Washington County, Colorado

Which bankruptcy court hears a case from Washington County?

Colorado is a single judicial district, so Washington County has no separate divisional court of its own. The District of Colorado is administered from its clerk's office at Denver, and cases are assigned to judges by random selection across the whole district rather than by the county you live in (28 U.S.C. § 85; L.B.R. 1073-1). Grand Junction and Pueblo are statutory places for holding court — hearing locations — not divisions that claim particular counties.

Which district your case belongs in is a venue question, and residence alone is not the whole rule. A case may be commenced in the district 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 immediately before filing, or for the greater part of that period than any other district (28 U.S.C. § 1408). A move from another state last year, or a business operating 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 and separate chapter 7 and chapter 13 petition packets, each with a checklist of required forms (COB official material — Guide for Debtors Filing Bankruptcy Without an Attorney). Two points in that guide matter immediately: any reference to "attorney" in the Colorado local bankruptcy rules applies to you, and court staff cannot give you advice about your rights.

Self-represented chapter 7 filers may prepare a petition through the court's Electronic Self Representation module, but submitting a package through eSR does not file the petition or commence a case — the court opens the case only after it receives the hand-signed eSR Signature and Declaration Form and the statement about your Social Security number (COB GPO 2025-1). Unrepresented parties may otherwise file in person, by mail, through the court's website filing tool, or by requesting CM/ECF access with the Self-represented E-Filing Application (COB GPO 2026-1).

How does the meeting of creditors work in this district?

Every debtor must attend a meeting of creditors. Under federal law the United States trustee convenes and presides at that meeting, and the judge may not preside at or attend it (11 U.S.C. § 341); the same section lets a creditor holding a consumer debt appear without a lawyer, and requires the trustee to examine a chapter 7 debtor about the consequences of a discharge, the option of filing under a different chapter, and the effect of reaffirming a debt.

In the District of Colorado, all meetings of creditors 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 court states the meeting is held outside the judge's presence and usually occurs between 21 and 50 days after the petition is filed, with the trustee assigned to the case conducting it in chapter 7, 12 and 13 (COB official page — 341 Meetings of Creditors by Zoom).

What local rules and orders change the process here?

Colorado's local bankruptcy rules add steps the Bankruptcy Code does not spell out. If you need to move your meeting of creditors, the request goes to the trustee in writing, not to the court, and the trustee must receive it no later than seven days before the scheduled meeting; if the meeting is continued at the meeting itself, the trustee files notice of the new date within seven days (D. Colo. L.B.R. 2003-1). A continuance does not automatically extend the deadlines for objecting to discharge or to the dischargeability of a debt. Chapter 13 adds two district-wide items: a local chapter 13 plan form that must be used (COB official page — Chapter 13 Voluntary Petition Packet) and a general procedure order setting a presumptively reasonable fee allowance for a chapter 13 debtor's attorney (COB GPO 2021-1). Other local requirements to expect:

• Payment advices or a statement about them must be filed (D. Colo. L.B.R. 1007-6; 11 U.S.C. § 521).
• Every filed document must carry your name, address, telephone number and email below the signature line, and changes must be reported to the court (D. Colo. L.B.R. 9011-4).
• Electronic filers keep original signed petitions, schedules and amendments on paper for two years after the appeal periods run (D. Colo. L.B.R. 9011-4).
• Where a trustee has filed a notice of possible dividends, the court stays its automatic dismissal process for non-payment of the filing fee for 180 days (COB GPO 2015-1).

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

A chapter 7 case carries a $245 filing fee (28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(A), (f)(1)), plus 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)) plus the same $78 administrative fee.

Colorado's clerk expects the money question answered at filing. Every paper petition must arrive with full payment, an application to pay in installments, or a chapter 7 fee waiver application, and a paper petition without one of the three is returned without a case being opened; electronically filed cases must designate the option and file the supporting documents the same day (COB GPO 2014-4(a)). Where installments are allowed, the first is due no later than fourteen days after the petition date. Installment and waiver applications use the official forms and, for a waiver, Schedules I and J and your payment advices (D. Colo. L.B.R. 1006-1).

Which Colorado questions should you settle before filing?

Two Colorado questions shape a filing more than most: which property you may claim as exempt, and how much of your wages a creditor may reach while you decide. Both turn on Colorado law that this page's sources do not cover — the Colorado material here is the bankruptcy court's own rules, orders and official pages, and none of it states an exemption amount or a wage-garnishment limit. So this page cannot answer those questions from the supplied sources, and that is a limit of this page's evidence rather than a statement about what the law provides. Settle them before you file, because your schedules claim exemptions at filing.

