Phillips County, Colorado

Which bankruptcy court hears a case from Phillips County?

Colorado is a single judicial district: 28 U.S.C. § 85 provides that "Colorado constitutes one judicial district." A case from Phillips County therefore goes to the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado, which is administered from the sole clerk's office and divisional seat at Denver. There are no county-based divisions here, and cases are assigned to judges by random selection across the whole district rather than by where a debtor lives. Grand Junction and Pueblo are statutory places for holding court, meaning hearing locations, not separate divisions that claim counties.

Venue is a separate question from residence: a case may be commenced in the district where a debtor's domicile, residence, principal place of business or principal assets have been located for the greater part of the 180 days before filing (28 U.S.C. § 1408), so a recent move or a business elsewhere can change the answer.

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, which states that any reference to "attorney" in the Colorado Local Bankruptcy Rules applies to you if you file your own case. The court also runs an Electronic Self Representation (eSR) module for self-represented individuals preparing a voluntary Chapter 7 petition, authorized exclusively for that use. Submitting a package through eSR is not the filing of a petition and does not commence a case: the court opens the case only after it receives completed, hand-signed originals of the eSR Signature and Declaration Form and Official Form B121 (COB GPO 2025-1). Unrepresented parties may otherwise file in person at the Clerk's Office or by mail, and may ask for CM/ECF access by filing the Self-represented E-Filing Application; joint debtors must both apply (COB GPO 2026-1). Every filed document must carry your name, address, telephone number and email below the signature line (D. Colo. L.B.R. 9011-4).

How does the meeting of creditors work in this district?

The United States trustee convenes and presides at the meeting of creditors, and the judge may neither preside at nor attend it (11 U.S.C. § 341). In Chapter 7 the trustee must orally examine the debtor before the meeting closes, to confirm the debtor understands the consequences of seeking a discharge, the option of a different chapter, the effect of a discharge, and the effect of reaffirming a debt. In this district the format is remote: all § 341 meetings in Chapter 7, 12 and 13 cases are held by Zoom, and debtors, counsel, creditors and parties in interest should not appear in person. The trustee assigned to a Chapter 7, 12 or 13 case conducts the meeting, which that page says usually occurs between 21 and 50 days after the petition is filed. Creditors holding consumer debts may appear and participate themselves.

What local rules and orders change the process here?

Under COB GPO 2014-4(a) every voluntary petition must arrive with one of three things: full payment of the fee, an application to pay in installments (Official Form 103A), or a Chapter 7 fee waiver application (Official Form 103B). A deficient paper petition is returned and no case is opened; in an electronic case, failing to file the supporting documents or fee on the same day as the petition causes dismissal. The first installment is due no later than fourteen days from the petition filing date. A fee waiver application must also include the supplemental exhibit the court adopted in COB Amended GPO 2014-4(b), plus pay advices and completed Schedules I and J (D. Colo. L.B.R. 1006-1). Where a trustee has filed a Notice of Possible Dividends, the court stays its automatic dismissal process for non-payment of the fee for 180 days (COB GPO 2015-1). Payment advices must also be filed (D. Colo. L.B.R. 1007-6).

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

A Chapter 7 case carries a $245 statutory filing fee (28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(A), (f)(1)), a $78 administrative fee (Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 8) and a $15 trustee surcharge (Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 9). A Chapter 13 case carries a $235 filing fee (28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(B)) and the same $78 administrative fee. If you cannot pay at once, an individual may apply to pay in installments on Official Form 103A; the statute permits installments for an individual commencing a voluntary or joint case. A Chapter 7 waiver is a separate request: the court may waive that chapter's filing fee for an individual whose income is less than 150 percent of the official poverty line for a family of the applicant's size and who is unable to pay in installments, and the applicant carries the burden of showing the application should be granted. Installment payments can be made online.

Which Colorado questions should you settle before filing?

Some of what decides a Colorado case is not in the federal provisions behind this page, and we would rather say so than guess. Which exemption list applies to you, what conditions attach to a Colorado homestead claim, and how much of your wages state law shields from garnishment are all live questions, and this page cannot answer them from its supplied sources; our glossary and statute library are the places to start, and a Colorado bankruptcy lawyer can tell you how they apply to your facts.

