Bankruptcy court fees are set by the federal judiciary under 28 U.S.C. § 1930, not by individual courts. The Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule — effective December 1, 2023 — applies in all 94 federal judicial districts, so the amounts below are the same whether a case is filed in California or Maine. Individual districts publish the schedule on their own websites, but they cannot change the numbers.
This page is a plain reference. If you’re a creditor or servicer trying to work out what it costs to hold and service a bankruptcy portfolio rather than sell it, skip to which fees a creditor actually pays.
Case filing fees by chapter
The filing fee is the total collected when a case is opened. Each total combines a base filing fee with an administrative fee and, for Chapter 7, a trustee surcharge.
| Fee | Chapter | Made up of |
|---|---|---|
| $338 | Chapter 7 | $245 filing + $78 admin + $15 trustee surcharge |
| $278 | Chapter 12 | $200 filing + $78 admin |
| $313 | Chapter 13 | $235 filing + $78 admin |
| $1,738 | Chapter 11 (non-railroad) | $1,167 filing + $571 admin |
| $1,571 | Chapter 11 (railroad) | $1,000 filing + $571 admin |
| $1,738 | Chapter 9 | $1,167 filing + $571 admin |
| $1,738 | Chapter 15 (foreign proceeding) | $1,167 filing + $571 admin |
Individual debtors may apply to pay in installments or, in Chapter 7, to have the fee waived. A company must pay the fee in full.
Motion and other filing fees
These are the fees charged for specific filings during a case. The ones a creditor is most likely to encounter — relief from stay, sale free and clear, and transfer of claim — are grouped first.
| Fee | Filing |
|---|---|
| $199 | Motion for relief from stay |
| $199 | Motion to sell property free and clear of liens (§ 363(f)) |
| $28 | Transfer of claim |
| $34 | Amendment to schedules and creditor matrix |
| $199 | Motion to compel abandonment of property |
| $199 | Motion to withdraw the reference |
| $28 | Motion to redact a case record |
| $52 | Register a judgment from another district / indexing fee |
| $350 | Adversary proceeding / complaint |
| $298 | Notice of appeal or cross-appeal |
No fee is due on a motion for relief from stay filed by a co-debtor, or where a stipulation for relief is filed.
Motion to reopen a case
Reopening a closed case costs the current filing fee for that chapter. The fee is not refundable if the motion is denied.
| Fee | Chapter |
|---|---|
| $260 | Chapter 7 |
| $200 | Chapter 12 |
| $235 | Chapter 13 |
| $1,167 | Chapter 9, 11, or 15 |
No reopening fee is due when the case is reopened to file a dischargeability complaint (other than under § 523(c)) or to address a creditor violating the terms of a discharge under § 524.
Conversion fees
A fee is due for the motion to convert, not the conversion itself, and only in the directions below. Converting from Chapter 7 to Chapter 12 or 13, or from Chapter 11 to Chapter 12 or 13, carries no fee.
| Fee | Conversion |
|---|---|
| $922 | Chapter 7 to Chapter 11 (by the debtor) |
| $932 | Chapter 13 to Chapter 11 (by the debtor) |
| $60 | Chapter 12 to Chapter 7 |
| $25 | Chapter 13 to Chapter 7 |
| $15 | Chapter 11 to Chapter 7 |
No fee is due when a conversion to Chapter 11 is filed by a creditor rather than the debtor.
Records, copies, and administrative charges
| Fee | Charge |
|---|---|
| $0.50 / page | Copies (paper) |
| $0.10 / page | Copies printed at a clerk’s public-access terminal |
| $34 | Record search (per name or item) |
| $12 | Certification of a document |
| $24 | Exemplification of a document |
| $34 | Audio recording of a proceeding |
| $70 | Archive record retrieval — first box |
| $43 | Archive record retrieval — each additional box |
| $53 | Returned check, ACH, or declined credit card |
| $52 | Administrative fee to file a document not in a case |
Which fees a creditor actually pays
Most of the schedule is a debtor’s or trustee’s cost. A creditor working a bankruptcy portfolio touches a much shorter list:
- Motion for relief from stay — $199. Charged when you ask the court to lift the automatic stay so you can proceed against collateral.
- Motion to sell property free and clear (§ 363(f)) — $199. Relevant when an asset is sold out of the estate.
- Transfer of claim — $28 per claim. The fee to record an assignment when a claim changes hands — the line item that shows up when a portfolio is bought or sold.
- Amendment to schedules and creditor matrix — $34. To correct how a debt or a creditor’s details are listed.
- Motion to reopen — $235–$260 for the consumer chapters, if a closed case has to be revisited.
Set against the real cost of servicing a bankruptcy portfolio, these clerk fees are a rounding error. The expensive part is the labor — filing an accurate proof of claim on time, reconciling trustee payments, and monitoring each plan through to discharge. That’s the work that decides whether a portfolio actually recovers, and it’s the calculation behind the hold-or-sell decision: what a portfolio will recover, serviced to completion, versus what it will fetch sold today. If you’d rather keep the loans and hand off the operational burden, that’s bankruptcy receivables servicing.
Frequently asked questions
How much is a motion for relief from stay? $199, under the schedule effective December 1, 2023. There’s no fee if the motion is filed by a co-debtor or accompanied by a stipulation for relief.
Who pays the transfer-of-claim fee? The party filing the transfer — typically the buyer recording the assignment. It’s $28 per claim.
Are bankruptcy court fees the same in every state? Yes. The schedule is set nationally under 28 U.S.C. § 1930 and applies identically in all 94 federal judicial districts. Districts publish it locally but cannot change the amounts.
When is a reopening fee not charged? When a case is reopened only to file a dischargeability complaint other than under § 523(c), or to address a creditor violating the terms of a discharge under § 524.
What does the Chapter 7 filing fee of $338 include? A $245 base filing fee, a $78 administrative fee, and a $15 trustee surcharge.
Figures on this page are transcribed from the Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule effective December 1, 2023. Fees change; confirm the current amount with the relevant district clerk before you rely on it. For what these numbers mean for a portfolio you’re deciding whether to keep or sell, talk to us.