Moffat County, Colorado

Which bankruptcy court hears a case from Moffat County?

A Moffat County case is filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado. Under 28 U.S.C. § 85, Colorado constitutes one judicial district, and the district is administered from the sole clerk's office and divisional seat at Denver. Cases are assigned to judges by random selection district-wide under L.B.R. 1073-1, not by the county you live in, so a filer in Craig and a filer in Denver draw from the same pool of judges. Grand Junction and Pueblo are statutory places for holding court, meaning hearing locations, not county-assigning divisions.

Venue itself is federal: a case may be commenced where your domicile, residence, principal place of business in the United States, or principal assets in the United States were located for the 180 days before filing, or for a longer part of that period than anywhere else (28 U.S.C. § 1408). A recent move across state lines or a business operated elsewhere can change the answer, so residence today is not the whole rule.

• District: District of Colorado, administered from Denver
• Judge assignment: random selection district-wide (L.B.R. 1073-1)
• Venue test: the greater part of the 180 days before filing (28 U.S.C. § 1408)

What does this court require of someone filing without a lawyer?

The District of Colorado publishes a Guide for Debtors Filing Bankruptcy Without an Attorney, and it states plainly that any reference in the Colorado Local Bankruptcy Rules to "attorney" applies to you if you are filing on your own. The court's Filing Without an Attorney page notes that bankruptcy can have serious long-term consequences and that a lawyer can explain what may happen and what your options are; the guide itself says that while you may be able to prosecute your own case, bankruptcy is a complex process and the court highly recommends retaining an attorney.

The court also publishes Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 voluntary petition packets with checklists of the required official forms, plus a Requirements for a Complete Voluntary Petition sheet describing which documents belong inside the petition PDF and which must be filed as separate entries. Local Bankruptcy Rule 9011-4 requires every filed document to carry your name, address, telephone number and email address below the signature line, and requires you to notify the court promptly of any change.

• Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 petition packets and checklists are on the court's website
• Non-attorney petition preparers may only type information, and the court lists preparers it has barred
• The debtor must file payment advices or a conforming statement (D. Colo. L.B.R. 1007-6)

Can a Moffat County filer submit documents electronically?

Yes, in two different ways, and the court has orders describing each. General Procedure Order 2025-01 authorized an Electronic Self Representation module, available on the court's website, exclusively for self-represented individual debtors preparing and submitting voluntary Chapter 7 cases. That order is explicit about a point worth reading twice: submitting an eSR petition package does not itself constitute filing a petition or commencing a case. The package is only filed once the court receives completed, hand-signed originals of the eSR Signature and Declaration Form and the statement about your Social Security numbers.

Separately, General Procedure Order 2026-01 amended Local Bankruptcy Rule 5005-4(b) so unrepresented individual debtors, creditors and parties to adversary proceedings may request permission to file electronically through CM/ECF using the Self-represented E-Filing Application on the court's website. Joint debtors must both apply. The application requires a computer rather than a phone, consent to electronic notice in place of mail, and compliance with the redaction requirements.

• eSR: Chapter 7 individual debtors only, and submission alone does not open a case (GPO 2025-1)
• CM/ECF access for unrepresented parties requires an approved application (GPO 2026-1)
• Exempt attorneys and unrepresented parties may otherwise file in person or by mail

How does the meeting of creditors work in this district?

Federal law requires the United States trustee to convene and preside at a meeting of creditors within a reasonable time after the order for relief (11 U.S.C. § 341). In a Chapter 7 case the trustee orally examines you before the meeting concludes, covering the consequences of seeking a discharge, your ability to file under a different chapter, the effect of a discharge, and the effect of reaffirming a debt. The bankruptcy judge may not preside at or attend the meeting.

The District of Colorado describes the format on its own 341 Meetings of Creditors by Zoom page: the meeting is a hearing every debtor must attend, it is held outside the judge's presence, and it usually occurs between 21 and 50 days after the petition is filed. In Chapter 7, 12 and 13 cases the assigned trustee conducts it. All § 341 meetings in those chapters are held by Zoom, and the court states that debtors, counsel, creditors and parties in interest should not appear in person.

• Held by Zoom in Chapter 7, 12 and 13 cases; do not appear in person
• Usually between 21 and 50 days after the petition, per the court's page
• The trustee conducts it; the judge may not preside or attend (11 U.S.C. § 341)

What local rules and orders change the process here?

