Is a collection call after discharge automatically a violation?

No. It is a violation only if the debt was actually discharged and the creditor is pursuing your personal liability. Debts excepted under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a), debts incurred after you filed, reaffirmed debts, and enforcement of a valid surviving lien all fall outside the injunction. Confirm which category the debt is in before filing anything.

Do I file in bankruptcy court or state court?

The discharge is an order of the bankruptcy court, so enforcement happens there. Court filing guidance describes a Motion for Order of Contempt filed under 11 U.S.C. § 524(a) or FRBP 9020 in the bankruptcy case (Bankr. S.D. Ind. official page — Motion for Order of Contempt). Local rules govern notice, service, and whether a proposed order must accompany the motion.

What if my bankruptcy case is already closed?

Closed cases can generally be reopened. As one court explains, "Any party in interest may file a motion to reopen a bankruptcy case, with the applicable filing fee," and the judge decides whether to reopen and whether to hold a hearing (Bankr. D. Mass. official page — FAQs for Debtors). Ask your court's clerk what its procedure and fee are.

Will there be a hearing?

Commonly, yes. Vermont's local rule states that relief for a stay or discharge-injunction violation "ordinarily" will not be granted without an evidentiary hearing, though the court may rule without one if the record already contains sufficient information (Vt. LBR 4071-1). Plan to bring documents, a call log, and proof the creditor knew about your discharge.

Do I have to warn the creditor before filing?

In some districts, yes. Vt. LBR 4071-1 requires serving a notice of intent to seek sanctions at least seven days before filing the motion. Other districts have no such rule. Even where it is not required, sending the creditor a copy of your discharge order first creates evidence that the creditor had notice and continued anyway.

What does it cost to get a copy of my discharge order?

Costs are set locally and are usually small. One court lists $0.10 per page if you print records yourself and $0.50 per page if the clerk prints them, and notes documents are also available online through PACER (Bankr. D. Md. official guidance). Reopening a closed case carries a separate filing fee set by your court.

Can the bankruptcy clerk tell me whether this is a violation?

No. Clerk's offices are barred from giving legal advice or helping prepare forms — one court's pro se guide says its clerk's office is prohibited by federal law from doing either (Bankr. W.D. Ky. official guidance). Clerks can tell you procedural facts, such as fees, filing events, and where to find local rules, but not whether your specific debt was discharged.

Credit & life after bankruptcy

Discharge-Injunction Violations: What to Do and Where to Complain

A bankruptcy discharge operates as an injunction against any act to collect a discharged debt as your personal liability (11 U.S.C. § 524(a)(2)). If a creditor keeps calling, sends bills, or sues you on that debt, the usual remedy is a motion for contempt filed in your bankruptcy case under § 524(a) and FRBP 9020, which courts commonly hear on evidence.

Key points

The discharge is a court order: § 524(a)(2) makes it an injunction against collecting a discharged debt as your personal liability.
The discharge also voids any judgment determining your personal liability on a discharged debt (11 U.S.C. § 524(a)(1)).
Violations are usually raised by a motion for contempt in your own bankruptcy case, not by a new lawsuit in state court.
Some districts require you to send the creditor written notice of intent to seek sanctions before filing — Vermont's local rule requires seven days' notice.
A discharge does not wipe out valid liens or debts excepted from discharge under § 523(a), so not every collection call is a violation.

Getting a collection call after your case closed is unsettling, and it is a common reason people come back to a bankruptcy court. The discharge is not a suggestion to creditors — it is a federal court order, and courts have a specific procedure for enforcing it. This page explains what the injunction actually covers, how a contempt motion works, and what to gather before you complain.

How does the discharge injunction actually work?

The discharge does two things at once. Under 11 U.S.C. § 524(a)(1), it voids any judgment determining your personal liability on a discharged debt. Under § 524(a)(2), it "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. It reaches lawsuits, garnishment attempts, and informal collection acts alike. One bankruptcy court's guidance puts it 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).

The injunction is permanent and it arises from a specific written order the court entered in your case. That distinction matters procedurally: because a discharge order exists, a creditor who ignores it can be held in contempt of that order.

