Revisions to the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure and Official Bankruptcy Forms will take effect on December 1, 2015, unless Congress enacts legislation otherwise. We will update this page as changes are made available.
Most of the Official Bankruptcy Forms are scheduled to be replaced with substantially revised, reformatted and renumbered versions.
The new forms are part of the Advisory Committee's ongoing forms modernization project that began in 2008. The new forms introduce different versions of case opening forms for individual debtors and non-individual debtors. The forms are also easier for debtors to understand and complete, and are designed to work with scheduled enhancements to the federal courts' case opening and electronic case management system. All but six of the existing official forms and virtually all the director's bankruptcy forms will be replaced.
Copies of the pending official bankruptcy forms and committee notes are available for your review from the U.S. Courts website at:
http://www.uscourts.gov/rules-policies/pending-rules-amendments/pending-changes-bankruptcy-forms.
The following PDFs provide more detailed information about the forms impacted.
If you are considering filing a bankruptcy case, you should know that the Bankruptcy Rules contain a set of official bankruptcy forms, and Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9009 provides that the Official Forms "shall be observed and used" in cases and proceedings under the Code. Unless the Court has its own local form, use of the revised Official Forms will be mandatory beginning on December 1, 2015, if the forms are approved.
If you intend to file for bankruptcy PRIOR TO December 1, 2015, the forms currently posted on our web site are the Official Forms prescribed by the Judicial Conference and may be used to file your bankruptcy case prior to December 1, 2015.
WARNING: If you intend to file for bankruptcy ON or AFTER December 1, 2015, you are urged to use the revised Official Forms, starting December 1, 2015.
The Official Forms effective December 1, 2015 will be available from the court web site shortly after approval by the Judicial Conference at its September 2015 meeting.
Our office has been made aware that CINGroup's EZ-Filing software, used by many attorneys to prepare bankruptcy forms, will no longer be updated or supported after November 30, 2015 (http://go.cingroup.com/ezfilingtransition). Representatives at CINGroup have advised the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts that their users have been notified by email, phone, and through messaging in the software itself. Please make the necessary arrangements to ensure you are on a supported software program (with updated forms) before filing any cases with the court on or after December 1, 2015. Attorneys should contact their software vendors for more information.
The PDF, Official 2015 Bankruptcy Forms in CM/ECF – Overview for Attorney, provides an overview as to the forms and schedules that are affected and provides justification for the new forms.