To reinstate a Chapter 13 case after dismissal, you file a motion asking the bankruptcy court to vacate the dismissal order, and in most situations that motion has to be filed within 14 days of the dismissal. Speed matters because the moment your case was dismissed, the automatic stay lifted and creditors regained the right to garnish wages, foreclose, repossess, and sue.1United States Courts. Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Basics Reinstating the original case is almost always cheaper and stronger than refiling, but the judge will grant it only if you can show what went wrong and what has changed.
The 14-Day Deadline
Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 9023 requires a motion to alter or amend a judgment to be filed within 14 days after the order is entered.2Legal Information Institute. Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 9023 – New Trial; Altering or Amending a Judgment A dismissal order counts as a judgment, so this is the simplest and most reliable path back in. Motions filed inside this window get more favorable treatment because the case is still fresh on the docket and the judge can revisit the decision without disturbing much else.
Miss the 14 days and you’re not necessarily finished, but the bar rises sharply. Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 9024 allows relief from a judgment for excusable neglect, newly discovered evidence, or other extraordinary circumstances. These motions have to be filed within a “reasonable time,” and some grounds carry a one-year outer limit. Expect the judge to want a strong explanation for why you didn’t move sooner.
One procedural wrinkle: if the clerk’s office has already administratively closed the file, you’ll need to file a motion to reopen the case first, which carries a $235 fee.3United States Courts. Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule If the case hasn’t been closed yet, you file the reinstatement motion directly and most courts charge no separate fee.
What Your Motion Has To Show
A reinstatement motion has to do three things: explain what caused the dismissal, describe what has changed since then, and propose a concrete way to stay on track. Judges want specifics, not promises.
Match the fix to the cause. If missed plan payments triggered the dismissal, propose how you’ll cure the arrearage and attach evidence that you can: pay stubs showing restored income, a medical record explaining a period you couldn’t work, a termination letter followed by proof of new employment. If the case was dismissed because required documents weren’t filed, the cleanest move is to file those documents alongside your motion so the judge sees the problem is already solved. If you missed the 341 meeting of creditors, explain why and ask for a rescheduled date.
Be honest about what happened. Judges see a lot of hardship narratives, and they can tell when a minor inconvenience is being stretched into a crisis. Overstating the story damages your credibility on the parts that actually matter.
The Reinstatement Hearing
After the motion is filed, the court sets a hearing. This is where the case is won or lost, and preparation is everything. Bring documentation for every claim in the motion: the termination letter and the new offer letter, the hospital records, the updated budget, bank statements showing the money is there to catch up. The Chapter 13 trustee will be present, and any creditor who objects can be present as well. Both will challenge your ability to follow through.
Judges tend to focus on two questions. Was the problem that caused the dismissal temporary? And have you actually fixed it? A debtor who fell behind during a three-month hospitalization and has since returned to work presents an easy case. A debtor whose income never supported the plan payments in the first place and hasn’t changed jobs presents a hard one. In the harder case, the judge may reinstate only on the condition that you file a modified plan, sometimes with a wage order attached so payments come straight out of your paycheck.
Why Reinstating Beats Refiling
Reinstatement picks up where you left off. Your original plan stays in place (or gets modified), the payments you already made still count, you don’t pay a new filing fee, and you don’t have to retake credit counseling if your certificate is still current. Filing a new case means starting over: new attorney fees, a new $338 filing fee, new credit counseling if more than 180 days have passed since the first course, and a fresh clock on your credit report.
The automatic stay consequences of refiling are the biggest reason to try reinstatement first. If you file a new Chapter 13 within one year of the prior dismissal, the automatic stay lasts only 30 days unless you convince the court to extend it, and you carry the burden of proving the new filing is in good faith. The law presumes bad faith in several situations, including when the earlier case was dismissed for missed payments or unfiled documents, or when your financial circumstances haven’t meaningfully changed. If two or more of your cases were dismissed within the past year, no stay takes effect at all unless you ask for one and the court grants it.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 362 – Automatic Stay A reinstated case revives the original stay without any of that.
There’s also a hard refiling bar to keep in mind. Federal law blocks you from filing any bankruptcy case for 180 days if your prior case was dismissed because you willfully failed to obey court orders or appear, or because you voluntarily dismissed after a creditor filed a motion for relief from the stay.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 109 – Who May Be a Debtor If your dismissal falls into one of those categories, successful reinstatement is the only way to avoid a six-month lockout while creditors are free to collect.
Deal With Tax Returns Before You File
Tax compliance is the reinstatement pitfall that catches debtors off guard. Federal law requires you to have filed all required tax returns for the four years preceding the bankruptcy, and unfiled returns are grounds for mandatory dismissal or conversion.6Internal Revenue Service. Understanding Federal Tax Obligations During Chapter 13 Bankruptcy During an active case, you also have to keep filing returns (or get extensions) and pay current taxes as they come due.
If unfiled returns caused your dismissal, file them before or alongside the reinstatement motion. No judge is going to reinstate a case when the exact problem that got it dismissed is still sitting there unresolved. Also expect the trustee to ask about any tax refund you received while the case was dismissed. Many Chapter 13 plans require refunds to be turned over for distribution to creditors, and quietly pocketing one can jeopardize your discharge once the case is back.
If the Court Denies Your Motion
A denial leaves you with a smaller set of options, none of them as clean as reinstatement.
You can file a new Chapter 13 case, assuming the 180-day bar doesn’t apply. You’ll pay new fees, redo credit counseling if your certificate has expired, and live with the stay limitations that apply to repeat filers. The trustee in the new case will look hard at whether anything has actually changed since the last dismissal, and if it hasn’t, plan confirmation will be difficult.
Converting to Chapter 7 is worth considering if your income has dropped to the point where you can’t fund a repayment plan. You have to pass the means test, and a creditor or the trustee can object if your income is too high.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 1307 – Conversion or Dismissal Chapter 7 wipes out most unsecured debts but doesn’t shield assets the way Chapter 13 does, so it fits people without significant property at risk.
Direct negotiation with creditors is the last option. Without the automatic stay, creditors don’t have to talk to you, but many will accept a payment plan or settlement rather than pay to keep litigating. This works best when you have one dominant debt, like a mortgage, or a small enough group of creditors to handle individually.
When To Bring In an Attorney
The motion itself is short, but the strategy behind it is where experience earns its fee. A local bankruptcy attorney knows how your judge treats first-time missed payments, whether the trustee typically demands a modified plan with a wage order, and which evidence carries weight in your district. One judge may grant reinstatement readily on a good-faith showing; another may require conditions built into the order.
If cost is the barrier, some districts run pro bono programs for debtors facing dismissal, and most bankruptcy courts publish self-help materials. Even if you plan to file the motion yourself, get a consultation in before the 14-day clock runs out. A short conversation early can prevent the kind of mistake that’s expensive to fix once the deadline is gone.