You can file Chapter 7 bankruptcy more than once, but how often you can file Chapter 7 bankruptcy and actually receive a discharge depends on what you filed before. If your last case was a Chapter 7 that ended in discharge, you must wait eight years from the date you filed it. If it was a Chapter 13, the wait is six years, with two narrow exceptions. If your prior case was dismissed without a discharge, the waiting periods do not apply, though other restrictions may.
Eight Years Between Chapter 7 Discharges
If you received a discharge in a prior Chapter 7 case, you cannot receive another Chapter 7 discharge unless at least eight years have passed since the date you filed that earlier case.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 US Code 727 – Discharge The clock starts on the filing date of the first petition, not on the date the court actually granted the discharge, which typically comes several months later. That distinction trips people up more than almost anything else in repeat filings.
If you filed your first Chapter 7 petition on March 15, 2018, you become eligible to file again and receive a discharge on or after March 15, 2026. Filing even a day early makes you ineligible for discharge in the second case. Courts treat this deadline as absolute.
Six Years After a Chapter 13
If your prior bankruptcy was a Chapter 13 repayment plan, the waiting period to file Chapter 7 and receive a discharge is six years from the date you filed the Chapter 13 petition.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 US Code 727 – Discharge Two exceptions can eliminate the wait entirely:
- Your Chapter 13 plan paid 100% of your allowed unsecured claims.
- Your plan paid at least 70% of unsecured claims, the court found you proposed the plan in good faith, and it represented your best effort given your income.
Most Chapter 13 plans pay well under 70% to unsecured creditors, so the second exception rarely comes into play. For people who made aggressive payments during their plan, it opens a path to Chapter 7 relief without the full six-year wait.
Filing Again After a Dismissal
The eight-year and six-year bars only apply when your prior case ended with a discharge. If the court dismissed your earlier bankruptcy without granting a discharge, those time limits do not apply. You may be able to refile relatively quickly, but two other rules can still get in the way.
The 180-Day Refiling Bar
Federal law blocks you from filing any new bankruptcy case for 180 days if a court dismissed your prior case because you willfully failed to follow court orders or appear at required hearings, or if you voluntarily dismissed your own case after a creditor asked the court for permission to seize collateral.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 109 – Who May Be a Debtor The court will not accept your petition at all during those 180 days.
If your dismissal was routine, say, for incomplete paperwork, the 180-day bar does not apply. You can generally refile once you have corrected the issue.
Reduced Automatic Stay Protection
Even when refiling is allowed after a dismissal, you face weaker protection from creditors. The automatic stay is the court order that halts lawsuits, garnishments, foreclosure, and most other collection activity the moment you file. For repeat filers, that protection shrinks.
If your new case is filed within one year of a prior dismissal, the automatic stay expires after just 30 days. To keep it in place, you must file a motion asking the court to extend it and show that your new filing is in good faith. The court presumes the case is not filed in good faith if, among other things, your financial situation has not substantially changed since the dismissal.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 362 – Automatic Stay You must overcome that presumption with clear and convincing evidence.
If two or more of your cases were dismissed within the prior year, the automatic stay does not go into effect at all when you file a new case.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 362 – Automatic Stay You must ask the court to impose it, again proving good faith. Filing without automatic stay protection leaves you exposed to creditor collection throughout the case, which can undermine the entire point of filing.
What Happens If You File Too Soon
Filing before the waiting period expires is one of the costliest mistakes in consumer bankruptcy. The court will accept your petition and open the case, but you will be legally barred from receiving a discharge.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 US Code 727 – Discharge You go through the entire process, including potential liquidation of non-exempt assets by the bankruptcy trustee, without the benefit of having any debts forgiven.
The trustee or your creditors will almost certainly object to discharge or move to dismiss, and the court will grant it because the time limits are written into the statute. You lose the filing fee, any attorney fees, and potentially property the trustee liquidated before the case closed. Your creditors can then resume collection, leaving you worse off than if you had waited.
A Chapter 7 filing also stays on your credit report for up to ten years from the filing date. Filing a case that produces no discharge means taking the credit hit without the fresh start. Before filing, verify the exact date of your prior petition with a bankruptcy attorney or by pulling your case records from the court’s electronic filing system.
When You Can’t Wait: The Chapter 20 Option
If you cannot wait the full eight years for another Chapter 7 discharge but need help with secured debts like a mortgage or car loan, some filers use what practitioners call a “Chapter 20” approach. This involves filing a Chapter 13 case shortly after receiving a Chapter 7 discharge. There is no waiting period to file Chapter 13 after Chapter 7. You just cannot receive a Chapter 13 discharge unless four years have passed since your Chapter 7 filing date.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 1328 – Discharge
Even without a Chapter 13 discharge, the strategy has value. The Chapter 7 wipes out unsecured debt like credit cards and medical bills. The Chapter 13 repayment plan then gives you three to five years to catch up on mortgage arrears, car loan payments, or tax debts that Chapter 7 could not touch. Because the unsecured debt is already gone, more of your monthly income can go toward those secured obligations. This is an advanced strategy that requires careful planning with an attorney, but it is a legitimate and well-recognized option in every bankruptcy court.