A collector keeps calling after my discharge. Is that allowed?

Generally not, if the debt was discharged. Section 524(a)(2) makes the discharge an injunction against any act to collect a discharged debt as your personal liability, and one court's debtor guide states that the discharge prohibits creditors from communicating with the debtor by telephone, letter, or personal contact regarding the debt. The first step is confirming the debt was actually discharged in your case.

Can a creditor sue me after bankruptcy?

Not on a discharged debt. Commencing or continuing an action to collect a discharged debt as a personal liability is enjoined by 11 U.S.C. § 524(a)(2), and 11 U.S.C. § 524(a)(1) voids any judgment to the extent it determines that personal liability. A creditor may still pursue a debt excepted from discharge under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a), or a debt you incurred after you filed.

A collection agency bought my discharged debt. Does the injunction still apply?

Yes. The § 524(a)(2) injunction attaches to the discharged debt itself and bars acts to collect it as your personal liability, regardless of who currently holds the account. A buyer takes the debt subject to what happened to it in your bankruptcy. Being a later purchaser is not an exception written into the statute.

Why is the debt still on my credit report?

Credit reporting is separate from the discharge injunction. Bankruptcy court guidance states that the court does not report information to credit bureaus, is not responsible for verifying or validating consumer credit files, and does not respond to individual requests about credit reports, noting that bankruptcy filings are public records. An inaccurate report is handled through credit-reporting channels, not by the discharge order itself.

Does my discharge get rid of a lien on my car or house?

Generally no. A district court FAQ states that the discharge order only relieves the debtor of the personal obligation to pay, and that valid liens existing before filing generally pass through bankruptcy unaffected. Some liens may be avoided during the case or dealt with through a plan. A secured creditor may still act against the collateral if payments are not kept up.

Can I choose to pay a discharged debt anyway?

Yes. 11 U.S.C. § 524(f) preserves a debtor's ability to voluntarily repay any debt. The distinction that matters is who initiates it: voluntary repayment is your decision, while a creditor demanding payment on a discharged debt is the conduct § 524(a)(2) enjoins. A reaffirmation agreement under § 524(c) is different again, because it creates a legal obligation.

Is the Chapter 13 discharge different from the Chapter 7 discharge?

The scope differs. A Chapter 7 discharge operates under 11 U.S.C. § 727(b); a Chapter 13 discharge under 11 U.S.C. § 1328(a) is granted after you complete all plan payments and covers debts provided for by the plan, with the exceptions § 1328(a) lists. A court FAQ notes a slightly broader discharge is available in Chapter 13. The § 524(a) injunction applies to both.

What if the creditor says the debt was never listed in my case?

That can matter. Under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(3), a debt neither listed nor scheduled with the creditor's name, in time to permit the creditor to act in the circumstances that provision describes, may be excepted from discharge. Whether it applies to your debt depends on the facts of your case and the creditor's actual knowledge. Pull your filed schedules and creditor matrix before responding.

Credit & life after bankruptcy

Debt Collection After Discharge: What Creditors Can and Cannot Do

A bankruptcy discharge operates as a federal court injunction barring creditors from any act to collect a discharged debt as your personal liability, and voids any judgment determining that liability (11 U.S.C. § 524(a)). Calls, letters, lawsuits, and offsets on discharged debts are generally prohibited. The injunction does not erase valid liens, and some debts are excepted from discharge entirely.

Key points

The discharge is an injunction under 11 U.S.C. § 524(a)(2), not a suggestion, and it binds every creditor whose debt was discharged.
A judgment entered before or after your case is void to the extent it determines your personal liability for a discharged debt (11 U.S.C. § 524(a)(1)).
Liens generally survive discharge, so a secured creditor may still enforce against the collateral even though it cannot pursue you personally.
Debts excepted from discharge under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a) are still collectible, which is why the first question is always whether the specific debt was discharged.
A collection agency that bought the debt stands in the original creditor's shoes and is bound by the same injunction.

You went through bankruptcy, the court entered your discharge, and the phone is ringing again. That is unsettling, and it is also common enough that federal law addresses it directly. This page explains what the discharge order legally does to collection activity, where its limits are, and how to figure out which category your situation falls into.

How does the discharge injunction actually work?

The discharge is not just a piece of paper saying you no longer owe money. Under 11 U.S.C. § 524(a)(2), a discharge "operates as an injunction against the commencement or continuation of an action, the employment of process, or an act, to collect, recover or offset any such debt as a personal liability of the debtor." That language is broad on purpose. A phone call, a demand letter, a new lawsuit, continuing an old one, or taking money from an account to offset the debt are all acts to collect.

The same section goes further back in time. Under § 524(a)(1), a discharge voids any judgment obtained at any time, to the extent the judgment determines your personal liability for a discharged debt. A pre-bankruptcy judgment does not survive as a live personal obligation just because it was already entered.

One bankruptcy court's guidance puts the practical effect plainly: the discharge "prohibits creditors from communicating with the debtor, including telephone calls, letters, and personal contact, regarding the debt" (U.S. Bankr. Ct. M.D. Ala., Consumer Pro Se Debtors Guide).

