Proof of Claim and Claims Register: Form 410 and Bar Date

A proof of claim is the form a creditor files in a bankruptcy case to assert a right to payment from the debtor’s estate. In most Chapter 7, 12, and 13 cases, non-governmental creditors have 70 days from the order for relief to file one, and missing that deadline usually means losing any share of what gets distributed.¹ The filing goes on Official Form 410, gets logged on the court’s claims register with a unique number, and, if properly completed, carries a built-in presumption that the debt is valid in the amount stated.

What a Proof of Claim Does

When someone files for bankruptcy, the court gathers the debtor’s assets into a single estate. Creditors cannot collect on their own. They file a proof of claim telling the court how much the debtor owes and why, and once filed, that claim is automatically deemed allowed unless someone objects.²

A properly completed proof of claim is its own evidence of the debt. It shifts the work to anyone who wants to dispute it: the debtor or trustee has to produce enough evidence to overcome the claim’s presumption of validity.³ A sloppy or incomplete filing loses that presumption, and the creditor then has to prove the debt from scratch. That is why the details matter.

Every filed claim gets a unique number on the court’s claims register, which is the running public ledger of every proof of claim in the case. Checking the register after you file confirms the claim was processed and gives you the reference number to use in any later correspondence.

Who Files, and When You May Not Need To

The creditor owed the debt is the natural filer, but the law allows substitutes. If a creditor does not file on time, anyone who shares liability for the debt, such as a co-signer or guarantor, can file on the creditor’s behalf. The debtor or the bankruptcy trustee can also step in and file a creditor’s claim.⁴

In Chapter 9 and Chapter 11 cases, there is an important exception. A creditor whose debt is listed on the debtor’s schedules as undisputed, non-contingent, and liquidated does not need to file at all. The schedule entry itself counts as prima facie evidence of the claim.⁵ But if your debt is scheduled as disputed, contingent, or unliquidated, you must file by the court-set bar date or lose the right to vote on a reorganization plan and to receive distributions. In any Chapter 11 case, the safe move is to pull the debtor’s schedules and, if there is any doubt about how your claim appears, file anyway. Filing when you didn’t strictly need to causes no harm; failing to file when you should have can be irreversible.

What Goes on Official Form 410

Every proof of claim uses Official Form 410, a standardized document approved by the Judicial Conference.⁶ The form asks for:

The creditor’s name and mailing addresses (the notice address and the payment address can differ).
The total amount owed, with an itemized breakdown if the figure includes interest, fees, or other charges.
The basis of the debt, such as goods sold, money loaned, services performed, a lease, or a credit card balance.
The claim’s classification: secured, entitled to priority, or general unsecured.⁷

Classification carries real consequences. Priority claims for unpaid wages or employee benefits are capped at $17,150 per person, and priority claims for consumer deposits are capped at $3,800.⁸ Tax-related priority claims follow their own rules under 11 USC 507.⁹ Calling a claim secured when it isn’t, or failing to assert a priority you legitimately hold, invites objections that delay payment or shrink the recovery.

Supporting Documents

Attach copies of what proves the debt: promissory notes, invoices, purchase orders, contracts, or account statements. Send copies rather than originals, because the court may destroy paper documents after scanning. If the supporting records aren’t available, the form permits an explanatory attachment instead.⁷

Claims secured by a mortgage on the debtor’s primary residence have extra requirements. The creditor must also file Official Form 410A, plus an escrow account statement prepared as of the petition date if an escrow account is involved.³

Redaction

Everything filed with the proof of claim becomes part of the public claims register, so redact before you file. Rule 9037 limits court filings to the last four digits of Social Security, taxpayer identification, and financial account numbers; only the year of an individual’s birth; and only the initials of any known minor.¹⁰ Skip this step and sensitive data goes to anyone who pulls up the register.

How To Submit the Claim

Creditors have three options. The simplest for occasional filers is the Electronic Proof of Claim system (ePOC), which many bankruptcy courts offer directly through their websites. No account registration or special software is needed. You fill out an online form and submit the claim instantly.¹¹

Attorneys and professional claims filers usually use CM/ECF, the federal judiciary’s main electronic filing platform. That route requires a PACER account and court-specific credentials.¹² If you prefer paper, mail a completed Form 410 with attachments to the bankruptcy clerk’s office or the court-appointed claims agent in the case.

Electronic submissions produce an immediate confirmation receipt and a claim number. Paper filings don’t, so check the claims register after mailing to confirm your claim was logged.

Amending a Claim

A creditor who needs to correct an amount, change a classification, or update contact information files an amended proof of claim. The amendment keeps the original claim number but gets a sequence suffix (claim 10-1 becomes 10-2 after the first amendment in CM/ECF). You have to upload a new PDF of the amended Form 410; asking the court to adjust its records informally will not work.

