Summit County, Colorado

Which bankruptcy court hears a case from Summit County?

Summit County falls within the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado, administered from the sole clerk's office and divisional seat at Denver. Colorado constitutes one judicial district, so there are no county-assigning divisions. Cases are assigned to judges by random selection across the district to the extent possible, which means your county of residence does not determine your judge. Grand Junction and Pueblo are statutory places for holding court, not separate divisions that claim particular counties.

Where you file is a venue question, not only a residence question. A case may be commenced in the district in which your domicile, residence, principal place of business in the United States, or principal assets in the United States have been located for the 180 days immediately preceding filing, or for a longer portion of that period than any other district (28 U.S.C. § 1408). A recent move into or out of Colorado, or a business based elsewhere, can change the answer, so residence alone is not the whole rule.

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 when you file without one. The guide also notes that court staff cannot provide advice about your rights in a case.

The court maintains chapter 7 and chapter 13 voluntary petition packets with checklists of the required forms, and a separate list of what belongs in the petition PDF versus what must be filed as a separate transaction (COB official material — Requirements for a Complete Voluntary Petition). Local Bankruptcy Rule 9011-4 requires every filed document to carry your name, address, telephone number and email address below the signature line, and to be updated by notice if any of that changes.

Since June 2, 2025, the court's eSR module is authorized for self-represented individuals preparing voluntary chapter 7 cases. Submitting through eSR does not itself commence a case (COB GPO 2025-1).

How are documents actually filed here if you have no attorney?

Electronic filing is mandatory for attorneys, and General Procedure Order 2026-01 amends Local Bankruptcy Rule 5005-4(b) to describe how everyone else files. Unless the court orders otherwise, unrepresented parties may file in person with the clerk's office, through the approved filing tool available on the court's website, or by mail.

Unrepresented individual debtors, creditors and parties to adversary proceedings may also request permission to file electronically through CM/ECF by submitting the Self-represented E-Filing Application available on the court's website. Joint debtors must both seek permission. The application requires a computer rather than a phone, consent to electronic service, agreement to pay filing fees in CM/ECF within 24 hours, and compliance with Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 9037's redaction requirements for Social Security and account numbers.

A document filed through the website tool or by facsimile is considered filed on the date the court receives it, though items received on a weekend, legal holiday or closure day are docketed the next business day.

How does the meeting of creditors work in this district?

The meeting of creditors is a hearing every debtor must attend. Under 11 U.S.C. § 341(a), the United States trustee convenes and presides at a meeting of creditors within a reasonable time after the order for relief, and the court may not preside at or attend it. In chapter 7 the trustee examines you about the consequences of a discharge, your ability to file under a different chapter, the effect of a discharge, and the effect of reaffirming a debt.

The District of Colorado states that all section 341 meetings of creditors are held by Zoom for chapter 7, 12 and 13 cases, and that debtors, counsel, creditors and parties in interest should not appear in person. The court's own page describes the meeting as usually occurring between 21 and 50 days after the petition is filed, depending on the chapter, with the assigned trustee conducting it in chapter 7, 12 and 13 cases.

What local rules and orders change the process here?

Several District of Colorado rules and orders shape the mechanics rather than the substance of the Code.

Local Bankruptcy Rule 2003-1 governs continuing a section 341 meeting. A request made before the scheduled meeting must be in writing, served on the appointed trustee, and received at least seven days ahead; the trustee, not the court, 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, and file a certificate of service. A continuance does not automatically extend the deadlines to object to discharge or dischargeability.

Local Bankruptcy Rule 1007-6 requires you to file the payment advices or other evidence of payment described in 11 U.S.C. § 521(a)(1)(B)(iv), or a statement in substantial conformity with local form L.B.F. 1007-6.1. Chapter 13 filers use the district's own plan form, Local Bankruptcy Form 3015-1.1.

What are the filing fees, and what if you cannot pay them?

The statutory filing fee is $245 for an individual or joint chapter 7 case (28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(A), (f)(1)) and $235 for chapter 13 (28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(B)). Each carries an additional $78 administrative fee, and chapter 7 adds a $15 trustee payment (Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Items 8 and 9).

Every voluntary petition must arrive with full payment, an application to pay in installments, or, in chapter 7 only, an application for a fee waiver (COB GPO 2014-4(a)). If the supporting documents or payment are not filed the same day as an electronic petition, the case may be dismissed. The court describes a chapter 7 waiver as available to an individual debtor with income below 150 percent of the official poverty line for the family size involved who is also unable to pay in installments, with the debtor carrying the burden (COB official page — Chapter 7 Fee Waivers). Installment payments can be made online by debit card, PayPal or ACH.

• Chapter 7: $245 filing fee, $78 administrative fee, $15 trustee payment.
• Chapter 13: $235 filing fee and $78 administrative fee.
• A waiver request in chapter 7 must include pay advices or L.B.F. 1007-6.1 plus completed Schedules I and J (D. Colo. L.B.R. 1006-1).

What should you settle before you file in Colorado?

