Federal bankruptcy law sets no limit on how many bankruptcies you can file in a lifetime. What it does set is a waiting period between discharges: depending on which chapter you filed before and which one you want to file next, you’ll wait two, four, six, or eight years before a court will wipe out debts in the new case. File sooner and the court will still take your paperwork and your fees, but it won’t grant a discharge at the end.
Waiting Periods Between Discharges
The clock starts on the filing date of your earlier case, not the discharge date and not the closing date. Miscounting from the wrong date is one of the most expensive mistakes in repeat filings.
- Chapter 7 after a Chapter 7: eight years from the first filing date.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 727 – Discharge
- Chapter 13 after a Chapter 7: four years from the Chapter 7 filing date.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 1328 – Discharge
- Chapter 7 after a Chapter 13: six years from the Chapter 13 filing date, with an exception described below.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 727 – Discharge
- Chapter 13 after a Chapter 13: two years from the first Chapter 13 filing date.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 1328 – Discharge
The Chapter 13 to Chapter 7 Exception
The six-year wait between a Chapter 13 and a new Chapter 7 doesn’t apply if you paid your unsecured creditors well in the earlier case. You can move straight into Chapter 7 if your Chapter 13 plan paid 100 percent of allowed unsecured claims. You can also skip the wait if you paid at least 70 percent, provided the court finds the plan was proposed in good faith and represented your best effort.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 727 – Discharge
If your Chapter 13 paid less than 70 percent, the full six years applies with no workaround.
Dismissed Cases Don’t Start the Clock
The discharge waiting periods only apply when your earlier case actually ended in a discharge. If the court dismissed the case — meaning it closed without erasing any debts — the two-to-eight-year timelines don’t apply to your next filing. Cases get dismissed for missing paperwork, unfinished courses, or a voluntary withdrawal, among other reasons.
One dismissal-based restriction does exist. You cannot file any new bankruptcy for 180 days if the court dismissed your prior case because you willfully disobeyed a court order or failed to appear, or if you voluntarily dismissed your own case after a creditor asked the court to lift the automatic stay.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 109 – Who May Be a Debtor The rule stops people from filing bankruptcy just to freeze a foreclosure or repossession, then bailing out once the immediate threat passes.
Repeat Filings Weaken the Automatic Stay
Being eligible to refile doesn’t mean the next case gives you the same protection as the first. The automatic stay is what freezes lawsuits, garnishment, and foreclosure when you file. For repeat filers with recent dismissals, that shield shrinks or disappears.
One Dismissed Case in the Past Year
If you had a bankruptcy pending at any point in the previous twelve months and it was dismissed, the automatic stay in your new case expires 30 days after you file. To keep it in place, you have to file a motion before those 30 days run out and convince the judge your new case was filed in good faith.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 362 – Automatic Stay
The law presumes bad faith if you had more than one dismissed case in the prior year, if the earlier case was dismissed because you failed to file required documents or follow court orders, or if your financial situation hasn’t materially changed. You can rebut that presumption, but only with clear and convincing evidence.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 362 – Automatic Stay
Two or More Dismissed Cases in the Past Year
If you had two or more cases dismissed in the previous year, the automatic stay does not take effect at all when you file the new one. Creditors can keep foreclosing, garnishing, and suing as if no bankruptcy existed. You can file a motion within 30 days asking for the stay, but you’re again arguing against a presumption of bad faith.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 362 – Automatic Stay
Filing Without Getting a Discharge
People sometimes file bankruptcy on purpose knowing the court won’t grant a discharge. The most common version is nicknamed “Chapter 20”: a Chapter 13 filed within four years of a Chapter 7. The Chapter 7 already erased the unsecured debts, and the Chapter 13 that follows uses a three-to-five-year plan to deal with what’s left, usually mortgage arrears or a car loan, while the automatic stay holds off foreclosure.
In some federal circuits, Chapter 20 debtors can also strip a second mortgage that exceeds the home’s current market value, reclassifying it as unsecured debt that doesn’t need to be repaid.
The catch is that the Chapter 13 court won’t issue a discharge if the Chapter 7 was filed within the previous four years.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 1328 – Discharge Any new debts you take on during the Chapter 13 will survive it. The strategy makes sense when the goal is restructuring secured debt, not erasing new obligations.
What Every Filing Requires, Every Time
A prior filing doesn’t excuse you from the intake requirements. You must complete a credit counseling session from an approved nonprofit agency within 180 days before you file, every time you file.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 109 – Who May Be a Debtor The certificate from your earlier case doesn’t carry over. A separate debtor education course comes after filing and before discharge.
A second Chapter 7 also means passing the means test again. If your income has climbed since the last filing, you may no longer qualify for Chapter 7 and may have to consider Chapter 13 instead.
Credit Report and Cost Consequences
Each bankruptcy is a separate entry on your credit report. Federal law lets credit reporting agencies report a bankruptcy for up to ten years from the order for relief.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c – Requirements Relating to Information Contained in Consumer Reports The three major bureaus voluntarily remove Chapter 13 records after seven years, though the statute allows the full ten.
When you file more than once, reporting periods overlap. A Chapter 7 in year one and a Chapter 13 in year five can show up together for years. Lenders read multiple filings as a stronger negative signal than a single one, and rebuilding credit takes longer with each additional case.
Each new case also carries its own court filing fee, attorney fee, and counseling costs. A repeat filing that ends in dismissal or no discharge burns all of that and leaves you with a weaker automatic stay next time. If your eligibility date is close, waiting for it usually costs less than filing early and getting nothing.