The wait between bankruptcy filings runs from two to eight years, depending on which chapter you filed before and which chapter you want to file next. Federal law measures every one of these waiting periods from the date the earlier petition was filed to the date the new petition is filed — not from discharge, not from case closure. Filing a single day early can cost you the discharge in your new case, so the count is worth getting right.
Waiting Periods at a Glance
- Chapter 7 or 11, then Chapter 7 again: 8 years from the prior filing date
- Chapter 7, 11, or 12, then Chapter 13: 4 years from the prior filing date
- Chapter 13 or 12, then Chapter 7: 6 years from the prior filing date (waived if you paid 100% of unsecured claims, or 70% in good faith with best effort)
- Chapter 13, then Chapter 13 again: 2 years from the prior filing date
The consequence of filing too early is not a delay or a rescheduling. The court will let the case proceed and then deny you a discharge, meaning you go through the whole process and walk out with your debts still owed.1United States Bankruptcy Court. Prior Bankruptcy, If I Had A Prior Bankruptcy, How Soon Can I Get Another Discharge?
Chapter 7 After a Prior Chapter 7
Eight years. This is the longest mandatory wait in the Bankruptcy Code, and it applies whether your earlier discharge came through Chapter 7 or Chapter 11.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 727 – Discharge There are no exceptions and no workarounds. If you filed Chapter 7 on March 15, 2019, you become eligible to file another Chapter 7 on March 15, 2027.
Chapter 13 After a Prior Chapter 7
Four years from the earlier Chapter 7 filing date.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 1328 – Discharge This scenario shows up often when someone still has debts a Chapter 7 couldn’t wipe out, like certain taxes, or has fallen behind on a mortgage and needs a repayment plan to catch up.
An important nuance: the four-year window blocks a discharge in the new Chapter 13 case. It does not block you from filing the case itself. That gap is the basis of a strategy practitioners call “Chapter 20,” which isn’t a real chapter but a nickname for filing Chapter 13 right after a Chapter 7 discharge to restructure secured debts once the unsecured debts are gone. You won’t get a Chapter 13 discharge if you file within four years, but a discharge and lien stripping are separate matters. Most courts have held that completing a Chapter 13 plan can permanently remove a wholly unsecured junior lien even without a discharge, because lien stripping depends on plan completion rather than discharge. Not every court allows this, and it’s aggressive territory where local practice varies.
Chapter 7 After a Prior Chapter 13
Six years from the Chapter 13 filing date.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 727 – Discharge Because Chapter 13 plans run three to five years, the six-year clock is often close to running out by the time the plan ends.
Two exceptions waive the six-year wait entirely. The bar does not apply if you paid 100% of your allowed unsecured claims in the Chapter 13 plan, or if you paid at least 70% of those claims through a plan that was both proposed in good faith and represented your best effort.1United States Bankruptcy Court. Prior Bankruptcy, If I Had A Prior Bankruptcy, How Soon Can I Get Another Discharge? Good faith and best effort are separate tests. Meeting one without the other doesn’t get you the waiver.
Chapter 13 After a Prior Chapter 13
Two years from the earlier Chapter 13 filing date — the shortest waiting period in the system.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 1328 – Discharge Given that Chapter 13 plans themselves run three to five years, the two years will almost always have run by the time you finish one plan and find yourself needing another.
If the Earlier Case Ended in a Hardship Discharge
The same waiting periods apply. The statute governing the six-year bar references any discharge under Section 1328 without distinguishing between a regular and a hardship discharge.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 727 – Discharge The four-year and two-year bars on a new Chapter 13 discharge apply notwithstanding both the regular and hardship discharge provisions.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 1328 – Discharge
Chapter 11 and Chapter 12
The same framework applies, and the timelines slot in as you’d expect. A prior Chapter 11 discharge triggers the same eight-year bar as Chapter 7 before a new Chapter 7 filing, and the same four-year bar before a Chapter 13 discharge.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 727 – Discharge A prior Chapter 12 discharge, for family farmers and fishermen, triggers the same six-year bar as Chapter 13 before a new Chapter 7, and a four-year bar before a new Chapter 13 discharge.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 1328 – Discharge
If Your Earlier Case Was Dismissed, Not Discharged
The multi-year waits above only apply when you actually received a discharge. If your prior case was dismissed for missing paperwork, skipping the meeting of creditors, or any other reason, those long timelines don’t kick in. In many situations, you can refile right away.
Two specific dismissals do trigger a 180-day lockout on filing again. One is dismissal because you willfully disobeyed a court order. The other is a voluntary dismissal that you filed after a creditor moved for relief from the automatic stay.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 109 – Who May Be a Debtor The second rule exists to stop people from using voluntary dismissal to duck a stay-relief motion and refile with a fresh stay.
Repeat Filings Weaken the Automatic Stay
Even when you’re allowed to refile quickly, the automatic stay that normally shields you from creditors the moment you file works differently in a repeat case.
If one prior case was dismissed within the past year, the automatic stay in the new case lasts only 30 days. To extend it, you must file a motion, get a hearing, and prove the new filing is in good faith, all within that 30-day window.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 362 – Automatic Stay
If two or more prior cases were dismissed in the past year, no automatic stay takes effect at all when you file. You can ask the court to impose one, but you’ll have to overcome a presumption that the filing is not in good faith, and the standard of proof is clear and convincing evidence.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 362 – Automatic Stay That’s a high bar, and it means creditors can keep collecting from the moment you file unless and until the court says otherwise.