What changes whether this is actually a violation?

Not every post-bankruptcy contact is a violation, and sorting this out first will save you time.

The injunction covers debts that were actually discharged. Section 523(a) excepts several categories from discharge for individual debtors, including certain taxes, domestic support obligations, and debts for willful and malicious injury. A creditor collecting one of those is not violating the injunction.

Liens are the other common surprise. As one court explains, "The discharge order only relieves the debtor of the personal obligation to pay the debt. Valid liens against the debtor's property that existed prior to the date the debtor filed for bankruptcy generally pass through the bankruptcy unaffected" (Bankr. N.D. Iowa official page — FAQs: Debtor). A mortgage servicer writing about the house is usually enforcing a lien, not your personal liability.

Debts incurred after you filed, and debts you reaffirmed in a court-filed agreement, also sit outside the discharge.

Debts excepted from discharge under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a) can still be collected.
Valid pre-petition liens generally survive; the creditor may still look to the collateral.
Debts incurred after the filing date are not covered by the discharge.
A reaffirmation agreement filed before discharge revives personal liability on that debt.
Whether a particular debt was discharged can be genuinely disputed, which is why courts hear evidence.

What does federal law say about enforcing it?

Two federal provisions do the work. Section 524(a) supplies the injunction itself. Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 9020 supplies the contempt procedure, and courts pair them.

The Southern District of Indiana's filing guidance is explicit about the routing. Its "Motion for Order of Contempt" event "should only be used pursuant to 11 U.S.C. 524(a) or FRBP 9020" and "may be used if a party has failed to comply with a previous order of the court, such as a violation of the discharge injunction."

That same guidance draws a line worth understanding. A motion for sanctions is the right vehicle for an automatic stay violation, because "unlike the discharge, which is given by a specific order, the automatic stay arises by operation of law, so no specific court order has been violated." Where conduct violated both the stay and the discharge, that court directs filers to the sanctions event instead. If only the discharge injunction is at issue, contempt is the path.

Where do local court rules change the steps?

The statute is federal and uniform. The filing mechanics are not, and skipping a local requirement is the most common way a good complaint stalls.

Vermont, for example, requires a pre-filing warning. Under Vt. LBR 4071-1, a movant seeking sanctions for violating the automatic stay or the discharge injunction must "serve the party against whom sanctions are sought a notice of intent to seek sanctions at least seven days before filing the motion for sanctions," then file and serve notice of the motion, and "present sufficient evidence to warrant imposition of sanctions." That rule also notes such relief "ordinarily" will not be granted without an evidentiary hearing.

Other districts specify their own paperwork. In the Southern District of Indiana, a contempt motion must be signed by the filing party, be accompanied by a Certificate of Service, and include an uploaded proposed order. State law rarely changes the analysis here; your district's local rules and CM/ECF procedures do. Check your own court's rules before filing.

Check whether your district requires advance written notice before a sanctions motion.
Confirm whether a proposed order must be uploaded with the motion.
A Certificate of Service is commonly required — it states who you served and how.
If your case is closed, ask the clerk what your court requires to reopen it.

What does this look like in practice?

A typical sequence starts with documentation rather than a filing. You receive a collection letter on a debt listed in your case. You check your discharge order and your schedules to confirm the creditor and the debt were included.

Many people then send the creditor a copy of the discharge order in writing. Courts can provide copies: one court notes that records cost "$0.10 per page if you print them yourself, or $0.50 per page if we print them for you," and that documents are also available through PACER (Bankr. D. Md. official guidance — FAQs).

If collection continues, the next step is a motion for contempt in the bankruptcy case, with a certificate of service and, in districts that require it, a proposed order. Where a local rule like Vt. LBR 4071-1 applies, the notice of intent goes out first. Courts generally set the matter for an evidentiary hearing, where the burden is on the person seeking sanctions to present sufficient evidence.

Which motion matches which violation (per Bankr. S.D. Ind. filing guidance)
What happened	Filing event	Authority cited
Collection on a discharged debt only	Motion for Order of Contempt	11 U.S.C. § 524(a); FRBP 9020
Automatic stay violation only	Motion for Sanctions	11 U.S.C. § 362(k)
Conduct violating both stay and discharge	Motion for Sanctions	11 U.S.C. § 362(k) and § 524(a)

What documents and information should you gather first?