Withdrawing a Claim

A creditor can withdraw a filed claim by submitting a notice of withdrawal, but the right to withdraw narrows once the case moves along. Court permission is required if an objection has already been filed against the claim, if the creditor has been sued in an adversary proceeding related to the claim, or if the creditor has already voted on a reorganization plan or participated significantly in the case.¹³ Withdrawing a claim also withdraws any related plan vote unless the court orders otherwise.

The Bar Date

The bar date is the deadline after which proofs of claim are no longer accepted. The deadlines differ by chapter and by creditor type:

Chapters 7, 12, and 13: non-governmental creditors have 70 days after the order for relief, or after conversion to Chapter 12 or 13, to file.¹
Chapter 11: the court sets the bar date case by case. Creditors whose claims are properly scheduled as undisputed, non-contingent, and liquidated do not need to file at all.⁵
Government agencies: federal, state, and local governmental units get 180 days after the order for relief, and can ask the court for more time before that window closes.¹

The court sends creditors notice of the deadline at the start of the case, titled “Notice of Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Case” or “Notice of Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Case.”¹⁴ In some Chapter 7 cases the notice says no bar date has been set because there appear to be no assets. If assets turn up later, the clerk must send a new notice giving creditors at least 90 days to file.¹

Late Filing

A creditor who misses the bar date is not always out, but the openings are narrow. Rule 3002(c) allows a request for up to 60 more days when the original bar date notice did not give reasonable time to file. Claims arising from rejected contracts or leases get a separate court-set deadline. Minors and legally incapacitated individuals can receive extensions in the interest of justice.¹

Outside those carve-outs, courts review late filings under the Supreme Court’s “excusable neglect” standard, weighing the risk of prejudice to the debtor, the length and impact of the delay, the reason for it and whether the filer controlled it, and the filer’s good faith. A creditor is held responsible for their attorney’s mistakes, so blaming counsel is not an automatic excuse, though it is not automatically fatal either.

How Claims Get Challenged

Any party in interest, including the debtor, the trustee, or another creditor, can object to a proof of claim. The objection must be filed and served on the claim holder at least 30 days before any hearing.¹⁵ The court then decides the dispute after notice and a hearing.

Who carries the burden depends on how the claim was put together. A properly documented proof of claim carries the presumption of validity, and the objector must come forward with enough evidence to overcome it.³ A claim missing required documentation loses that presumption, and the creditor has to prove the debt from the ground up.

The Bankruptcy Code lists specific grounds for disallowance, including that the debt is unenforceable under applicable law, the claim is for unmatured interest, a tax claim exceeds the estate’s interest in the taxed property, professional fees are unreasonable, and landlord or employee termination damages exceed the statutory caps.² Untimely filing is itself a ground for disallowance.

Transferring a Claim

Bankruptcy claims are transferable. Debt buyers and other investors routinely purchase claims from creditors who prefer immediate cash to a bankruptcy distribution that may take years. The procedure depends on timing. If the claim is transferred before a proof of claim has been filed, only the new holder may file it. If the transfer happens after the proof of claim has been filed, the new holder files evidence of the transfer with the court, the clerk notifies the original creditor, and the original creditor has 21 days to object. Without an objection, the new holder replaces the original creditor on the register; with one, the court holds a hearing to resolve the dispute.³

Transfers made as security for a loan work a little differently. Both the original creditor and the secured party can file a proof of claim for the full amount, and the filing must include the terms of the security arrangement. If the parties can’t agree on voting the claim or receiving distributions, the court steps in.

Penalties for a False Claim

Filing a false proof of claim is a federal crime. Anyone who knowingly and fraudulently submits a fabricated claim against a bankruptcy estate faces up to five years in prison, a fine, or both, whether they act personally or through an attorney or agent.¹⁶ Courts can also impose civil sanctions under Rule 9011 against anyone who files documents for an improper purpose, such as harassment or needless delay, or who makes frivolous legal assertions.¹⁷

1
Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure Rule 3002 – Filing Proof of Claim or Interest
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 502 – Allowance of Claims or Interests
3
Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure Rule 3001 – Proof of Claim
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 501 – Filing of Proofs of Claims or Interests
5
Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure Rule 3003 – Chapter 9 or 11 Filing a Proof of Claim or Equity Interest
6
United States Courts. Proof of Claim
7
United States Courts. Official Form 410 – Proof of Claim
8
Federal Register. Adjustment of Certain Dollar Amounts Applicable to Bankruptcy Cases
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 507 – Priorities
10
Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure Rule 9037 – Protecting Privacy for Filings
11
United States Bankruptcy Court, District of Minnesota. File an Electronic Proof of Claim (ePOC)
12
United States Courts. Electronic Filing (CM/ECF)
13
Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure Rule 3006 – Withdrawing a Proof of Claim
14
United States Courts. Official Form 309B – Notice of Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Case – Proof of Claim Deadline Set
15
Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure Rule 3007 – Objecting to a Claim
16
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 152 – Concealment of Assets, False Oaths and Claims, Bribery
17
Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure Rule 9011 – Signing Documents, Representations to the Court, Sanctions