What the court's materials do show is where the question lands. The chapter 7 and chapter 13 packets require Schedule C: The Property You Claim as Exempt (COB official page — Chapter 7 Voluntary Petition Packet). The court also warns that a non-attorney petition preparer may type information onto the forms but is barred from giving legal advice (COB official page — Bankruptcy Petition Preparers).

Where can a Washington County resident get help?

The court's guide for debtors filing without an attorney names several places to look for low-cost or volunteer help, including Colorado Legal Services, Metro Volunteer Lawyers, Southwest Bar Volunteer Legal Aid and Weld County Legal Services, along with the Colorado Bar Association's Pro Se Bankruptcy Clinic, which the guide describes as giving limited-scope advice by phone or video appointment on eligibility, drafting petitions and schedules, court procedures and preparing for the meeting of creditors. Availability changes, so confirm details with the provider.

The court has also authorized attorneys, staff and volunteers connected with the Federal Pro Se Clinic to give short-term limited legal services to self-represented parties before it, and amended its local rule so an attorney may provide pro bono help through a nonprofit or court-approved program without signing the document or entering an appearance (COB Administrative Order of the Chief Judge 2020-3). Arthur, the Bankruptcy.law AI Navigator, can help you organise this into a roadmap and request an introduction to a firm.

Frequently asked questions

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

No. The District of Colorado holds all meetings of creditors in chapter 7, 12 and 13 cases by Zoom, and says debtors, counsel, creditors and parties in interest should not appear in person (COB official page — 341 Meetings of Creditors by Zoom). The meeting still happens outside the judge's presence, with the trustee assigned to your case conducting it.

Can I file in the District of Colorado if I just moved to Washington County?

Venue depends on the 180 days before you file, not on today's address. A case may be commenced where your domicile, residence, principal place of business or principal assets have been located for that 180-day period, or for the greater part of it than any other district (28 U.S.C. § 1408). A recent move can leave venue in the state you left.

What happens if I have not finished credit counseling yet?

The court rejects voluntary petitions when the required credit counseling was not completed during the 180-day period ending on the filing date, unless a statutory exemption applies (COB official page — Credit Counseling & Debtor Education Courses). The court's warning notice adds that a case filed without it is generally dismissed, with no discharge, and the clerk cannot predict how a judge will rule on a request for more time (COB official material — Credit Counseling is required BEFORE you file for Bankruptcy).

Can I pay the filing fee in installments?

An individual debtor may apply to pay the filing fee in installments using the official application, and in this district the first installment is due no later than fourteen days after the petition filing date (COB GPO 2014-4(a)). The clerk may deny the application if court records show a prior Colorado case that was dismissed with filing fees unpaid, in which case full payment is required. The court's fee page lists the amounts collected by the clerk (COB official page — Fees).

Who can have the chapter 7 filing fee waived?

The court describes the chapter 7 filing-fee waiver as limited to an individual debtor whose income is less than 150 percent of the official poverty line for the household size and who is unable to pay the fee in installments; the debtor carries the burden of showing the application should be granted (COB official page — Chapter 7 Fee Waivers). Colorado requires Schedules I and J and payment advices with the application, and any order granting it is conditional (D. Colo. L.B.R. 1006-1).

Does a bankruptcy stay on my credit report forever?

No. A consumer reporting agency generally may not include a case under title 11 that, from the date of entry of the order for relief, antedates the report by more than 10 years (15 U.S.C. § 1681c). A report that does include a title 11 case must identify the chapter when the source of the information provides it, and must note a case withdrawn before final judgment once documentation is received.

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 Washington 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
• 11 U.S.C. § 521 — Debtor's duties · official source
• 15 U.S.C. § 1681c — Requirements relating to information contained in consumer reports
• 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 material — Guide for Debtors Filing Bankruptcy Without an Attorney
• COB official page — 341 Meetings of Creditors by Zoom
• COB GPO 2025-1 — Electronic Self Representation (eSR) for self-represented chapter 7 debtors
• COB GPO 2026-1 — Electronic filing for certain self-represented parties
• COB GPO 2014-4(a) — Installment payment requests
• COB GPO 2015-1 — Staying dismissal of certain cases for failure to pay the filing fee
• COB GPO 2021-1 — Chapter 13 fee general procedure order
• COB Administrative Order of the Chief Judge 2020-3 — Federal Pro Se Clinic operations
• D. Colo. L.B.R. 2003-1 — Continuance of meeting of creditors and equity security holders
• 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 official page — Chapter 7 Voluntary Petition Packet
• COB official page — Chapter 13 Voluntary Petition Packet
• COB official page — Bankruptcy Petition Preparers
• COB official page — Chapter 7 Fee Waivers
• COB official page — Fees
• COB official page — Credit Counseling & Debtor Education Courses
• COB official material — Credit Counseling is required BEFORE you file for Bankruptcy

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
• 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 →