A notice of appearance in bankruptcy is a short filing that tells the court and the other parties which attorney represents which party in the case, so that motions, orders, and hearing notices get routed to the right lawyer. Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 9010(b) requires it of every attorney who appears on behalf of a party.1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure Rule 9010 – Authority to Act Personally or by an Attorney; Power of Attorney One thing to clear up first: there is no national bankruptcy “Form 311.” The U.S. Courts’ official list of bankruptcy forms does not include one by that number.2United States Courts. Bankruptcy Forms Individual bankruptcy courts provide their own local templates, or they accept any document that satisfies Rule 9010(b).
What the Filing Does
Once the notice is on the docket, the court adds the attorney to the case record as counsel for a particular party. From then on, court-generated notices, motions filed by other parties, and orders from the judge get routed to that attorney. The attorney takes on the job of monitoring those filings and keeping the client informed.
Skip the filing, and an attorney can still represent a creditor or debtor informally, but with no guarantee of receiving the documents flowing through the case. That gap creates real risk. A missed deadline in bankruptcy can mean a creditor loses its right to object to a plan, or a debtor fails to respond to a motion that threatens their discharge.
What to Include
Rule 9010(b) itself requires only three pieces of information: the attorney’s name, office address, and telephone number.3govinfo. Title 11, Appendix – Bankruptcy Rules – Rule 9010 In practice, nearly every court’s local template asks for more:
- Court and case identifiers: the bankruptcy court’s name, district, and division, plus the case number and case name.
- Party information: the full legal name of the client and their role, such as creditor, debtor, or equity security holder.
- Attorney details: full name, firm name, mailing address, telephone number, email address, and often a state bar identification number. The bar number is not required by the federal rule, but many local courts want it to confirm the attorney is authorized to practice.
Layouts vary by district. Before filing, check the specific court’s website for a local form or template. Some courts have a fillable PDF; others simply accept a document that covers the required fields and follows local formatting rules.
Rule 9010(b) contains one narrow exception. If the attorney’s appearance is “otherwise noted in the record,” a separate notice is not strictly required.1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure Rule 9010 – Authority to Act Personally or by an Attorney; Power of Attorney That covers situations where the attorney’s name already appears on the petition or on another filing entered into the docket.
When to File
File the notice at or before you submit anything else in the case. If you’re filing a motion, an objection, or a proof of claim on behalf of your client, the notice of appearance should go in first or at the same time. Filing early matters because the court’s electronic notification system only starts sending you documents after your appearance is on the docket. Wait even a few days, and you may miss a notice of a hearing or a deadline that has already passed.
There is no hard statutory deadline. But bankruptcy cases move quickly, and courts are not sympathetic to requests for extensions based on an attorney’s failure to get on the notification list.
How to File
Attorneys file the notice electronically through the Case Management/Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF) system, the federal judiciary’s platform for electronic filing.4United States Courts. Electronic Filing CM/ECF To use CM/ECF, an attorney generally needs to be admitted to practice in the district where the case is pending and must have an active PACER account linked to that court’s electronic filing system. Registration runs through the PACER Service Center, and each court may add local steps.
There is no fee. The Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule sets charges for filings like complaints, schedule amendments, and claim transfers, but a notice of appearance is not on it.5United States Courts. Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule It is a routine docket entry at no cost.
After filing, serve a copy on the key parties. Local rules vary on the specifics, but standard practice calls for serving the case trustee, the debtor’s attorney, the U.S. Trustee, and any official committees that have been appointed. In cases filed through CM/ECF, electronic service on registered users satisfies the requirement for those parties automatically.
Who Has to File
Every attorney representing any party in a bankruptcy case files one. That includes counsel for creditors, counsel for the debtor (if different from the attorney who filed the petition), counsel for official committees, and lawyers representing other interested parties such as guarantors or co-debtors. The obligation applies whether the attorney plans to be active throughout the case or is stepping in for a single contested matter.
Self-represented creditors and other non-attorney parties sometimes file their own version to ensure they receive notices. Rule 9010(a) allows parties to appear on their own behalf, and filing a notice of appearance or a request for notice helps ensure the court’s electronic notification system includes them.1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure Rule 9010 – Authority to Act Personally or by an Attorney; Power of Attorney
Notice of Appearance Is Not a Proof of Claim
A notice of appearance and a proof of claim do completely different things, and mixing them up is one of the more common early mistakes on the creditor side. The notice of appearance tells the court who the attorney is and gets the attorney on the notification list. It does nothing to establish the creditor’s right to a payment from the bankruptcy estate.
A proof of claim is the formal assertion that the debtor owes the creditor money and that the creditor is entitled to a distribution under the bankruptcy plan. A creditor who files only a notice of appearance but never files a proof of claim will receive every document in the case and may still walk away with nothing when the estate distributes funds. Creditors’ attorneys often file both at the same time, but the two are independent filings with independent deadlines.
What Rule 2002 Notices You Actually Receive
Getting on the electronic notification list does not automatically guarantee receipt of every notice described in the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure. Rule 2002 sets out an extensive list of notices that must go to creditors, including notice of the creditors’ meeting, proposed asset sales, deadlines for filing claims, and hearings on plan confirmation.6Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure Rule 2002 – Notices
In larger Chapter 11 cases where an official creditors’ committee exists, the court sometimes limits notice to the committee and the U.S. Trustee under Rule 2002(i). When that happens, individual creditors who still want direct notices have to file a separate request. The requirements are strict, and the process varies by court. If you’re representing a creditor in a large reorganization, check the local notice procedures rather than assuming the notice of appearance alone covers everything.
Withdrawing or Substituting Counsel
Once a notice of appearance is on file, the appearance stays in effect until the court grants permission to withdraw. An attorney cannot simply stop receiving notices or walk away. The process typically requires filing a written request with the court, serving the client and other parties, and providing a reason. If replacement counsel has not yet appeared, courts scrutinize these requests more carefully to keep the client from being left unrepresented at a critical stage.
When new counsel takes over, the incoming attorney files their own notice of appearance while the outgoing attorney’s withdrawal motion is pending or has been granted. Withdrawal in the main bankruptcy case does not automatically cover related adversary proceedings. If the attorney appeared in both, separate withdrawal filings are needed for each.
Out-of-State Attorneys and Pro Hac Vice Admission
Attorneys who are not admitted to practice in the district where the bankruptcy case is pending generally need pro hac vice admission before filing a notice of appearance. That involves a motion, often with a fee typically in the $100 to $200 range depending on the district. Some courts also require a locally admitted attorney to serve as co-counsel.
There are narrow exceptions. Filing a proof of claim, for instance, does not always require admission to the bar of that district. Actively litigating, filing motions, or appearing at hearings crosses into practicing law in the jurisdiction, and that triggers the pro hac vice requirement. Sort this out well before any filing deadline in an out-of-state case.