” it will tell you how long you must wait and whether the bar covers all chapters or only Chapter 13.
The second is the 180-day bar in Section 109(g) of the Bankruptcy Code. Even when a dismissal is without prejudice, you cannot file any new bankruptcy case for 180 days if either of these applies:3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S.C. 109 – Who May Be a Debtor
- The court dismissed your case because you willfully failed to obey a court order or failed to appear to prosecute the case.
- You voluntarily dismissed your own case after a creditor filed a motion for relief from the automatic stay.
If neither situation applies, the 180-day bar does not touch you and you can refile whenever you are ready. The bar looks at the circumstances of the dismissal, not the fact of dismissal itself.
The Automatic Stay Shrinks or Disappears on a Refile
This is the piece that catches most people off guard. Even when you are allowed to file, the automatic stay you get is weaker.
One Prior Dismissal Within a Year
If you file a new Chapter 13 within one year of a case that was dismissed, the automatic stay expires 30 days after the new filing.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 362 – Automatic Stay Once that 30-day window closes, creditors can resume foreclosures, lawsuits, repossessions, and wage garnishments as though you had not filed. The stay does not keep running just because the case is still open. Extending it requires action from you.
Two or More Prior Dismissals Within a Year
If two or more of your prior cases were pending and dismissed within the preceding year, no automatic stay goes into effect at all when you file the new case.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 362 – Automatic Stay Creditors can ask the court to promptly enter an order confirming that no stay exists. You can ask the court to impose one, but you start with a presumption of bad faith against you.
Asking the Court to Extend or Impose the Stay
When the 30-day stay is about to run out, or when no stay took effect at all, you can file a motion asking the court to extend or impose it. The timing is strict: the hearing on the motion must be completed before the 30-day period expires.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 362 – Automatic Stay In practice that means filing the motion in the first week of the new case, so the court has time to schedule and hold the hearing. Prepare the motion alongside the petition, not after.
You have to prove the new filing is in good faith. The law presumes bad faith if any of the following are true:4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 362 – Automatic Stay
- More than one prior case was pending within the preceding year.
- Your previous case was dismissed for failing to file required documents, failing to provide adequate protection as ordered by the court, or failing to perform the terms of a confirmed plan.
- Your financial or personal circumstances have not substantially changed since the dismissal, and there is no reason to believe the new case will end in a completed plan.
You can rebut that presumption, but only with clear and convincing evidence, which is a high bar. Show the court what is different this time. A new job, resolved medical issues, a more realistic plan, or the elimination of the specific problem that sank the first case can all carry weight. Coming back with the same income, the same expenses, and the same plan structure that already failed is a recipe for denial.
Eligibility You Have to Clear Again
Some eligibility requirements reset with the new case. Skipping them is a common reason a refile stalls out early.
Debt Limits
Chapter 13 is available only to individuals with regular income whose debts fall below set thresholds. As of 2026, unsecured debts must be less than $526,700 and secured debts less than $1,580,125.5United States Courts. Chapter 13 – Bankruptcy Basics If your debts have grown since the last filing through accrued interest, new obligations, or penalties, you may no longer qualify.
Credit Counseling
You must complete a credit counseling briefing from an approved nonprofit agency within 180 days before filing the new case.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 109 – Who May Be a Debtor The certificate from the earlier case does not work if more than 180 days have passed. The briefing can be done by phone or online and typically costs around $25 to $50.
Tax Returns
You must have filed all required federal tax returns for the four years before the new bankruptcy filing date.7Internal Revenue Service. Chapter 13 Bankruptcy – Voluntary Reorganization of Debt for Individuals If missing returns contributed to the first dismissal, filing them is the first step before refiling. The trustee will ask for copies, and the court will not confirm a plan without them.
What Refiling Costs
The federal court filing fee for a Chapter 13 case is $313. You can ask the court to pay it in installments, but it must be paid in full.
Attorney fees are the larger expense. Chapter 13 cases are complex, and going without a lawyer is risky on a second filing where the court is already scrutinizing your good faith. Attorney fees for Chapter 13 cases typically range from $2,500 to $8,500 depending on complexity and location. Most bankruptcy attorneys roll their fees into the repayment plan, so you usually do not need the full amount upfront. Those fees do increase your total plan payments, so the plan has to account for them from the start.
Making the Second Filing Actually Work
The single most useful thing you can do is figure out why the first case failed and fix that before you file again. Courts see through cases where nothing has changed. If missed payments caused the dismissal, a feasible plan starts with an honest accounting of current income and expenses, not the income you hope to earn or the budget you wish you could keep.
Build the repayment plan around what you can actually afford. Many first Chapter 13 plans are too aggressive, squeezing the debtor’s budget so tight that any unexpected expense triggers a missed payment. A slightly lower payment to unsecured creditors, stretched over the full five-year plan, is often more realistic than an ambitious three-year plan that leaves no room for a car repair or a slow week at work.
If the refile falls inside the one-year window, prepare the motion to extend the automatic stay at the same time you prepare the petition. File it almost immediately after the case opens. Waiting until the third or fourth week is too late. The motion should explain what caused the first case to fail, what has changed, and why the court should expect a different result this time.