Calls and letters demanding payment on a discharged debt
Filing a new collection lawsuit on a discharged debt
Continuing a lawsuit that was pending when you filed
Enforcing or reviving a judgment that determined personal liability
Offsetting the discharged debt against money or property

What changes the answer in my situation?

Almost every hard case turns on one question: was this specific debt actually discharged? The injunction in § 524(a)(2) reaches debts discharged under the relevant discharge provision, so a debt that was never discharged is not covered by it.

Three things move the answer. First, the debt's category. Section 523(a) excepts a list of debts from discharge, including certain taxes, domestic support obligations, debts for willful and malicious injury, most government-backed student loans, and debts arising from fraud. A district court FAQ summarizes it directly: "the debtor must still repay those nondischargeable debts after bankruptcy" (Bankr. N.D. Iowa official page — FAQs: Debtor).

Second, whether the obligation is secured. A discharge addresses personal liability; it does not by itself remove a lien.

Third, when the debt arose. The discharge covers pre-petition debts, so an obligation you incurred after filing is generally outside it.

What the discharge injunction does and does not reach
Situation	General effect of discharge
Unsecured debt discharged in your case	Collection as a personal liability is enjoined (§ 524(a)(2))
Judgment on a discharged debt	Void as to personal liability (§ 524(a)(1))
Debt excepted under § 523(a)	Not discharged; collection generally continues
Valid pre-petition lien on your property	Lien generally passes through unaffected
Debt incurred after you filed	Outside the discharge; not covered
Debt sold to a collection agency	Buyer takes it subject to the same injunction

What does federal law say about post-discharge collection?

Four provisions do most of the work here.

Section 524(a) is the injunction itself: it voids judgments determining personal liability for discharged debts, bars any act to collect such debts as a personal liability, and separately bars collection against certain after-acquired community property.

Section 727(b) governs the scope of a Chapter 7 discharge; 11 U.S.C. § 1328(a) governs the Chapter 13 discharge, which the court grants after you complete all plan payments (and, where applicable, certify that domestic support obligations due have been paid). A Chapter 13 discharge covers debts provided for by the plan, with the exceptions § 1328(a) lists.

Section 523(a) is the exceptions list that determines whether a particular debt was reached at all.

Section 524(f) is worth knowing about: nothing in the statute prevents a debtor from voluntarily repaying any debt. Voluntary repayment is your choice, not something a creditor may demand.

11 U.S.C. § 524(a)(1) — voids judgments as to personal liability
11 U.S.C. § 524(a)(2) — the collection injunction
11 U.S.C. § 524(f) — voluntary repayment remains permitted
11 U.S.C. § 727(b) — scope of the Chapter 7 discharge
11 U.S.C. § 1328(a) — scope of the Chapter 13 discharge
11 U.S.C. § 523(a) — debts excepted from discharge

Do state or local rules change this?

The discharge injunction is federal and does not vary from state to state. Bankruptcy is exclusively federal: "Federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction over bankruptcy cases. This means that a bankruptcy case cannot be filed in a state court" (Bankr. D. Md. official page — Legal Overview). The text of § 524(a) applies the same way in every district.

What does vary is procedure and local practice. Each bankruptcy court has its own local rules, filing procedures, and forms for reopening a case or bringing a motion, and districts differ in how they handle scheduling and hearings. If you need to raise a violation with the court that entered your discharge, that court's local rules govern how you do it.

State law can also matter to the underlying obligation in narrower ways, including how a lien is enforced against property and how a reaffirmation agreement is treated under applicable nonbankruptcy law (11 U.S.C. § 524(c)). Those are questions for your district and your state, not general rules we can publish for every one.

The injunction itself: uniform federal law
How to raise a violation: your district's local rules and procedures
Lien enforcement and reaffirmation enforceability: applicable nonbankruptcy law

What does this look like in practice?

A few patterns come up repeatedly.

A collector calls about a credit card you listed. If that debt was discharged, the call is an act to collect a discharged debt as a personal liability, which § 524(a)(2) enjoins. The fact that a debt buyer now owns the account does not change the analysis; the injunction attaches to the debt, not to the identity of the holder.

You get served with a lawsuit on an old account. Commencing an action to collect a discharged debt is squarely within the injunction, and any resulting judgment determining your personal liability would be void under § 524(a)(1).

A lender contacts you about your car or house. If a valid lien survived, the creditor may have rights against the collateral even though it cannot pursue you personally. As one court's guide puts it, a discharge "does not prevent secured creditors from seizing collateral if payments are not kept up" (U.S. Bankr. Ct. M.D. Ala., Consumer Pro Se Debtors Guide).

A reaffirmed debt is different again: a reaffirmation agreement makes you legally obligated on an otherwise dischargeable debt.

Debt buyer calls: same injunction, new owner
New lawsuit filed: commencement of an action to collect
Secured lender contacts you: check whether a lien survived
Reaffirmed account: you agreed to remain liable
Debt incurred after filing: not part of your discharge

What documents and information do I need to sort this out?

