The sticker price to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy is $338. That’s the federal court filing fee, set by the Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule and charged whether you file in Boise, Brooklyn, or Biloxi. If someone quotes you a different number for the court itself, they’re either talking about Chapter 13 or they’re wrong.
The $338 is the only part of this that’s universal. Everything else, from attorney fees to the two mandatory courses you have to take, varies. And for most people, the court fee turns out to be the smallest line on the bill.
If you’ve typed “how much does it cost to file bankruptcy chapter 7” into a search bar, the real answer depends on three variables: what a competent bankruptcy lawyer charges in your district, whether you qualify for a fee waiver under the federal poverty guidelines, and how much of the work you’re willing to do yourself. Those three variables turn a single question into a range that runs from zero to about $3,500, depending on where you land.
The $338 Court Fee, Broken Down
The federal government bundles three charges into the single Chapter 7 payment. It’s $245 for the filing fee itself (derived from 28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)), $78 for the administrative fee, and $15 for the Chapter 7 trustee surcharge. Total: $338. The schedule has been at that level since December 1, 2023, and the Central District of California confirms the same number is in effect for 2026 filings.
Chapter 13, if you end up there instead, runs $313 total (a $235 filing fee plus the same $78 administrative fee, no trustee surcharge). Chapter 11 is a different universe at $1,738.
The fee goes to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court clerk when you submit your petition. You pay it once. There’s no monthly draw, no renewal, and no late fee. What you do get for that $338 is the automatic stay, the trustee’s administrative handling of your case, the 341 meeting (also called the meeting of creditors), and the discharge order at the end. It’s one of the better deals in federal court, considering what it buys.
Attorney Fees Are Where the Cost Lives
If you hire a lawyer, this is where most of your money goes. The typical range for a straightforward, no-asset Chapter 7 case is $1,000 to $2,000, with Upsolve putting the median closer to $1,500. The American Bar Association’s Free Legal Answers bankruptcy resources note that fees vary heavily by region and complexity.
In big metros the number climbs. A Chapter 7 filing in New York, San Francisco, or Chicago commonly runs $1,800 to $3,500. A filing in rural Mississippi or Alabama might come in under $900. The range isn’t a reflection of lawyer quality. It’s a reflection of the cost of running a law office in a given zip code.
One detail most filers don’t learn until they’re halfway through a consultation: bankruptcy lawyers generally want the fee paid in full before they file. This isn’t the lawyers being difficult. It’s a rule of the bankruptcy code. Any legal fee you still owe your attorney at the moment of filing gets treated as an unsecured debt, which means it gets discharged along with your credit cards. Lawyers know this, so they collect up front. If you can only scrape together part of the fee, your lawyer will usually let you pay in installments pre-filing, then file the petition once you’ve hit the full balance.
A few things can push the fee higher. Recent large transfers to family members, business ownership, pending lawsuits, a home with significant equity, or an asset case (where the trustee expects to liquidate and distribute property) all add hours. So do stacked bank accounts with unusual activity, which the trustee will scrutinize. If any of that applies, expect a quote closer to $2,500 than $1,200. If a debt buyer like Jefferson Capital Systems is suing you while you’re trying to file, most attorneys will add a stay-motion rider to the retainer.
A bankruptcy consultation is usually free. Before you commit to a filing fee or an attorney retainer, most licensed bankruptcy attorneys will sit down with you at no charge to review your debts, income, and options. Our matching service connects you with attorneys who handle Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 cases in your state and will tell you honestly whether bankruptcy is the right tool for your situation or whether another path fits better.
The Two Required Courses and Why They’re Cheap
Every Chapter 7 filer has to complete two approved courses. The first is a pre-filing credit counseling briefing, which you take before you submit the petition. The second is a post-filing debtor education course, which you take before the discharge is entered. Both are legal requirements under 11 U.S.C. § 109(h) and § 111.
Neither is expensive. The U.S. Trustee Program maintains an approved-providers list, and most sessions run $10 to $50 per course. A few providers offer both for under $50 combined. If your household income is below the poverty threshold for your state, most providers will waive the fee entirely. That’s not a bankruptcy court waiver, it’s provider-level, but it’s easy to request at enrollment.
The courses themselves are short. The credit counseling briefing takes about an hour online or by phone and ends with a certificate you file with your petition. The post-filing debtor education course is a little longer, two hours on average, and produces a second certificate that gets filed before discharge. Skip either one and the discharge doesn’t happen. More than a few cases have been dismissed or delayed because a filer forgot the second course.
