Chapter 7 is the kind of bankruptcy in which a court-appointed trustee collects whatever you own that the law doesn’t protect, sells it and pays your creditors from the proceeds. What the law protects, through exemptions, stays with you. At the end the court grants a discharge: an order that ends your personal legal duty to pay most of the debts you had on the day you filed. Some debts survive it, and liens on a house or car generally do too. If nothing is pending, the court rules make the discharge due roughly three months after filing.
This page is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice, and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Bankruptcy law and exemption amounts vary by state and change. Ask a bankruptcy lawyer, legal aid or the court about your situation.
This guide takes a case in the order things happen and points to the page that goes deep on each step. It explains the rules and who decides, not whether to file. The whole process on one page: Chapter 7 bankruptcy: how it works. Or start where you are:
- You’re still finding out what’s involved.
- Money for the fee or a lawyer is the problem.
- You’re getting the forms together.
- You’ve filed and the meeting of creditors is coming.
- You’re waiting for the discharge.
Before you file: the rules that can stand in the way
Chapter 7 has no debt minimum or maximum. Four rules matter more.
- A course first. An individual can’t be a debtor without a credit counseling briefing from an approved agency in the 180 days before filing, apart from narrow exceptions (109(h)). A second course comes after filing. See the two required courses.
- The means test. Where debts are mainly consumer debts, average monthly income over the six full months before filing, times 12, is set against the state median for the household size; above it, Form 122A-2 does further arithmetic that can raise a presumption of “abuse” (11 U.S.C. 707(b)). Our means test calculator shows that arithmetic; the court decides.
- An earlier discharge. No Chapter 7 discharge in a case filed within 8 years of an earlier Chapter 7 or 11 case with a discharge, or within 6 years of a Chapter 13 discharge unless that plan paid 100%, or at least 70% in good faith (727(a)(8), (9)). Both run filing date to filing date; the how often can you file calculator does the date arithmetic.
- A recent dismissal. After one case dismissed in the past year, the automatic stay ends on day 30 unless the court extends it; after two or more, none starts unless the court orders one (11 U.S.C. 362(c)(3), (4)).
What you can protect depends on exemptions, mostly state law. You use the federal list where your state allows it, or your state’s list, never a mix (522(b)(1)). Our exemptions table for all 50 states and DC gives each state’s amounts in force with the statute, or says “not confirmed”.
The cost, and filing with little or no money
The court charges $338: the $245 filing fee (28 U.S.C. 1930(a)(1)) plus a $78 administrative fee and a $15 trustee surcharge from the court fee schedule in effect since 1 December 2023 (the total is our addition). With the court’s permission it can be paid in up to four installments, the last within 120 days, or 180 for cause (Rule 1006(b)). In Chapter 7 only, the court may waive it if household income is under 150% of the federal poverty guideline and you can’t pay in installments either (1930(f)(1)). Filing Chapter 7 with no money covers the waiver’s two tests and the kinds of free legal help.
You may conduct your own case (28 U.S.C. 1654), but the court holds you to the same rules as a lawyer and its staff can’t give legal advice. A paid petition preparer who isn’t a lawyer may only type what you tell them (11 U.S.C. 110(e)(2)). Filing Chapter 7 without a lawyer explains who will and won’t help.
Filing: the forms and the first day
A case opens with the petition (Official Form 101), a list of creditors and the fee or a fee application. The schedules, the statement of financial affairs, pay stubs from the last 60 days and income Form 122A-1 follow with it or within 14 days (Rule 1007(c)(1)). All are free on the US Courts forms page; some change on 1 December 2026, so use the version in force on your filing day. If required papers are still missing after 45 days, the case is dismissed automatically unless the court extended the time (521(i)).
Filing starts the automatic stay at once: a court order that stops most lawsuits, garnishments, repossessions, foreclosure steps and collection calls on earlier debts, with exceptions such as criminal cases and most support matters (362(a), (b)). How to file Chapter 7, step by step takes every form in order.
The trustee and the 341 meeting
Every case gets a trustee: a private person from a panel the US Trustee (part of the Justice Department) keeps and supervises. The trustee collects and sells property that isn’t exempt, looks into your finances and objects to improper claims (11 U.S.C. 704(a)), and is not your lawyer. What a bankruptcy trustee does explains each duty and how trustees are paid.
The trustee questions you under oath at the meeting of creditors, 21 to 40 days after filing (Rule 2003(a)). The judge may not attend (11 U.S.C. 341(c)), and the US Trustee Program says almost all these meetings are now held on Zoom. At least 7 days before it, the trustee must have your latest federal tax return or a transcript (521(e)(2)). See the 341 meeting of creditors for what to bring and the questions trustees must ask.
The second course and the discharge
After filing, you must complete a personal financial management course; without it there is no discharge (11 U.S.C. 727(a)(11)). Objections to the discharge and abuse motions are due within 60 days after the first date set for the meeting of creditors, and once they have passed the court must grant the discharge promptly unless something is pending, such as an objection, an unpaid fee or a missing certificate (Rules 4004(a), (c), 1017(e)).
| When | What happens | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 180 days before | Credit counseling briefing | 11 U.S.C. 109(h) |
| Day 0 | Petition filed; automatic stay begins | 11 U.S.C. 301, 362(a) |
| By day 14 | Schedules and statements, if not filed with the petition | Rule 1007(c)(1) |
| Day 21 to 40 | 341 meeting of creditors | Rule 2003(a) |
| Meeting + 60 days | Deadlines for objections to discharge and abuse motions | Rules 4004(a), 1017(e) |
| Then | Discharge granted promptly if nothing is pending | Rule 4004(c) |
That puts the earliest discharge at about day 81 to 100 after filing: our arithmetic from the rules, not a promise. How long bankruptcy takes sets out each clock and what can stop it.
The discharge doesn’t cover every debt. Child support and alimony, some taxes, student loans unless repaying them would be an “undue hardship”, most government fines and debts you didn’t list in time are among the exceptions (11 U.S.C. 523(a)). It ends personal liability on a mortgage or car loan but not the lender’s lien (524(a)(2)). What the discharge wipes out goes through each exception.
Chapter 7 or Chapter 13
Chapter 7 deals with what you own on the filing day; later wages aren’t part of the estate (541(a)(6)). Chapter 13 is a repayment plan from future income over 3 or 5 years. Our Chapter 7 vs Chapter 13 comparison sets out the differences; which suits a household is for the household and its lawyer.
Claims you may see elsewhere
- “The fee is $335.” Out of date: the administrative fee has been $78, not $75, since 1 December 2023, so the total is $338.
- “You lose everything in Chapter 7.” Not as a rule. Exemptions decide what is protected, and they vary by state.
Your next step
Gather six months of income records, your last two federal tax returns, a list of every debt with the creditor’s address, and a list of what you own. Some things can’t wait: a foreclosure sale date, a garnishment taking pay, a lawsuit with an answer deadline, or a case dismissed in the past year. The bankruptcy court clerk can explain procedure (find your court on the US Courts court links page), legal aid helps people who qualify (Legal Services Corporation), and the US Trustee lists approved credit counseling agencies by district, endorsing none. A bankruptcy lawyer can apply the rules to your facts.
Sources checked on 7 November 2026, on the pages linked above.