Start with your own case file, because the answer is usually in it.

Your discharge order is the document that triggers the injunction. If you no longer have it, court clerks describe two routes: visiting the clerk's office to view and print copies, or accessing documents online through PACER with a registered account (Bankr. D. Md. official guidance — FAQs).

Next, your schedules and creditor matrix. These show whether the creditor was listed and how the debt was described. Listing matters legally: § 523(a)(3) excepts from discharge a debt that was neither listed nor scheduled in time for the creditor to act, in the circumstances that provision describes.

Then the collector's own paperwork. Keep every letter, note the date and number of every call, and write down what was said.

Finally, your credit report. A bankruptcy filing is a public record, and courts are explicit that they do not report to credit bureaus or validate what appears there (Bankr. D. Md. official guidance — FAQs). Reporting accuracy is a separate track from the discharge injunction.

The discharge order (clerk's office or PACER)
Your filed schedules and creditor matrix
Every collection letter, with envelopes and dates
A log of calls: date, time, number, what was said
Any reaffirmation agreement you signed
Your current credit reports

What should I ask a lawyer about this?

This is a situation where a short conversation with a bankruptcy attorney is often worth far more than hours of reading, because the analysis is fact-specific and the remedies run through the bankruptcy court.

Bring the documents above and ask targeted questions. The goal is to establish, in order: whether this debt was discharged, whether the contact was an act to collect it as a personal liability, and what relief the court that entered your discharge can give.

Be direct about cost and scope. Ask whether the matter requires reopening your case, what that involves in your district, and what the attorney would charge to send a single letter versus to litigate. Ask, too, whether any part of your situation is really a credit-reporting problem rather than a discharge problem, because those are handled differently.

Was this particular debt discharged, or does § 523(a) except it?
Does a lien survive here, and what can the creditor do with it?
Is this contact a violation of the § 524(a)(2) injunction?
Would my case need to be reopened, and what does that involve here?
What relief can the bankruptcy court give, and on what timeline?
Is the credit-report issue separate from the discharge issue?

Frequently asked questions

A collector keeps calling after my discharge. Is that allowed?: Generally not, if the debt was discharged. Section 524(a)(2) makes the discharge an injunction against any act to collect a discharged debt as your personal liability, and one court's debtor guide states that the discharge prohibits creditors from communicating with the debtor by telephone, letter, or personal contact regarding the debt. The first step is confirming the debt was actually discharged in your case.
Can a creditor sue me after bankruptcy?: Not on a discharged debt. Commencing or continuing an action to collect a discharged debt as a personal liability is enjoined by 11 U.S.C. § 524(a)(2), and 11 U.S.C. § 524(a)(1) voids any judgment to the extent it determines that personal liability. A creditor may still pursue a debt excepted from discharge under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a), or a debt you incurred after you filed.
A collection agency bought my discharged debt. Does the injunction still apply?: Yes. The § 524(a)(2) injunction attaches to the discharged debt itself and bars acts to collect it as your personal liability, regardless of who currently holds the account. A buyer takes the debt subject to what happened to it in your bankruptcy. Being a later purchaser is not an exception written into the statute.
Why is the debt still on my credit report?: Credit reporting is separate from the discharge injunction. Bankruptcy court guidance states that the court does not report information to credit bureaus, is not responsible for verifying or validating consumer credit files, and does not respond to individual requests about credit reports, noting that bankruptcy filings are public records. An inaccurate report is handled through credit-reporting channels, not by the discharge order itself.
Does my discharge get rid of a lien on my car or house?: Generally no. A district court FAQ states that the discharge order only relieves the debtor of the personal obligation to pay, and that valid liens existing before filing generally pass through bankruptcy unaffected. Some liens may be avoided during the case or dealt with through a plan. A secured creditor may still act against the collateral if payments are not kept up.
Can I choose to pay a discharged debt anyway?: Yes. 11 U.S.C. § 524(f) preserves a debtor's ability to voluntarily repay any debt. The distinction that matters is who initiates it: voluntary repayment is your decision, while a creditor demanding payment on a discharged debt is the conduct § 524(a)(2) enjoins. A reaffirmation agreement under § 524(c) is different again, because it creates a legal obligation.
Is the Chapter 13 discharge different from the Chapter 7 discharge?: The scope differs. A Chapter 7 discharge operates under 11 U.S.C. § 727(b); a Chapter 13 discharge under 11 U.S.C. § 1328(a) is granted after you complete all plan payments and covers debts provided for by the plan, with the exceptions § 1328(a) lists. A court FAQ notes a slightly broader discharge is available in Chapter 13. The § 524(a) injunction applies to both.
What if the creditor says the debt was never listed in my case?: That can matter. Under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(3), a debt neither listed nor scheduled with the creditor's name, in time to permit the creditor to act in the circumstances that provision describes, may be excepted from discharge. Whether it applies to your debt depends on the facts of your case and the creditor's actual knowledge. Pull your filed schedules and creditor matrix before responding.

Sources

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

Last reviewed July 26, 2026 · Sources verified July 26, 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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