Two things are worth settling early because the court treats them as threshold matters.

First, credit counseling. The District of Colorado warns that voluntary petitions will be rejected if the required pre-filing counseling was not completed during the 180-day period ending on the filing date, unless a statutory exemption is met, and that cases filed electronically by attorneys in that posture will be dismissed. Its notice to debtors states that an after-filing extension is available only in narrow circumstances and that most debtors will not meet them because counseling is readily available here.

Second, exemptions — which property you can keep. Colorado filers face choices about the exemption list, homestead conditions and wage protection that this page's sources do not resolve; we cannot answer them from the supplied documents. The linked Colorado pages cover those rules in their own right. Schedule C is where those choices are recorded, and the court's guide notes that nonexempt assets are what a chapter 7 trustee may reduce to cash.

Where can a Summit County resident get help?

The court's own guide names several free or lower-cost options based on income and assets, including Colorado Legal Services, Metro Volunteer Lawyers, Southwest Bar Volunteer Legal Aid and Weld County Legal Services, and points to further resources through the Colorado Bar Association. The guide describes the Colorado Bar Association's Pro Se Bankruptcy Clinic as a free program giving limited-scope legal advice by phone or video appointment to people without lawyers, covering eligibility, drafting petitions and schedules, court procedures and preparation for meetings of creditors.

Administrative Order 2020-3 permits attorneys, staff and volunteers associated with the Federal Pro Se Clinic to provide short-term limited legal services to self-represented litigants before the court, and amends Local Rule 9010-1(c)(3) so pro bono advice can be given through a nonprofit or court-approved program without entering an appearance.

Non-attorney petition preparers may type information onto forms but are barred by law from giving legal advice, and the court publishes a list of preparers barred in this district.

Frequently asked questions

Does living in Summit County mean my case is heard in a mountain courthouse?

No. Colorado constitutes one judicial district with a single clerk's office and divisional seat at Denver, and cases are assigned to judges by random selection district-wide rather than by county. Grand Junction and Pueblo are statutory places for holding court, not county-assigning divisions. Hearing logistics are a separate question from which court has your case.

I moved to Colorado recently. Do I file here?

It depends on where you have been, not only where you are now. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1408, a case may be commenced in the district where your domicile, residence, principal place of business or principal assets have been located for the 180 days before filing, or for a longer portion of that period than any other district. A recent move or an out-of-state business can change the answer.

Will I have to travel to Denver for the meeting of creditors?

The District of Colorado states that all section 341 meetings of creditors are held by Zoom for chapter 7, 12 and 13 cases, and that debtors, counsel, creditors and parties in interest should not appear in person. The court describes the meeting as usually occurring between 21 and 50 days after the petition is filed, conducted by the trustee assigned to the case.

Can I file my chapter 7 case online without a lawyer?

The court's eSR module is authorized for self-represented individual debtors preparing and submitting voluntary chapter 7 cases. Electronic submission through eSR does not by itself commence a case: the court opens the case only after receiving completed, hand-signed originals of the eSR Signature and Declaration Form and Official Form B121 for each debtor (COB GPO 2025-1).

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

Every voluntary petition must be accompanied by full payment, an application to pay in installments, or, in chapter 7, an application for a fee waiver. Installment and waiver applications use official forms, and a waiver request in this district must include pay advices or local form L.B.F. 1007-6.1 along with completed Schedules I and J (D. Colo. L.B.R. 1006-1).

Does a non-attorney petition preparer count as legal help?

No. The court states that petition preparers exist solely to type information onto bankruptcy forms, which are available free, and that they are barred by law from giving legal advice, explaining how to answer legal questions, or assisting in court proceedings. They must sign and identify themselves on documents they prepare and cannot accept your court fees. The court publishes a list of preparers barred in this district.

Sources

• 28 U.S.C. § 1408
• 11 U.S.C. § 341 · official source
• 11 U.S.C. § 521 · official source
• 28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(A), (f)(1) · official source
• 28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(B) · official source
• Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 8
• Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 9
• 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.
• COB official page — 341 Meetings of Creditors by Zoom
• COB official material — Guide for Debtors Filing Bankruptcy Without an Attorney
• COB official page — Filing Without an Attorney
• COB GPO 2025-1
• COB GPO 2026-1
• COB GPO 2014-4(a)
• COB official page — Chapter 7 Fee Waivers
• COB official page — Online Payments
• D. Colo. L.B.R. 1006-1
• D. Colo. L.B.R. 1007-6
• D. Colo. L.B.R. 2003-1
• D. Colo. L.B.R. 9011-4
• COB official material — Requirements for a Complete Voluntary Petition
• COB official material — Credit Counseling is required BEFORE you file for Bankruptcy
• COB official page — Credit Counseling & Debtor Education Courses
• COB Administrative Order of the Chief Judge 2020-3
• COB official page — Bankruptcy Petition Preparers
• COB official page — Chapter 13 Voluntary Petition Packet
• COB official page — Chapter 7 Voluntary Petition Packet

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 →