To file for bankruptcy, you pick the right chapter for your situation, complete a pre-filing credit counseling session, prepare a petition with detailed schedules of your income, property, and debts, submit everything to the federal bankruptcy court in your district with the required fee, attend a meeting with the trustee, finish a second financial education course, and wait for the discharge order. Most individual cases run under Chapter 7 or Chapter 13, and the whole sequence takes about three to four months for a Chapter 7 or three to five years for a Chapter 13 repayment plan.
Pick the Chapter That Fits Your Situation
The first decision drives everything after it. Chapter 7 is a liquidation. A trustee reviews what you own, sells anything not shielded by an exemption, and pays creditors from the proceeds. In exchange, most unsecured debts like credit cards and medical bills are wiped out. From filing to discharge takes roughly three to four months. To qualify, you have to pass the means test.
Chapter 13 keeps your property in exchange for a repayment plan. You pay a trustee every month for three to five years, and remaining qualifying unsecured debt is discharged at the end. Filers below their state’s median income get a three-year plan; those above the median generally pay for five. Chapter 13 has its own eligibility limit: your total debts cannot exceed the statutory cap set in the Bankruptcy Code.
Practically, if you have little disposable income and no significant non-exempt property, Chapter 7 is faster and cleaner. If you have home equity to protect, are behind on a mortgage or car loan, or earn too much for Chapter 7, Chapter 13 gives you more control.
Complete Credit Counseling and the Means Test
Federal law requires an individual or group credit counseling briefing from a nonprofit agency approved by the U.S. Trustee Program, and it must happen within 180 days before you file.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 109 – Who May Be a Debtor Approved providers are listed on the Department of Justice’s U.S. Trustee Program website.2U.S. Department of Justice – U.S. Trustee Program. Credit Counseling and Debtor Education Information Skip this step and the court can dismiss your case.
For Chapter 7, the next gate is the means test on Form 122A-1. It compares your average monthly income for the six months before filing with the median income for a household of your size in your state.3U.S. Department of Justice. Means Testing Below the median, you pass. Above it, Form 122A-2 subtracts allowable expenses to see whether you have enough disposable income to fund a plan. If you do, the court presumes you should file Chapter 13 instead.
Gather Your Financial Records
Before you touch the forms, pull the documents that feed them. Federal law requires copies of every pay stub or payment record received in the 60 days before your filing date, plus your federal tax return for the most recent tax year that ended before you file.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 521 – Debtors Duties The trustee can ask for older returns. A Chapter 13 plan cannot be confirmed until you have filed all required federal, state, and local returns for the four years before your petition date.
You also need a full picture of assets and debts: bank statements, vehicle titles, retirement account statements, mortgage papers, deeds, and documentation for any valuable personal property. On the debt side, gather recent statements for every credit card, medical bill, personal loan, and car loan. Every creditor’s name and current mailing address has to appear in your filing.
Complete the Petition and Schedules
The core filing is the Voluntary Petition for Individuals Filing for Bankruptcy, Official Form 101, which identifies you and specifies the chapter.5U.S. Courts. Voluntary Petition for Individuals Filing for Bankruptcy Attached to it is a set of schedules that lay out your finances in detail.
- Schedule A/B lists every piece of property you own or have an interest in, from real estate to household furniture, with a current fair market value for each item.
- Schedule C identifies which of those items you are claiming as exempt from liquidation.
- Schedule D lists secured debts, meaning debts where a creditor has a lien on specific property, like a mortgage or car loan.
- Schedules E/F cover unsecured debts, including priority claims like tax obligations and child support alongside general unsecured debts like credit cards and medical bills.
- Schedules I and J together form your monthly budget, showing income from all sources and itemized living expenses.
Every form is standardized across federal districts and available on the U.S. Courts website. You sign under penalty of perjury. Omitting an asset can block the discharge of a related debt, and deliberately hiding property can lead to fraud charges. Cross-check your schedules against the Summary of Assets and Liabilities so the totals match.
Claim the Right Exemptions
Exemptions are what actually let you keep property. In Chapter 7, the trustee can only sell non-exempt property, so Schedule C is where you draw the line between what stays yours and what goes to creditors. In Chapter 13, exemptions set a floor for how much your plan has to pay unsecured creditors.