Several. Local Bankruptcy Rule 2003-1 governs continuing the § 341 meeting: a debtor's written request must reach the appointed trustee no later than seven days before the scheduled meeting, and it is the trustee, not the court, who approves it, so the request is not filed with the court. If the trustee consents, you must immediately file a notice of continued meeting, serve it on the trustee, creditors and parties in interest, and file a certificate of service. A continuance does not automatically extend the §§ 523 and 727 objection deadlines.

The district also sets a presumptively reasonable Chapter 13 debtor's attorney fee by order (GPO 2021-01 under L.B.R. 2016-3), caps petition-preparer compensation by practice, and has amended L.B.R. 9010-1(c)(3) by Administrative Order 2020-3 so clinic attorneys may give short-term limited services without signing documents or entering an appearance. Current local rules were adopted effective December 1, 2021 by Administrative Order of the Chief Judge 2021-2.

• Continuance requests go to the trustee, seven days out (L.B.R. 2003-1)
• A continuance does not extend the §§ 523 and 727 deadlines
• Limited-scope clinic help is authorized without an appearance (AO 2020-3)

What does it cost to file, and what if you cannot pay?

The federal filing fee is $245 in Chapter 7 (28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(A), (f)(1)) and $235 in Chapter 13 (28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(B)). Each chapter also carries an administrative fee of $78 under Item 8 of the Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, effective December 1, 2023, and Chapter 7 carries an additional trustee payment of $15 under Item 9. Confirm current totals on the court's Fees page before you file.

The district requires a payment choice with every petition. Under GPO 2014-4(a), each voluntary petition must be accompanied by full payment, an application to pay in installments (Official Form 103A), or, for Chapter 7, an application to have the fee waived (Official Form 103B); a paper petition missing all three is returned and no case is opened. Local Bankruptcy Rule 1006-1 adds that a waiver application must include pay advices or the local statement plus completed Schedules I and J, and that any waiver order is conditional and subject to further investigation.

Which Colorado questions should you settle before filing?

Two sit at the front. The first is credit counseling. The court's own warning notice tells every debtor that if the required United States Trustee approved pre-filing counseling is not completed ending on the date the petition is filed, and you do not meet the requirements for an extension, the case will be dismissed and no discharge will issue. The court adds that most debtors will not meet those conditions because counseling is readily available in this district, and its Credit Counseling page states that voluntary petitions will be rejected when counseling was not completed in the 180-day period ending on the filing date.

The second is property. Which exemption list applies to you, how a Colorado homestead is conditioned, and how much of your wages a creditor can reach are state-law questions this packet does not carry, so this page cannot answer them from its supplied sources. Our Colorado pages address those separately, and getting them wrong before you file is harder to undo afterward.

• Complete approved pre-filing credit counseling and file the certificate
• Settle which exemption list you can use and how Colorado conditions a homestead
• Check how Colorado protects wages if a garnishment is already running

Where can a Moffat County resident get help?

The court points to several free or lower-cost options in its pro se guide, and it is candid about the limits of its own staff: court employees are prohibited from giving parties advice about their rights in a case. The guide lists the Colorado Bar Association's free Pro Se Bankruptcy Clinic, which gives limited-scope legal advice by phone or video appointment to individuals without lawyers, covering eligibility, drafting petitions and schedules, court procedures and preparation for meetings of creditors. Administrative Order 2020-3 is what authorizes clinic attorneys, staff and volunteers to provide those short-term limited services before this court.

The guide also lists Colorado Legal Services, Metro Volunteer Lawyers, Southwest Bar Volunteer Legal Aid and Weld County Legal Services, and the Filing Without an Attorney page links the Colorado Legal Help Center. If you would rather start by getting your own situation organized, Arthur, our AI Navigator, can build you a free roadmap, and he can offer to pass your details to a participating local firm only if you ask and complete the consent form.

• Colorado Bar Association Pro Se Bankruptcy Clinic: limited-scope advice by phone or video
• Colorado Legal Services and the volunteer programs listed in the court's guide
• Court staff cannot advise you on your rights in your case

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to travel to Denver to file or to attend my meeting?

Not necessarily for either. The District of Colorado holds all § 341 meetings of creditors in Chapter 7, 12 and 13 cases by Zoom and tells debtors not to appear in person. For filing, GPO 2026-01 allows unrepresented parties to file in person, by mail, through the court's website filing tool or by facsimile, and permits an application for CM/ECF electronic filing access.

Does my county decide which judge gets my case?

No. Colorado constitutes one judicial district under 28 U.S.C. § 85, and L.B.R. 1073-1 assigns cases to judges by random selection to the extent possible, district-wide. Grand Junction and Pueblo are statutory places for holding court, so they can be hearing locations, but they are not divisions that assign cases by county. Moffat County carries no separate judge assignment.

