What Is a Proof of Claim in Chapter 13 Bankruptcy?

A proof of claim in Chapter 13 bankruptcy is the official form a creditor files with the court to get paid through your repayment plan. Every creditor uses the same document, Official Form 410, and most have 70 days from the date you filed your case to submit it.¹ Whether a claim gets filed, how much it’s filed for, and whether anyone objects to it drives what you pay each month and what debt is left when your plan ends.

Why the Claim Matters to You, Not Just the Creditor

In Chapter 13 you propose a plan, usually three or five years long depending on how your household income compares to the state median, and the Chapter 13 trustee collects your monthly payment and passes it out to creditors.² But the trustee only pays a creditor who has an “allowed” claim on file. A claim reaches allowed status automatically once it’s filed, unless someone objects.³

That gives every filed claim real weight. An inflated balance quietly raises what you pay through the plan. A missing claim can leave a lien attached to your house or car after the case closes. A late claim from a creditor you actually want paid, like the IRS, can push a non-dischargeable tax debt onto the other side of your discharge.

The 70-Day Filing Deadline

Most creditors have 70 days from the date of your bankruptcy filing (technically the “order for relief”) to file a proof of claim.⁴ That cutoff is called the “bar date” because it bars late filers. Credit card issuers, hospitals, personal lenders, auto lenders, mortgage servicers, and anyone else who isn’t a government agency runs on the 70-day clock.

Government agencies get 180 days from the order for relief. For tax debts tied to a return filed under Chapter 13’s special provisions, the government has either 180 days or 60 days after the return is filed, whichever is longer, and it can ask the court for more time for good cause if it moves before the 180 days expires.⁴

All of these dates appear on the Notice of Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Case that the court mails to every creditor listed in your petition. Foreign-address creditors can request extra time if the notice didn’t give them a realistic window, but that exception is narrow.⁴

What Happens When a Creditor Misses the Deadline

A late claim can be disallowed if anyone objects.³ Chapter 13 pays creditors from your plan payments rather than from the sale of assets, so there’s no leftover-distribution safety net the way Chapter 7 has. A domestic creditor who files late and draws an objection is simply out.

For an unsecured credit card or medical bill you don’t especially care about, that’s fine. The debt is still covered by your eventual discharge. But a missing secured or priority claim can hurt you.

When You Should File a Claim for a Creditor

Chapter 13 lets you, the debtor, file a proof of claim on behalf of a creditor who didn’t. If a creditor doesn’t file within the time allowed, you or the trustee have an additional 30 days after the bar date to file the claim for them.⁵ A codebtor or guarantor jointly liable on the debt can also file if the main creditor doesn’t.⁶

You’d typically use this option in two situations. The first is a secured creditor, like a mortgage servicer or auto lender, whose payments you’re routing through the plan; if they never file, the plan may not properly clear arrearages or address the lien, and you can finish your case with the collateral still encumbered. The second is a priority creditor like a tax authority; those debts survive discharge, so it’s usually better to pay them down inside the plan than to face them fresh when your case closes.

What’s on Form 410

Form 410 asks the creditor to identify you by full legal name and case number, then state the amount owed as of the date you filed your petition. That’s a snapshot number, not the current balance.⁷ The creditor states the basis for the debt (loan, goods, services, and so on) and checks a box classifying the claim:

Secured, meaning backed by collateral like a house or vehicle
Priority unsecured, covering things like certain tax debts and domestic support obligations
General unsecured, the category for credit cards, medical bills, and personal loans

Documentation has to be attached. For a written agreement, that means a copy of the contract, promissory note, or service agreement; if the original is lost, a written explanation of what happened takes its place. For a revolving account like a credit card, a transaction summary with the date of the last charge is enough.⁷ A secured creditor also has to show the lien was properly perfected, with a recorded mortgage, a certificate of title, or a UCC filing.

Because the claim becomes a public court record, the creditor must redact sensitive personal identifiers. Only the last four digits of a Social Security number or account number, and only the year of a birth date, should appear on the filing.⁸ If a creditor files with your full SSN visible, flag it so the court can restrict access.

