How to Find the Date You Filed for Bankruptcy

To find the date you filed for bankruptcy, start with your own records: the stamped petition, the 341 notice, or any letter from the court all show the filing date near the top. If those are gone, your credit report, the PACER federal court records system, or a phone call to the clerk’s office of the bankruptcy court will give you the same information.

Start With Your Own Paperwork

Most people who filed bankruptcy kept at least one piece of paper from the case. The filed petition itself, the notice of the meeting of creditors (sometimes called the 341 notice), and any court correspondence all print the case number and the filing date near the top of the first page. That is the fastest and cheapest source.

If you used an attorney, call the firm. Attorneys are required to maintain client files, and pulling a filing date from those records takes minutes. Even years later, the office should either still have the file or know where it was transferred.

Check Your Credit Report

Any bankruptcy filed within the last ten years should appear in the public records section of your credit report. You can get a free copy from each of the three major credit bureaus through AnnualCreditReport.com, the only site authorized by the federal government for free annual reports.¹ The bankruptcy entry typically lists the filing date, the chapter filed, and the court where the case was opened. For many people, that is enough.

One caveat: some credit bureaus voluntarily drop Chapter 13 bankruptcies after seven years, so a case that old may no longer show up even though the statute allows reporting for the full ten.²

Search PACER for Federal Court Records

The Public Access to Court Electronic Records system, known as PACER, is the federal government’s online portal for federal court case records, including every bankruptcy court in the country. If your paperwork is gone and your case is not on your credit report, PACER is the most reliable next step.

Create a free account through the PACER registration page. Select the “PACER Case Search” option and set a username and password.³ Once your account is active, use the PACER Case Locator to run a nationwide search, or go directly to a specific bankruptcy court’s records if you remember where the case was filed. You can search by name, Social Security number, or case number. Social Security number is the most reliable field if your name is common.

What PACER Costs

PACER charges $0.10 per page, capped at $3.00 per document. If your total charges stay at $30 or less in a calendar quarter, the fees are waived entirely.⁴ Looking up a filing date usually means pulling one docket sheet, so charges typically stay well under the waiver threshold.

If You Do Not Remember When or Where You Filed

Use the nationwide Case Locator and leave the date range broad. Narrowing to a five-year window helps cut down duplicate results, but even a search across decades will work. If you completed pre-filing credit counseling and still have that certificate, its date gives you an approximate window: federal law required the counseling to happen within 180 days before you filed.⁵

Call the Bankruptcy Court Clerk

If you would rather not set up an online account, contact the clerk’s office of the bankruptcy court where the case was filed. Call or visit with your full name, any previous names, and whatever case details you remember. The clerk can look up the filing date directly.

Many bankruptcy courts also offer a toll-free automated phone system called the Voice Case Information System (VCIS), reachable at 1-866-222-8029 for most courts. Enter your name or case number on a touch-tone phone and the system reads back basic case data, including the filing date. A handful of districts use different numbers, but the main line covers most courts.

If you need something more than a date, the clerk’s office can produce official copies of your petition and other filings. Reproducing documents costs $0.50 per page, and adding a certification stamp costs $12 per document.⁶ Certified copies are sometimes required by mortgage lenders or government agencies.

If Your Attorney’s Firm Closed

Attorneys who close a practice are generally required by their state bar to notify clients where closed files are stored and to report the custodian’s contact information. If the firm dissolved, ask the state bar association who was designated custodian of the firm’s client files. And even if that trail goes cold, the court records exist independently: the clerk and PACER have your case regardless of what happened to the law firm.

Older Cases Sent to Federal Archives

Bankruptcy courts generally retain case files for about 15 years. After that, records are transferred to a Federal Records Center or the National Archives and may no longer appear in the court’s current electronic system.

The clerk’s office can still help. Retrieving one box of records from a Federal Records Center costs $70, with each additional box at $43. Electronic retrievals from archived storage cost $11 plus any charges the storage facility assesses.⁶ Start by calling the clerk’s office of the court where you originally filed. They can provide the Federal Records Center tracking information you need to request the file.

Make Sure You Want the Filing Date, Not the Discharge Date

Two dates matter in every bankruptcy case, and people mix them up. The filing date is when your petition reached the court, which for individuals is Official Form 101.⁷ The discharge date is when the court order wiping out qualifying debts was entered, which in Chapter 7 comes three to six months later and in Chapter 13 comes at the end of a three-to-five-year repayment plan. When a lender, landlord, or agency asks for your “bankruptcy date,” confirm which one they want before you go hunting.

Why the Filing Date Matters

The filing date is the anchor for several rules that can affect you for years, which is why getting the exact date right is worth the trouble.

Credit report window. Under federal law, a bankruptcy can remain on your credit report for up to 10 years from the date the order for relief was entered.⁸ For a voluntary petition, that order for relief date is the same as the filing date. Knowing the exact date lets you verify whether an old bankruptcy should still be showing up.

Proof the automatic stay was in place. The instant your petition is filed, a federal court order called the automatic stay stops most creditor actions, including foreclosures, wage garnishments, repossessions, and collection calls.⁹ If a creditor violated the stay, the filing date is your proof of when protection began.

Waiting periods before you can file again. The gap you have to wait before a second filing is measured from the earlier case’s filing date, and it varies by chapter:

Chapter 7 after Chapter 7: eight years from the earlier Chapter 7 filing date.¹⁰
Chapter 7 after Chapter 13: six years, unless you paid unsecured creditors in full or paid at least 70 percent in a good-faith best-effort plan.¹⁰
Chapter 13 after Chapter 7: four years from the Chapter 7 filing date.¹¹
Chapter 13 after Chapter 13: two years from the earlier Chapter 13 filing date.¹¹

Using the wrong filing date on any of these can lead to a denied discharge months into a new case. Confirm the date from a court source, not memory, whenever a legal deadline turns on it.

1
AnnualCreditReport.com. Getting Your Credit Reports
2
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. How Long Does a Bankruptcy Appear on Credit Reports?
3
PACER. Registration Wizard
4
PACER. Pricing Frequently Asked Questions
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 109 – Who May Be a Debtor
6
United States Courts. Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule
7
United States Courts. Voluntary Petition for Individuals Filing for Bankruptcy
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1681c – Requirements Relating to Information Contained in Consumer Reports
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 362 – Automatic Stay
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 727 – Discharge
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 1328 – Discharge