A bankruptcy petition is the formal document you file in federal court to open a bankruptcy case, and filing one means assembling a complete picture of your finances, completing a required credit counseling course, choosing between Chapter 7 and Chapter 13, submitting Official Form 101 with its supporting schedules, and paying the court fee. The moment the clerk accepts your petition, federal law puts a stop to most collection activity against you and hands your case to a trustee who will see it through.
What the Petition Actually Is
Every consumer bankruptcy in the United States begins with the same document: Official Form 101, the Voluntary Petition for Individuals Filing for Bankruptcy.1United States Courts. Voluntary Petition for Individuals Filing for Bankruptcy The petition itself is short. It captures your identifying information, the chapter you are filing under, and summary details about your case. The substance of your filing lives in the schedules and statements you file with it, which give the court a full snapshot of your debts, assets, income, and recent financial history.
You sign everything under penalty of perjury. False statements on bankruptcy forms are a federal crime under 18 U.S.C. § 152, carrying fines and up to five years in prison.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 152 – Concealment of Assets; False Oaths and Claims; Bribery Trustees are trained to spot inconsistencies, so accuracy is not optional.
What You Need Before You File
Pull your financial life together before you touch any form. You will need a full list of every creditor you owe, with names, addresses, and exact balances. That covers secured debts like mortgages and car loans as well as unsecured debts like credit cards, medical bills, and personal loans.
You also need your income for the six calendar months before you file. The Bankruptcy Code defines “current monthly income” as your average gross monthly income over that period, and it includes regular contributions to household expenses from people who live with you. Social Security income is excluded.3United States Courts. Chapter 7 – Bankruptcy Basics That number feeds directly into the means test.
Round out the picture with a full inventory of what you own: real estate, vehicles, bank accounts, household goods, investments, and even potential legal claims. Break down your monthly living expenses. Prepare a Statement of Financial Affairs disclosing recent activity like payments to creditors, property transfers, lawsuits, and closed accounts.
One step is easy to miss and fatal to skip. Before you file, you must complete a credit counseling course from a nonprofit agency approved by the U.S. Department of Justice, taken within 180 days before your filing date.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 109 – Who May Be a Debtor Without a valid certificate, the court will dismiss your case.5U.S. Department of Justice. Credit Counseling and Debtor Education Information Narrow exceptions exist for active-duty military in combat zones and people with documented incapacity.
Choosing Your Chapter and Passing the Means Test
Consumer filers pick between two chapters. Chapter 7 is liquidation: the trustee can sell non-exempt property to pay creditors, and qualifying debts are discharged. Chapter 13 is a repayment plan running three to five years. Which one you can use depends partly on your income.
To file under Chapter 7 you must pass the means test. Start by comparing your current monthly income to the median income for a household of your size in your state. If your income is below the median, you pass automatically. If it exceeds the median, a second calculation subtracts allowed living expenses from your income to figure your monthly disposable income. Too much disposable income and you fail the test and cannot use Chapter 7, though Chapter 13 may still be open to you. You do this analysis on Official Form 122A-1.
The Forms You File
Along with Form 101, you transfer everything you gathered into Schedules A through J:
- Schedule A/B lists all property you own or have an interest in.
- Schedule C claims the property you want to protect through exemptions.
- Schedule D lists creditors with secured claims like mortgages or car liens.
- Schedule E/F lists creditors with priority claims and general unsecured claims.
- Schedule I reports your current income.
- Schedule J reports your current expenses.
Your full Social Security number goes on Official Form 121, which is filed separately and kept off the public docket. Every other document shows only the last four digits.6United States Bankruptcy Court. Official Form 121 Statement About Your Social Security Numbers
If you are filing under Chapter 13, you must also submit a proposed repayment plan with your petition or within 14 days after filing.7United States Courts. Chapter 13 – Bankruptcy Basics The plan sets out how you will repay some or all of your debts, and the court must approve it before payments begin.
Filing the Petition and Paying the Fee
The court filing fee is $338 for Chapter 7 and $313 for Chapter 13. These amounts include the statutory fee under 28 U.S.C. § 1930 and an administrative fee set by the Judicial Conference.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1930 – Bankruptcy Fees9United States Courts. Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule
Can’t pay it all upfront? You can apply to pay in installments, up to four payments spread over 120 days, with a possible extension to 180 days for good cause.10Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure Rule 1006 – Filing Fee In Chapter 7 cases only, you can apply for a full fee waiver if your household income is below 150 percent of the federal poverty line.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1930 – Bankruptcy Fees Chapter 13 has no fee waiver.