Some states let you choose between their exemption system and the federal exemptions in the Bankruptcy Code. Others require you to use the state system. The federal exemptions, last adjusted in April 2025, include:
- Homestead: up to $31,575 in equity in your primary residence.
- Motor vehicle: up to $5,025 in equity in one car.
- Household goods: up to $800 per item and $16,850 total for furniture, appliances, clothing, and similar belongings.
- Wildcard: $1,675 in any property, plus up to $15,800 of any unused portion of the homestead exemption. This matters for renters who don’t use the homestead exemption at all.
State amounts vary widely. A few states offer unlimited homestead protection subject to acreage limits; a couple offer none. If you bought your home within 1,215 days before filing, a federal cap may limit the equity you can protect regardless of state law. Check your state’s specific amounts before you commit to a system.
File the Petition, Pay the Fee, and Trigger the Automatic Stay
You file with the bankruptcy clerk’s office in the federal judicial district where you live. Some districts have an electronic self-filing portal; many filers use an attorney. The court filing fee is $338 for Chapter 7 and $313 for Chapter 13. If your household income is below 150% of the federal poverty line and you can’t afford installments, you can apply for a full waiver. Otherwise, you can ask to pay in up to four installments.
The moment the clerk accepts your petition, the automatic stay takes effect. Lawsuits, wage garnishments, collection calls, foreclosure proceedings, and bank levies stop. The court notifies every creditor listed in your petition. A creditor who knowingly violates the stay can be held in contempt and ordered to pay damages. Some things are not blocked: criminal proceedings, collection of child support and alimony from non-estate property, and government police and regulatory actions all continue.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 362 – Automatic Stay
Attend the 341 Meeting and Finish the Debtor Education Course
Roughly 20 to 40 days after filing, you attend a meeting of creditors, called the 341 meeting after the code section that requires it.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S.C. 341 – Meetings of Creditors and Equity Security Holders Bring a government-issued photo ID and proof of your Social Security number. The trustee puts you under oath and asks about your petition, assets, and finances. In most consumer cases, it takes under ten minutes. Creditors have the right to attend but rarely do.
After the 341, you have to complete a second course: a personal financial management class from an approved provider. It is separate from the pre-filing credit counseling and cannot be done at the same time.8U.S. Courts. Credit Counseling and Debtor Education Courses File the certificate of completion with the court. Without it, the court will not issue a discharge.9U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Trustee. Post-Filing Debtor Education Required
In Chapter 7, the discharge order usually arrives about 60 days after the first scheduled date of the 341 meeting, assuming no objections and a completed education course. In Chapter 13, discharge comes only after you finish the full three- to five-year plan.
Know Which Debts Will Not Be Erased
Not every dollar disappears. Federal law carves out specific categories of debt that survive a discharge.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 523 – Exceptions to Discharge
- Child support and alimony cannot be discharged under any chapter.
- Income taxes can sometimes be discharged, but only if the return was due more than three years before filing, was actually filed on time, and the debt does not involve fraud or willful evasion.11Internal Revenue Service. Bankruptcy Frequently Asked Questions
- Student loans survive unless you file a separate lawsuit within the bankruptcy case and prove undue hardship, a demanding standard.
- Debts obtained through fraud or misrepresentation are not dischargeable. The same goes for luxury purchases over $500 made within 90 days of filing and cash advances over $750 taken within 70 days.
- Debts from willful and malicious injury to a person or property survive bankruptcy.
- Court judgments for death or personal injury caused by intoxicated driving cannot be discharged.
- Criminal restitution and most government-imposed fines and penalties remain your responsibility.
If most of what you owe falls into these categories, bankruptcy may not give you meaningful relief. Understanding what survives is as important as understanding what gets wiped out.
Waiting Periods If You Have Filed Before
If you received a discharge in a previous bankruptcy, federal law imposes waiting periods measured from filing date to filing date before the court will grant another one.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 727 – Discharge
- Chapter 7 after a prior Chapter 7: eight years.
- Chapter 7 after a prior Chapter 13: six years, with an exception if the earlier Chapter 13 paid unsecured creditors in full or at least 70% with a good-faith effort.
- Chapter 13 after a prior Chapter 7: four years.
- Chapter 13 after a prior Chapter 13: two years.
You can file a new case before the waiting period runs, but the court will deny the discharge.