Why was my Chapter 13 case dismissed?

Most Chapter 13 dismissals trace to one of the causes listed in 11 U.S.C. § 1307(c). The common ones are falling behind on plan payments, never commencing payments after filing, not filing a plan or required documents on time, nonpayment of court fees, and denial of confirmation without additional time to file another plan. The dismissal order itself normally states the cause the court acted on.

What does dismissal with prejudice mean?

Dismissal is generally without prejudice. Under 11 U.S.C. § 349(a) a dismissal does not bar discharging those debts in a later case and does not prejudice a later petition unless the court, for cause, orders otherwise. When a court does order otherwise, the order says so and states the limit it is imposing, which is why reading the actual order matters more than the label.

Can I dismiss my own Chapter 13 case?

Under 11 U.S.C. § 1307(b) the court shall dismiss a Chapter 13 case on the debtor's request if the case has not previously been converted under § 706, § 1112, or § 1208, and any waiver of that right is unenforceable. Districts differ on the mechanics: some require a written motion served on the trustee, and LAMB LBR 1017-1 allows an oral motion in open court.

What happens to my property and my creditors after dismissal?

Under 11 U.S.C. § 349(b) dismissal generally revests property of the estate in whoever held it before the case, reinstates proceedings the bankruptcy superseded, and restores liens that were voided during the case. Practically, collection activity that paused when the case was filed can resume. The codebtor stay in 11 U.S.C. § 1301 also ends when a case is closed, dismissed, or converted.

Is conversion to Chapter 7 better than dismissal?

Neither is better in the abstract, because they do different things. Conversion under 11 U.S.C. § 1307(a) keeps a bankruptcy case alive and moves it to liquidation, while dismissal ends the case entirely. When someone else seeks relief under § 1307(c), the court picks whichever is in the best interests of creditors and the estate, so the choice is not always the debtor's to make.

Can I file again after a Chapter 13 dismissal?

Often yes, because 11 U.S.C. § 349(a) says a dismissal does not prejudice a later petition unless the court orders otherwise for cause, subject to a separate eligibility provision the Code cross-references. Refiling after a dismissal can also change how the automatic stay applies in the new case, which is one reason the timing question belongs with a local bankruptcy lawyer.

Chapter 13

Chapter 13 Dismissal: Why Cases End and What Follows

A Chapter 13 dismissal ends the case without a discharge. Under 11 U.S.C. § 1307 the debtor may ask the court to dismiss at any time, and a party in interest or the United States trustee may seek dismissal for cause, such as missed plan payments, unpaid court fees, or a plan the court will not confirm. Dismissal is generally without prejudice, so refiling later is often possible.

Key points

A Chapter 13 debtor may request dismissal at any time under 11 U.S.C. § 1307(b) if the case was not previously converted, and any waiver of that right is unenforceable.
Involuntary dismissals run through 11 U.S.C. § 1307(c), which lists causes including unreasonable delay, unpaid fees, late plans, missed payments, and denied confirmation.
The court chooses between dismissal and conversion to Chapter 7 based on whichever is in the best interests of creditors and the estate.
Under 11 U.S.C. § 349(a) a dismissal is generally without prejudice unless the court, for cause, orders otherwise.
Dismissal generally unwinds the case: liens voided during it are reinstated and estate property revests in the debtor under 11 U.S.C. § 349(b).

If a notice arrived saying your Chapter 13 case was dismissed, or a trustee has filed a motion asking the court to dismiss it, the first thing to know is that dismissal is a defined legal event with a defined set of causes. It is not a judgment about you. This page explains what the Bankruptcy Code says about how Chapter 13 cases end, what usually triggers it, and what generally happens afterward.

What does it mean when a Chapter 13 case is dismissed?

Dismissal ends the case without a discharge. Plan payments stop being distributed, the case comes off the court's active docket, and the protections that came with filing generally end. Dismissal is not the same thing as conversion: conversion moves the case into another chapter and keeps it alive, while dismissal closes it. Under 11 U.S.C. § 1307(a) a Chapter 13 debtor may convert to Chapter 7 at any time, and under § 1307(b) the court shall dismiss on the debtor's request if the case has not been previously converted. Any waiver of either right is unenforceable. Dismissal also unwinds much of what the filing changed. Under 11 U.S.C. § 349(b) it generally reinstates proceedings or custodianships the case superseded, restores transfers avoided and liens voided during the case, and revests property of the estate in whoever held it immediately before the case began.

What changes whether a case is dismissed, converted, or kept alive?