Attorneys and other legal professionals file electronically through the Case Management/Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF) system. If you file without a lawyer, electronic access is not automatic. Most courts require pro se filers to submit paper documents at the clerk’s office, though some districts allow electronic filing by court order or local rule.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure Part V – Courts and Clerks
Emergency Skeleton Petitions
When you need the automatic stay immediately, you can file a bare-bones petition containing only your basic information and a list of creditors. That buys you protection right away, but you must file the remaining schedules and documents within 14 days or the court may close your case.12Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure Rule 1007 – Lists, Schedules, Statements, and Other Documents; Time to File Miss that deadline and you lose your filing fee and start over.
What Filing Does the Moment You File
The instant your petition is accepted, the automatic stay takes effect. Under 11 U.S.C. § 362, the stay halts nearly all collection activity against you, including lawsuits, wage garnishment, calls from debt collectors, foreclosures, and repossessions.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 362 – Automatic Stay It also freezes existing judgments and blocks creditors from placing new liens on your property. A creditor who knowingly violates the stay can be ordered to pay your actual damages, attorney fees, and, in bad cases, punitive damages.
The stay has limits. It does not stop criminal proceedings, child support or alimony enforcement, most tax audits, or administrative actions against professional licenses. And if you had a case dismissed within the past year, the stay may last only 30 days or not take effect at all, depending on how many prior filings you have had.
What Happens After You File
The clerk issues a case number and mails notice to every creditor you listed. The United States Trustee Program then appoints a private trustee to administer your case.14U.S. Department of Justice. Private Trustee Information The trustee reviews your filings, verifies your assets, and keeps the process on track.
Your first real appearance is the Meeting of Creditors, known as the 341 meeting after the Code section that requires it.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 341 – Meetings of Creditors and Equity Security Holders In Chapter 7 cases it takes place between 21 and 40 days after filing; Chapter 13 allows up to 50 days.16Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure Rule 2003 – Meeting of Creditors or Equity Security Holders You appear under oath and answer questions from the trustee and any creditors who show up. Most meetings run five to ten minutes when the paperwork is clean.
You must give the trustee a copy of your most recent federal tax return at least seven days before the meeting.17Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 521 – Debtor’s Duties If you don’t, the Code requires the court to dismiss the case unless the failure was beyond your control. Have pay stubs and other proof of income ready as well.
A second course also comes due after filing: a debtor education course, sometimes called a financial management course, from an approved provider. In Chapter 7, you file Official Form 423 and the completion certificate no later than 45 days after the date your 341 meeting was first scheduled. In Chapter 13, the deadline is the date you make your final plan payment.18United States Courts. Credit Counseling and Debtor Education Courses Missing this in Chapter 7 can leave your case closed without a discharge.
The discharge is the order that wipes out your personal liability for qualifying debts. In a typical Chapter 7 case, it arrives roughly four months after filing.19United States Courts. Discharge in Bankruptcy – Bankruptcy Basics In Chapter 13, it comes after you complete the repayment plan.
What Filing Won’t Do
Bankruptcy will not clear every debt. Federal law protects certain categories from discharge, including domestic support obligations like child support and alimony, most recent income taxes, student loans (absent proof of undue hardship), debts obtained through fraud, recent luxury purchases over $500 within 90 days of filing, and judgments from DUI-related injuries.20Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 523 – Exceptions to Discharge A creditor you leave off your schedules may also survive the discharge, which is why the accuracy of the petition matters so much.
Filing also does not automatically strip you of everything you own. Federal and state exemption laws let you shield certain property from creditors and the trustee. Which set you use depends on where you live: some states let you choose between federal exemptions and their own, while others require the state list.21Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 522 – Exemptions You claim what you want protected on Schedule C. In Chapter 7, anything not covered by an exemption can be sold by the trustee to pay creditors.
What the Whole Thing Costs
The court fee is only part of the bill. A typical consumer bankruptcy runs roughly like this:
- Court filing fee: $338 for Chapter 7 or $313 for Chapter 13.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1930 – Bankruptcy Fees
- Credit counseling and debtor education: typically $10 to $50 per course, so $20 to $100 for both. Approved providers must offer reduced fees or waivers for people who can’t pay.
- Attorney fees: roughly $600 to $3,000 for a standard consumer Chapter 7, varying by region and complexity. Chapter 13 tends to run higher because of the multi-year plan and additional appearances.
Filing without an attorney is legal and saves the biggest expense, but pro se filers face a steep learning curve. Errors on schedules, missed deadlines, and improperly claimed exemptions are common, and any one of them can cost you property you could have protected or lead to dismissal of the whole case.