One thing you can settle now. The court's own warning states that the required United States Trustee approved credit counseling course must be completed during the 180-day period ending on the date your petition is filed, and that filing without it, absent a narrow statutory exception, results in dismissal without a discharge. The court's Chapter 13 packet also notes that chapter is for an individual with regular income.

Where can a Phillips County resident get help?

Court staff cannot help you with the substance. The court's guide states that staff are prohibited from giving advice to parties about their rights in a case, so the help has to come from somewhere else.

The Colorado Bar Association runs a Pro Se Bankruptcy Clinic that the court's guide describes as free, giving limited-scope legal advice by phone or video appointment on eligibility, drafting petitions and schedules, court procedures, and preparing for the meeting of creditors. An administrative order also lets attorneys and volunteers with the Federal Pro Se Clinic provide short-term limited legal services to self-represented litigants before this court (COB Administrative Order of the Chief Judge 2020-3). The guide also lists Colorado Legal Services, Metro Volunteer Lawyers, Southwest Bar Volunteer Legal Aid and Weld County Legal Services.

A non-attorney petition preparer is a typing service: preparers may not give legal advice, must sign what they prepare, and cannot take court fees from you.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to travel to Denver for my meeting of creditors?

No. All § 341 meetings of creditors in Chapter 7, 12 and 13 cases in the District of Colorado are held by Zoom, and the court's page says debtors, counsel, creditors and parties in interest should not appear in person. The trustee assigned to your case conducts the meeting. Hearings before a judge are a different matter; the court publishes its hours and building screening requirements on its Court Location page.

Can a Phillips County case be filed in Grand Junction or Pueblo instead?

Those are statutory places for holding court, not separate divisions that take cases from particular counties. Colorado constitutes one judicial district (28 U.S.C. § 85), with the clerk's office and divisional seat at Denver, and cases are assigned to judges by random selection across the district. Where a case may be commenced at all is a venue question under 28 U.S.C. § 1408, which looks at the greater part of the 180 days before filing.

What happens if I cannot pay the filing fee on the day I file?

Your petition still has to arrive with one of three things: the full fee, an application to pay the fee in installments on Official Form 103A, or, in Chapter 7 only, an application to have the filing fee waived on Official Form 103B. A deficient paper petition is returned without a case being opened. The first installment is due no later than fourteen days from the petition filing date.

Does the court's eSR tool file my case for me?

No. 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 court opens the case only after it receives completed, hand-signed originals of the eSR Signature and Declaration Form and Official Form B121 for each debtor. The module is authorized only for self-represented individuals filing voluntary Chapter 7 cases.

Can I move my meeting of creditors to a later date?

A request to continue the meeting beforehand goes to the trustee, not the court, must be in writing, and must reach the appointed trustee no later than seven days before the scheduled meeting (D. Colo. L.B.R. 2003-1). If the trustee consents, you must immediately file a notice of the continued meeting, serve the trustee, creditors and parties in interest, and file a certificate of service. A continuance does not automatically extend deadlines to object to discharge or dischargeability.

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. — Court assignment for Phillips County, Colorado
• 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 material — Guide for Debtors Filing Bankruptcy 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
• D. Colo. L.B.R. 9011-4 — Signatures and Contact Information
• 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 GPO 2014-4(a) — Installment Payment Requests and Additional Delegation to the Clerk of the Court
• COB Amended GPO 2014-4(b) — Fee Waiver Requests and the Additional Delegation to the Clerk of Court
• D. Colo. L.B.R. 1006-1 — Installment Payments and Filing Fee Waivers
• COB GPO 2015-1 — Staying Dismissal of Certain Cases for Failure to Pay Filing Fee
• D. Colo. L.B.R. 1007-6 — Employee Payment Advices
• 28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(A), (f)(1) — Chapter 7 filing fee · official source
• 28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(B) — Chapter 13 filing fee · official source
• Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 8 — Administrative fee
• Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 9 — Chapter 7 trustee surcharge
• COB official page — Chapter 7 Fee Waivers
• COB official page — Online Payments
• COB official material — Credit Counseling is required BEFORE you file for Bankruptcy
• COB official page — Chapter 13 Voluntary Petition Packet
• COB Administrative Order of the Chief Judge 2020-3 — In the Matter of Federal Pro Se Clinic Operations
• COB official page — Bankruptcy Petition Preparers
• COB official page — Court Location

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 glossary
• 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 →