The Fee Waiver Most Filers Don’t Know About
If your income is under 150% of the federal poverty guideline for your household size, you can ask the court to waive the $338 entirely. You file Form 103B, Application to Have the Chapter 7 Filing Fee Waived, along with your petition. The judge reviews it, and if granted, you owe nothing to the court.
The numbers for 2026, from the HHS Poverty Guidelines (48 contiguous states and DC):
- Household of 1: 100% is $15,960; 150% is $23,940
- Household of 2: 100% is $21,640; 150% is $32,460
- Household of 3: 100% is $27,320; 150% is $40,980
- Household of 4: 100% is $33,000; 150% is $49,500
- Household of 5: 100% is $38,680; 150% is $58,020
The court looks at your gross monthly income from all sources, multiplied by 12, against the guideline for your household size. Alaska and Hawaii use separate, higher tables.
Two things to know. First, the waiver isn’t automatic. The judge can deny it if your Schedule I shows income bumping against the line, if you’ve recently paid down non-dischargeable debt, or if you have significant non-exempt property. Second, fee waivers are only available for Chapter 7. Chapter 13 filers can pay in installments but can’t get the fee waived, because the assumption is that a Chapter 13 filer has enough income to fund a repayment plan.
I’ve seen the waiver granted for single filers making $22,000 a year, and I’ve seen it denied for a family of three at $38,000 where the trustee raised questions about a recent vehicle purchase. It’s discretionary, and the judge is reading your paperwork for signs that you actually can’t pay the $338 even slowly.
Paying in Installments If the Waiver Doesn’t Fit
If your income is above 150% of poverty but you still can’t write a $338 check today, the court will let you pay over time. Form 103A, Application for Individuals to Pay the Filing Fee in Installments, asks the court to accept up to four payments spread across 120 days from the filing date.
The standard split is something like $100 at filing, then three payments of roughly $80 every 30 to 45 days. The court is flexible about the schedule, but the last payment has to land within 120 days. If you miss it, your case can be dismissed, which is bad. It means your $338 is gone, your debts aren’t discharged, and you have to start over.
A practical note: most attorneys who take Chapter 7 cases will front the court fee for you if you’re paying them in installments. They build it into their retainer. That way you write one check to the attorney, the attorney pays the court, and you don’t have to track two separate payment schedules. Ask during the consultation.
What It Costs to File Without a Lawyer
Pro se filing, meaning you represent yourself, drops the cost to $338 plus the roughly $30 in course fees. Total out of pocket: around $370. Upsolve, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, built a free software tool that walks eligible low-income filers through the petition using TurboTax-style questions. They’ve helped tens of thousands of people file without an attorney, and several bankruptcy courts publish pro se guides that supplement what Upsolve provides.
Pro se works well if your case is truly simple. Simple means: you rent, you don’t own a business, you have no lawsuits pending, your income is under the state median, your debts are mostly credit cards or medical, and you haven’t made big transfers to family in the last two to four years. Hit any of those tripwires and the math changes fast. A trustee asking pointed questions at the 341 meeting is not a situation most people are equipped to navigate alone.
The other pro se option is a bankruptcy petition preparer, a non-lawyer who types your forms for a fee typically between $100 and $200. They can’t give legal advice. They can’t explain which exemptions to claim. They can type what you tell them to type. The U.S. Trustee’s office publishes a petition preparer guide that spells out the limits, and the limits are narrow.
Hidden Costs People Forget to Budget
The big three, the court fee, attorney fees, and courses, cover most filings. But a handful of other expenses catch people off guard.
Credit reports. Your attorney needs your full tri-merge report. Some filers use a free annual report pull from AnnualCreditReport.com, which is fine. Others pay $20 to $40 for a real-time tri-merge to catch collections the free report might lag on. If your case includes a recent deceased-parent debt or a debt buyer your lawyer wants to confirm is reporting, the paid pull is worth it. A smart debt validation letter campaign before filing is often cheaper than a contested claim later.
Appraisals. If you own a home, car, or unusual assets like collectibles, your attorney may want a formal appraisal to support the value listed on Schedule A/B. A residential drive-by appraisal runs $150 to $400. A full inspection appraisal can be $500. Most Chapter 7 filers skip this, because the federal or state exemption amounts cover what they own. It becomes relevant only if value is contested.
