June 3, 2008 — Bankruptcy filings in the federal courts for the 12-month period ending March 31, 2008, exceeded 900,000, according to statistics released today by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. The 901,927 bankruptcy cases filed represent a 30 percent increase over the 695,575 cases filed in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2007.
After an initial drop in bankruptcy filings following the October 17, 2005, implementation date of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA), filings have risen gradually. Calendar year 2007 filings saw a 38 percent increase. September 2007 filings were the highest of any previous 12-month period since December 2006.
Business and Non-business Filings
The majority of bankruptcy filings are filings involving predominantly non-business debts. Non-business filings (also called personal or consumer filings) for the 12-month period ending March 31, 2008, totaled 871,186, up 29 percent from the 673,615 bankruptcies filed in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2007.
Filings involving predominantly business debts also rose substantially. They totaled 30,741, up 40 percent from the 21,960 business bankruptcies filed in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2007.
Filings by Chapter
For the 12-month period ending March 31, 2008, filings rose for all bankruptcy chapters, except for Chapter 12.
- Chapter 7 filings rose 36 percent to 560,015, compared to the 413,294 Chapter 7 filings in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2007.
- Chapter 13 filings rose 21 percent to 334,551, from the 276,649 bankruptcies filed in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2007.
- Chapter 11 filings rose 34 percent, to 6,971 compared to the 5,199 Chapter 11 filings in the same time period in 2007.
- Chapter 12 filings fell 8 percent to 343, from the 372 filings for the 12-month period ending March 2007.
For more on bankruptcy and its chapters, visit the Judiciary's website or go to www.fjc.gov/federal/courts.nsf. Local bankruptcy court rules can be found at www.uscourts.gov/rules/bk-localrules.html. Historic data on bankruptcy filings is available on the Judiciary's website under Bankruptcy Statistics. Additional bankruptcy statistics, including bankruptcies by county, can be found on the Judiciary's PACER system.
| | Chapter |
| Year |
7 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
| 2008 | 560,015 | 6,971 | 343 | 334,551 |
| 2007 | 413,294 | 5,199 | 372 | 276,649 |
| 2006 | 1,432,074 | 6,497 | 366 | 355,756 |
| 2005 | 1,141,715 | 7,115 | 189 | 441,838 |
| 2004 | 1,176,654 | 11,649 | 573 | 465,878 |
| 2003 | 1,135,436 | 10,722 | 632 | 464,369 |
| Year |
Total |
Non-Business |
Business |
| 2008 | 901,927 | 871,186 | 30,741 |
| 2007 | 695,575 | 673,615 | 21,960 |
| 2006 | 1,794,795 | 1,759,503 | 35,292 |
| 2005 | 1,590,975 | 1,559,023 | 31,952 |
| 2004 | 1,654,847 | 1,618,062 | 36,785 |
| 2003 | 1,611,268 | 1,573,720 | 37,548 |
| PERIOD | FILINGS | PERIOD | FILINGS | PERIOD | FILINGS |
| MAR. 31, 2008 | 245,695 | MAR. 31, 2004 | 407,572 | MAR. 31, 2000 | 312,335 |
| DEC. 31, 2007 | 226,413 | DEC. 31, 2003 | 393,348 | DEC. 31, 1999 | 318,634 |
| SEPT. 30, 2007 | 218,909 | SEPT. 30, 2003 | 412,989 | SEPT. 30, 1999 | 323,550 |
| JUN. 30, 2007 | 210,449 | JUN. 30, 2003 | 440,257 | JUN. 30, 1999 | 345,956 |
| MAR. 31, 2007 | 193,641 | MAR. 31, 2003 | 412,968 | MAR. 31, 1999 | 330,784 |
| DEC. 31, 2006 | 177,599 | DEC. 31, 2002 | 395,129 | DEC. 31, 1998 | 353,108 |
| SEPT. 30, 2006 | 171,146 | SEPT. 30, 2002 | 401,306 | SEPT. 30, 1998 | 361,205 |
| JUN. 30, 2006 | 155,833 | JUN. 30, 2002 | 400,686 | JUN. 30, 1998 | 373,460 |
| MAR. 31, 2006 | 116,771 | MAR. 31, 2002 | 379,012 | MAR. 31, 1998 | 354,118 |
| DEC. 31, 2005 | 667,431 | DEC. 31, 2001 | 364,921 | DEC. 31, 1997 | 347,685 |
| SEPT. 30, 2005 | 542,002 | SEPT. 30, 2001 | 359,518 | SEPT. 30, 1997 | 353,515 |
| JUN. 30, 2005 | 467,333 | JUN. 30, 2001 | 400,394 | JUN. 30, 1997 | 367,168 |
| MAR.31, 2005 | 401,149 | MAR. 31, 2001 | 366,841 | MAR. 31, 1997 | 335,073 |
| DEC. 31, 2004 | 371,668 | DEC. 31, 2000 | 310,169 | DEC. 31, 1996 | 311,131 |
| SEPT. 30, 2004 | 396,438 | SEPT. 30, 2000 | 308,718 | SEPT. 30, 1996 | 303,309 |
| JUN. 30, 2004 | 421,110 | JUN. 30, 2000 | 321,729 | JUN. 30, 1996 | 297,162 |
| | MAR. 31, 1996 | 266,149 |
* Because of ongoing corrections to the bankruptcy database, the quarterly data may not total to the most recent annual figures.
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