The causes listed in 11 U.S.C. § 1307(c) are grounds a court may act on after notice and a hearing, not automatic outcomes. The statute directs the court to choose dismissal or conversion to Chapter 7 by whichever is in the best interests of creditors and the estate, so the same missed payment can produce different results in different cases. Factors that commonly shape which way it goes include:

Whether plan payments began on time and stayed current, which § 1307(c)(4) and (c)(6) treat as separate causes.
Whether a plan was filed when it was due, a cause under § 1307(c)(3).
Whether court fees and charges were paid, a cause under § 1307(c)(2).
Whether confirmation was denied and additional time to file another plan was refused, under § 1307(c)(5).
Whether domestic support obligations that first became payable after filing were paid, under § 1307(c)(11).
Whether there are nonexempt assets a Chapter 7 trustee could administer, which can weigh toward conversion rather than dismissal.

What does federal law say about Chapter 13 dismissal?

Two sections do most of the work. 11 U.S.C. § 1307 governs who may seek dismissal and on what grounds: unreasonable delay prejudicial to creditors, nonpayment of required fees, failure to file a plan timely, failure to commence timely payments, denial of confirmation, material default under a confirmed plan, and failure to pay postpetition domestic support obligations. 11 U.S.C. § 349 governs the effect. Unless the court orders otherwise for cause, dismissal does not bar discharging those debts in a later case and does not prejudice a later petition, subject to a separate eligibility provision the section cross-references. Fed. R. Bankr. P. 1017 supplies the notice and hearing procedure.

Who can seek dismissal, and on what basis
Who asks	Authority	Standard
The debtor	11 U.S.C. § 1307(b)	Court shall dismiss on request if the case was not previously converted
A party in interest or the United States trustee	11 U.S.C. § 1307(c)	Dismissal or conversion for cause, after notice and a hearing
The debtor, converting instead	11 U.S.C. § 1307(a)	Conversion to Chapter 7 at any time; waiver unenforceable

Where do state or local rules change the picture?

Chapter 13 dismissal is federal law, so the causes do not change from state to state. What changes is procedure, and local bankruptcy rules vary considerably in how quickly and how automatically a dismissal can happen. In the Southern District of Florida, S.D. Fla. LBR 1017-1 lets the court dismiss without further notice or hearing after a clerk's notice and an expired cure deadline, for matters such as failure to file a plan or failure to stay current on plan payments. In the Western District of Texas, W.D. Tex. L. Rule 1017-1 permits summary dismissal on a trustee's proposed order detailing a listed cause. Nev. LBR 1017 and D. Mass. LBR Appendix 1, Rule 13-17 set their own service and response requirements, and Vt. LBR 1017-1 requires a motion to address the status of the debtor's attorney fees. Check your own district's rules.

What does a Chapter 13 dismissal look like in practice?

Most consumer dismissals follow one of a few recognizable paths. A trustee moves to dismiss for delinquency, the debtor gets a response window set by local rule, and the matter resolves by catching up, by an agreed order, or by dismissal. In districts following rules like S.D. Cal. LBR 1017-3 and S.D. Ind. B-1017-1, the court may dismiss after a deficiency notice when required documents are never filed. Under E.D. Mo. L.R. 1017-1 the trustee must request dismissal when a debtor misses a rescheduled meeting of creditors without being excused. Voluntary dismissal is common too: a debtor whose circumstances changed asks the court to end the case, which N.D. Miss. LBR 1017-1 and S.D. Miss. LBR 1017-1 handle by written motion, sometimes granted by ex parte order subject to a later objection by any party in interest.

What documents and information are involved?

Dismissal turns on the paper record, so documents matter more than conversation. In many districts a motion to dismiss must state the cause with particularity and say whether the case was previously converted. Fees are part of that record: the Chapter 13 filing fee is $235 (28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(B)) plus a $78 administrative fee (Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 8, effective December 1, 2023), and nonpayment of required fees is a listed cause under § 1307(c)(2). Documents that commonly appear include:

The trustee's motion or the clerk's deficiency notice, with the certificate of service.
The debtor's response, which under LAMB LBR 1017-1 may need to state why payments were missed and how the default would be cured.
Proof of payment such as money order receipts, pay stubs, or cancelled checks.
The proposed plan, any amended plan, and the confirmation order.
Schedules, statements and other documents required under § 521, plus tax returns owed to the trustee under C.D. Cal. LBR 3015-1 in that district.

What should you ask a lawyer about a dismissal?