Trustee questions. If the Chapter 7 trustee identifies a non-exempt asset, like a tax refund you haven’t received yet or a lawsuit settlement, you may face a choice: let the trustee take it, or buy it back at fair market value. Buy-backs can range from $200 to several thousand, depending on what you’re protecting. This isn’t a filing cost, it’s a case cost, but it hits at roughly the same time.
Amendments. If you forget a creditor, change your address, or need to update your schedules after filing, most courts charge a $32 amendment fee per the miscellaneous fee schedule. It’s minor, but filers who prepared their petition quickly sometimes end up paying for three or four amendments.
Postage and certified mail. If your creditors want payment verification, or your trustee asks for documents, expect to spend $20 to $60 on certified mail and copies across the life of the case.
A Realistic Total for Most Filers
A typical Chapter 7 in 2026, filed with a solo or small-firm bankruptcy attorney in a mid-size city, looks like this:
- Court filing fee: $338
- Attorney fee: $1,500
- Credit counseling and debtor education: $40
- Credit report, if needed: $25
- Miscellaneous (certified mail, amendments): $40
Total: around $1,940 out of pocket.
A pro se filer using Upsolve and qualifying for the fee waiver and reduced-fee courses pays close to zero. A filer in a major metro with a home, a business, and a trustee questioning asset transfers might pay $3,500 or more. Most people land somewhere between $1,500 and $2,500.
The cost of filing isn’t the most important number in a bankruptcy decision. The more important question is whether discharge cuts off $40,000 of credit card debt, or whether a Chapter 13 plan is better suited to your situation, or whether the debt was actually yours in the first place. A $1,500 legal fee to erase $40,000 in obligations is one of the strongest returns on a dollar in personal finance. That’s the math most filers are really doing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cheapest way to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy?
The cheapest route is pro se filing (representing yourself) using Upsolve’s free filing tool, combined with a court-approved fee waiver if your income is below 150% of the federal poverty guideline for your household size. Filers who qualify for the full waiver and reduced-cost courses can complete a Chapter 7 for under $50. Pro se filing without a waiver runs about $370 total. The tradeoff is complexity: pro se is safe only if your case is genuinely simple, meaning no business, no pending lawsuits, no large asset transfers, and income under the state median.
Can you file Chapter 7 with no money at all?
Yes. The bankruptcy court offers two paths for filers who can’t pay the $338 fee. A fee waiver under Form 103B is available if your income is under 150% of the federal poverty guideline for your household size, which for 2026 means roughly $23,940 for a single filer or $49,500 for a family of four. If you’re above the waiver threshold but still can’t write a check today, Form 103A lets you pay in up to four installments over 120 days. Approved credit counseling and debtor education providers also waive course fees for low-income filers.
Do bankruptcy attorneys take payment plans?
Most do, but the payments must be completed before the petition is filed. Any attorney fees outstanding at the moment of filing get discharged as unsecured debt under bankruptcy law, which means most lawyers refuse to file until the full fee is paid. A common arrangement is an initial retainer of $500 to $750, followed by monthly payments over two to three months, with the petition filed once the balance is zero. Some attorneys will front the $338 court fee as part of the retainer.
How much does Chapter 13 bankruptcy cost compared to Chapter 7?
Chapter 13 has a lower court fee at $313 (versus $338 for Chapter 7), but higher attorney fees because the case lasts three to five years instead of four to six months. Chapter 13 attorney fees commonly run $3,500 to $5,000, with much of that paid through the repayment plan rather than up front. Chapter 13 does not allow fee waivers, only installment payments. The federal Bankruptcy Code sets presumptive “no-look” fees that most courts will approve for Chapter 13, which vary by district.
What happens if you can’t afford to finish paying the filing fee?
If you miss a scheduled installment under Form 103A, the court can dismiss your case. Dismissal is serious: your debts are not discharged, the $338 you’ve paid so far is not refunded, and you lose the protections of the automatic stay. Contact the court clerk before you miss a payment to request an extension. Judges will often grant a brief extension for good cause, especially if you communicate proactively. If your financial situation changed after filing, you may be able to convert your petition to one that includes a fee waiver request, though the procedure varies by district.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Bankruptcy is a significant financial decision with long-term credit implications. Consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction before filing any petition.