Mortgages: Form 410A

A mortgage creditor also has to file the Mortgage Proof of Claim Attachment, Official Form 410A.⁹ It requires the principal balance, interest owed, monthly escrow, any private mortgage insurance, prepetition fees, the total arrearage as of the filing date, and the interest calculation method. The most demanding section is the loan payment history: starting from the first date you fell behind, the creditor logs every transaction, showing how each payment was applied to principal, interest, escrow, and fees, with running balances.

If you’re curing a mortgage arrearage through your plan, this attachment is where you look for errors. Mortgage arrearages are among the most contested numbers in Chapter 13, and overcharges hide in the payment history.

How the Trustee Pays Allowed Claims

The trustee pays allowed claims in a set order. Secured creditors get paid first, but only up to the value of the collateral. If you owe $15,000 on a car worth $10,000, the claim splits: $10,000 is secured, and the remaining $5,000 becomes an unsecured claim.¹⁰ Priority unsecured claims, like tax debts and domestic support, come next and generally have to be paid in full. General unsecured creditors split whatever is left, pro rata by claim size.

When you complete all plan payments, the court grants a discharge that wipes out remaining balances on debts provided for by the plan, along with debts that were disallowed during the case.¹¹ Some debts survive, including long-term obligations like ongoing mortgage payments, student loans, and criminal restitution. For a general unsecured creditor who filed a claim and got only a partial payment, whatever’s left is gone.

Checking and Objecting to a Filed Claim

A filed claim is presumed valid, so if a creditor claims too much, someone has to push back. That’s usually you or the trustee. Inflated claims go unchallenged more often than they should, and every dollar of an unchallenged claim raises what the plan has to pay.

To object, you file a written objection and serve it on the creditor at least 30 days before the scheduled hearing or the deadline for the creditor to request one.¹² Service goes to the address the creditor designated on the proof of claim, with additional service requirements for federal agencies.

Common grounds:

The debt is barred by the statute of limitations or otherwise unenforceable.
The balance, interest, or fees are wrong.
The creditor claims secured status but hasn’t shown a properly perfected lien.
The same debt was filed more than once.
The claim was filed after the bar date.

Amending or Withdrawing a Claim

A creditor can withdraw a claim by filing a notice of withdrawal, but not once things have progressed. If an objection has been filed, an adversary proceeding is pending, or the creditor has accepted or rejected the plan or otherwise participated in the case, withdrawal requires court permission and the court can impose conditions.¹³

Amending a claim before the bar date is generally straightforward. After the deadline, courts allow minor corrections (a math fix, an updated address) but treat a substantive change (a new debt, a substantially bigger amount) as a late-filed claim. The creditor then has to show excusable neglect, which courts weigh against the length of delay, good faith, the reason, and any harm to you.

Post-Petition Debts That Can Be Added

Chapter 13 has an unusual provision that lets certain debts you incur after filing get rolled into the plan. Two types qualify: taxes that come due to a government agency while the case is pending, and consumer debts for goods or services necessary for you to keep performing under the plan.¹⁴

The consumer-debt category is the practical one. A car repair so you can keep getting to work, or emergency medical treatment, would fit. There’s a limit: if the creditor knew (or should have known) that getting the trustee’s approval in advance was feasible and didn’t bother, the court will disallow the claim.¹⁴ For non-emergency services during your case, the creditor should contact the trustee first.

1
United States Courts. Proof of Claim
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 1322 – Contents of Plan
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 502 – Allowance of Claims or Interests
4
Legal Information Institute (LII) at Cornell Law School. Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure Rule 3002 – Filing Proof of Claim or Interest
5
Legal Information Institute (LII) at Cornell Law School. Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure Rule 3004 – Proof of Claim Filed by the Debtor or Trustee for a Creditor
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 501 – Filing of Proofs of Claims or Interests
7
Legal Information Institute (LII) at Cornell Law School. Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure Rule 3001 – Proof of Claim
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure Rule 9037 – Privacy Protection for Filings Made with the Court
9
United States Courts. Mortgage Proof of Claim Attachment
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 506 – Determination of Secured Status
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 1328 – Discharge
12
Legal Information Institute (LII) at Cornell Law School. Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure Rule 3007 – Objecting to a Claim
13
Legal Information Institute (LII) at Cornell Law School. Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure Rule 3006 – Withdrawing a Proof of Claim
14
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 1305 – Filing and Allowance of Postpetition Claims