Is the eSR module the same thing as filing my case?

No, and the order says so directly. GPO 2025-01 provides that electronic submission of a petition package through eSR does not constitute the filing of a petition or the commencement of a Chapter 7 case. The package is filed and the case opened only after the court receives completed, hand-signed originals of the eSR Signature and Declaration Form and your statement about your Social Security numbers.

What happens if I cannot pay the filing fee all at once?

The district requires one of three choices with the petition: full payment, an installment application on Official Form 103A, or a Chapter 7 waiver application on Official Form 103B (GPO 2014-4(a)). L.B.R. 1006-1 requires a waiver application to include pay advices or the local statement plus Schedules I and J, and any waiver order is conditional and open to further investigation.

Can I move my 341 meeting if the date does not work?

There is a defined route. Under D. Colo. L.B.R. 2003-1, a debtor's request to continue the meeting must be in writing, served on the appointed trustee, and received by the trustee no later than seven days before the scheduled meeting. The trustee, not the court, approves it, so the request is not filed with the court. If the trustee consents, you must then file and serve a notice of the continued meeting.

Does this page tell me what property I can keep in Colorado?

No. Exemption choices, homestead conditions and wage protection are Colorado questions, and the sources supplied for this page do not carry those values, so this page cannot answer them from its evidence. That is a limit of this page, not a statement about the law. Our Colorado pages cover exemptions, homestead and wage protection, and those questions are generally worth settling before filing.

Sources

• 28 U.S.C. § 85: "Colorado constitutes one judicial district." The District of Colorado is a single, undivided district administered from the sole clerk's office/divisional seat at Denver; cases are assigned to judges by random selection district-wide (L.B.R. 1073-1, "Cases are assigned to judges by random selection to the extent possible"), not by county. Grand Junction and Pueblo are statutory places for holding court (hearing locations) only, not county-assigning divisions.
• 28 U.S.C. § 1408 — Venue of cases under title 11
• 11 U.S.C. § 341 — Meetings of creditors and equity security holders · official source
• COB official page — 341 Meetings of Creditors by Zoom
• D. Colo. L.B.R. 2003-1 — Continuance of Meeting of Creditors and Equity Security Holders
• COB official material — Guide for Debtors Filing Bankruptcy Without an Attorney
• COB official page — Filing Without an Attorney
• COB GPO 2025-1 — Implementing Electronic Self Representation (eSR) for Self-represented, Individual Chapter 7 Debtors
• COB GPO 2026-1 — Implementing Electronic Filing for Certain Self-represented Parties
• COB GPO 2014-4(a) — Installment Payment Requests and Additional Delegation to the Clerk of the Court
• D. Colo. L.B.R. 1006-1 — Installment Payments and Filing Fee Waivers
• D. Colo. L.B.R. 1007-6 — Employee Payment Advices
• D. Colo. L.B.R. 9011-4 — Signatures and Contact Information
• COB Administrative Order of the Chief Judge 2020-3 — In the Matter of Federal Pro Se Clinic Operations
• COB Administrative Order of the Chief Judge 2021-2 — Adopting Amended Local Bankruptcy Rules, Forms, and Appendices
• COB GPO 2021-1 — Chapter 13 Fee General Procedure Order
• COB official material — Credit Counseling is required BEFORE you file for Bankruptcy
• COB official page — Credit Counseling & Debtor Education Courses
• COB official page — Chapter 7 Voluntary Petition Packet
• COB official page — Chapter 13 Voluntary Petition Packet
• COB official material — Requirements for a Complete Voluntary Petition
• COB official page — Bankruptcy Petition Preparers
• COB official page — Fees
• COB official page — Chapter 7 Fee Waivers
• Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 8
• Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 9
• 28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(A), (f)(1) · official source
• 28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(B) · official source

Related

• Build your personalised roadmap
• Find your local bankruptcy court
• The 341 Meeting of Creditors: What Actually Happens
• Continuance in Bankruptcy: Moving a Meeting or Hearing
• Bankruptcy tools and screeners
• Find a Bankruptcy Lawyer by State

What it costs to file here

Chapter 7 — total court charges at filing

$338

28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(A), (f)(1); Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 8; Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 9

Chapter 13 — total court charges at filing

$313

28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(B); Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 8

Court charges only. What a lawyer charges is separate and varies by district and by case. Estimate the full cost →

Colorado median income

Median annual income, household of one

$87,940

USTP Median Family Income (2026-07-15 period)

The means test compares household income to the published median for the same household size. Being above it is not a bar to filing. Compare your household →