Dismissal moves fast and the rules are district-specific, so the difference between responding and doing nothing is often the whole case. A local bankruptcy lawyer can read the motion or order against your court's rules. Questions worth bringing:

Was dismissal sought by me under § 1307(b), or by the trustee under § 1307(c)?
Does the order dismiss the case with prejudice or impose any bar on filing again, and on what stated cause?
Is conversion to Chapter 7 a realistic alternative, and what would I gain or lose by converting instead?
What is my deadline to respond in this district, and does a hearing happen automatically or only if I object?
If the case is already dismissed, is a motion to reconsider or to reinstate available, and what would it need to show?
What happens to the codebtor stay in 11 U.S.C. § 1301, which ends when a case is closed, dismissed, or converted?
Which creditor actions are likely to resume first, and how would refiling change that?

Frequently asked questions

Why was my Chapter 13 case dismissed?: Most Chapter 13 dismissals trace to one of the causes listed in 11 U.S.C. § 1307(c). The common ones are falling behind on plan payments, never commencing payments after filing, not filing a plan or required documents on time, nonpayment of court fees, and denial of confirmation without additional time to file another plan. The dismissal order itself normally states the cause the court acted on.
What does dismissal with prejudice mean?: Dismissal is generally without prejudice. Under 11 U.S.C. § 349(a) a dismissal does not bar discharging those debts in a later case and does not prejudice a later petition unless the court, for cause, orders otherwise. When a court does order otherwise, the order says so and states the limit it is imposing, which is why reading the actual order matters more than the label.
Can I dismiss my own Chapter 13 case?: Under 11 U.S.C. § 1307(b) the court shall dismiss a Chapter 13 case on the debtor's request if the case has not previously been converted under § 706, § 1112, or § 1208, and any waiver of that right is unenforceable. Districts differ on the mechanics: some require a written motion served on the trustee, and LAMB LBR 1017-1 allows an oral motion in open court.
What happens to my property and my creditors after dismissal?: Under 11 U.S.C. § 349(b) dismissal generally revests property of the estate in whoever held it before the case, reinstates proceedings the bankruptcy superseded, and restores liens that were voided during the case. Practically, collection activity that paused when the case was filed can resume. The codebtor stay in 11 U.S.C. § 1301 also ends when a case is closed, dismissed, or converted.
Is conversion to Chapter 7 better than dismissal?: Neither is better in the abstract, because they do different things. Conversion under 11 U.S.C. § 1307(a) keeps a bankruptcy case alive and moves it to liquidation, while dismissal ends the case entirely. When someone else seeks relief under § 1307(c), the court picks whichever is in the best interests of creditors and the estate, so the choice is not always the debtor's to make.
Can I file again after a Chapter 13 dismissal?: Often yes, because 11 U.S.C. § 349(a) says a dismissal does not prejudice a later petition unless the court orders otherwise for cause, subject to a separate eligibility provision the Code cross-references. Refiling after a dismissal can also change how the automatic stay applies in the new case, which is one reason the timing question belongs with a local bankruptcy lawyer.

Sources

11 U.S.C. § 1307 — Conversion or dismissal · official source
11 U.S.C. § 349 — Effect of dismissal · official source
11 U.S.C. § 1301 — Stay of action against codebtor · official source
11 U.S.C. § 707 — Dismissal of a case or conversion to a case under chapter 11 or 13 · official source
11 U.S.C. § 1112 — Conversion or dismissal
11 U.S.C. § 1208 — Conversion or dismissal
Fed. R. Bankr. P. 1017 — Dismissing a Case; Suspending Proceedings; Converting a Case to Another Chapter · official source
S.D. Fla. LBR 1017-1
W.D. Tex. L. Rule 1017-1
Nev. LBR 1017
D. Mass. LBR Appendix 1, Rule 13-17
Vt. LBR 1017-1
S.D. Cal. LBR 1017-3
S.D. Ind. B-1017-1
E.D. Mo. L.R. 1017-1
N.D. Miss. LBR 1017-1
S.D. Miss. LBR 1017-1
LAMB LBR 1017-1
C.D. Cal. LBR 3015-1
Bankr. M.D. Fla. Procedure Manual — Motion to Dismiss Case or Party - Chapter 12 and Chapter 13
28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(B)
Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 8

By Antonio G. Jimenez, Esq. · Florida Bar No. 21022

Last reviewed July 27, 2026 · Sources verified July 27, 2026 · How we verify

Every figure on this page is drawn from a primary legal source and checked against our canonical legal database before publication. Bankruptcy.law is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.

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