To get copies of your Chapter 7 discharge papers, you have four practical options: download the order from PACER, the federal courts’ online records system; request a copy from the clerk of the bankruptcy court where you filed; ask the attorney who handled your case; or, for older filings, order the records from the National Archives. PACER is usually the fastest and cheapest, often free.
What to Have Ready Before You Request
Any of the methods below will go faster if you gather these first:
- Your full legal name as it appeared on the bankruptcy petition.
- Your bankruptcy case number.
- The court district where you filed, such as the Northern District of Illinois or the Central District of California.
If you don’t remember your case number, PACER lets you search by name. You can also call the Multi-Court Voice Case Information System at 1-866-222-8029, an automated line that’s available around the clock and searches by name, Social Security number, or case number across participating bankruptcy courts.1Public Access to Court Electronic Records. Phone Access to Court Records Not every court participates, so if yours isn’t listed, call the clerk’s office directly.
Downloading Your Discharge Order From PACER
PACER provides online access to nearly all federal court records, bankruptcy cases included.2United States Courts. Find a Case (PACER) For most people retrieving a single document, this is the shortest path.
Setting Up an Account
Registration is free at pacer.uscourts.gov. If you enter a credit card during signup, your account activates immediately. Skip the card and PACER mails you an activation token within 7 to 10 business days.3Public Access to Court Electronic Records. How Can I Activate My PACER Account?
Finding the Discharge Order
Once you’re logged in, search for your case by name, case number, or the last four digits of your Social Security number. Open the docket, which lists every filing in the case. The discharge order is usually one of the last entries. Click to download the PDF.
What It Costs
PACER charges $0.10 per page, capped at $3.00 per document. A discharge order runs a page or two. And if your total PACER charges stay at $30 or less in a calendar quarter, the fees are waived entirely.4Public Access to Court Electronic Records. PACER Pricing: How Fees Work About 75 percent of PACER users pay nothing in a given quarter, so pulling a single discharge order is almost always free.5Public Access to Court Electronic Records. Public Access to Court Electronic Records
Requesting Copies From the Bankruptcy Court Clerk
If you’d rather not use PACER, the clerk’s office at the court where you filed can provide copies two ways.
In Person
Bring your case number or enough identifying information for staff to locate the file. Paper copies are $0.50 per page.6United States Courts. Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule Most clerks take cash, money orders, and cashier’s checks. Some accept debit or credit cards, but call ahead to confirm.
By Mail
Send a written request with your full name, case number, and the specific document you want (the discharge order). Include a self-addressed stamped envelope and a check or money order for the copy fee. Confirm the mailing address and current fee with the court before you send anything.
Certified and Exemplified Copies
A plain copy is enough for most purposes: mortgage lenders, credit-report disputes, personal records. Some legal proceedings require more.
A certified copy comes with the clerk’s written statement that the document is a true copy of the court’s record. Certification adds $12 to the per-page copy charge. An exemplified copy goes further, with a judge confirming the clerk had authority to certify, and costs $24.6United States Courts. Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule Exemplified copies mainly come up when a judgment or order needs to be enforced in a different jurisdiction. Unless someone has specifically asked you for certification or exemplification, a regular copy will do.
Asking Your Bankruptcy Attorney
The attorney who handled your case almost certainly kept a copy of the discharge order. A phone call or email is often all it takes. Many attorneys send a copy at no charge; some charge a small administrative fee.
One caveat. No universal rule sets how long attorneys must retain closed files. Practices vary, and after enough years the file may have been destroyed or the attorney may have retired. If the attorney can’t help, PACER and the court clerk remain available regardless of how old the case is.
Older Cases and the National Archives
Bankruptcy courts eventually transfer closed case files to Federal Records Centers operated by the National Archives and Records Administration. This happens after a number of years, and the exact timeline depends on the court.
If your case has been archived, you have two options. You can ask the court to retrieve the file from storage. Pulling one box from a Federal Records Center costs $70, with each additional box at $43. An electronic retrieval costs $11 plus whatever the storage facility charges.6United States Courts. Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule
You can also order directly from NARA. The National Archives accepts orders online, by mail, fax, or email. To order online, use their order reproductions page, select “Court Records,” and choose “Bankruptcy” as the court type.7National Archives. New Access Procedures for Court Records at National Archives Federal Records Center NARA does not allow in-person review of these files, so a trip to a records center isn’t an option.
Before you pay a retrieval fee, check PACER first. Even for older cases, the docket and the discharge order are often still available electronically at $0.10 per page, which is far cheaper than pulling a physical box.
Why It’s Worth Keeping the Copy Handy
Under federal law, your discharge order functions as a court injunction that permanently bars creditors from acting to collect discharged debts.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 524 – Effect of Discharge If a creditor calls, sends letters, files a lawsuit, or tries to garnish wages on a debt that was discharged, that creditor is violating a federal court order.
The first move is to send the creditor a copy of your discharge order with a written demand to stop. If the creditor keeps going, you can reopen the bankruptcy case and ask the court to hold the creditor in contempt. Courts can impose sanctions when a creditor violates the discharge injunction without an objectively reasonable basis for believing the debt was still owed. That’s one of the most practical reasons to keep a copy of your discharge papers where you can find them.