Courts decide these motions on evidence, so the record you build before filing largely determines what happens.

Start with your discharge order and the schedules listing the creditor and the debt. Those two documents establish that the debt was in the case and that a court order exists. If you cannot find them, the clerk's office and PACER both provide copies.

Then document the contact itself. Keep the envelopes, letters, statements, and screenshots. Log calls with dates, times, and the number that called. If a lawsuit or garnishment was started, get the case number and the filed papers — § 524(a)(1) voids a judgment determining personal liability on a discharged debt, and § 524(a)(2) reaches "the employment of process."

Finally, note what you told the creditor and when. A record showing the creditor knew about the discharge and continued anyway is the core of most contempt motions.

Your discharge order and the schedule listing the creditor and debt.
Every letter, billing statement, voicemail, text, and email after the discharge date.
A call log with dates, times, and phone numbers.
Any state court complaint, judgment, or garnishment paperwork.
Proof you notified the creditor of the discharge, and the date you did.

Where else can you complain, and what should you ask a lawyer?

The bankruptcy court that entered your discharge is the forum with direct authority over the order, and a contempt motion there is the remedy the court rules describe. Consumers also frequently file complaints with federal and state consumer-protection regulators about debt collection conduct; those complaint processes sit outside the bankruptcy court and outside the corpus of court authority we publish, so we do not describe their standards or outcomes here. Your bankruptcy court's clerk cannot give legal advice — one court's pro se guide states flatly that its clerk's office "is prohibited by federal law from giving legal advice or assisting with the preparation of forms" (Bankr. W.D. Ky. official guidance).

That is the practical reason to talk to a bankruptcy lawyer, especially one who already handled your case. Many will look at a discharge-violation letter quickly, because the analysis turns on documents you already have.

Was this specific debt discharged, or is it excepted under § 523(a)?
Is the creditor pursuing my personal liability, or enforcing a surviving lien?
Does my district require a notice of intent before a sanctions motion?
Does my case need to be reopened first, and what does that cost here?
What evidence will the judge expect at an evidentiary hearing?
Are there claims outside bankruptcy court worth raising alongside contempt?

What if the creditor sued you or got a judgment after discharge?

This is the situation § 524(a)(1) addresses most directly. A discharge "voids any judgment at any time obtained, to the extent that such judgment is a determination of the personal liability of the debtor with respect to any debt discharged." The timing language matters — the statute says "at any time," so a judgment entered after your discharge on a discharged debt is void as to your personal liability.

Do not ignore the lawsuit while you sort this out. Section 524(a)(2) separately enjoins "the commencement or continuation of an action" and "the employment of process," which is the language that covers garnishments and post-judgment collection.

One district's local rules show how seriously courts treat notice in this area: debtors there must give written notice of the order for relief "to any creditor with a garnishment order, any garnishee defendant... and any creditor who the debtor anticipates may seek a garnishment" (Del. Bankr. L.R. 2025 consolidated). The same instinct applies after discharge — put the creditor and the other court on notice in writing, and keep proof.

Frequently asked questions

Is a collection call after discharge automatically a violation?: No. It is a violation only if the debt was actually discharged and the creditor is pursuing your personal liability. Debts excepted under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a), debts incurred after you filed, reaffirmed debts, and enforcement of a valid surviving lien all fall outside the injunction. Confirm which category the debt is in before filing anything.
Do I file in bankruptcy court or state court?: The discharge is an order of the bankruptcy court, so enforcement happens there. Court filing guidance describes a Motion for Order of Contempt filed under 11 U.S.C. § 524(a) or FRBP 9020 in the bankruptcy case (Bankr. S.D. Ind. official page — Motion for Order of Contempt). Local rules govern notice, service, and whether a proposed order must accompany the motion.
What if my bankruptcy case is already closed?: Closed cases can generally be reopened. As one court explains, "Any party in interest may file a motion to reopen a bankruptcy case, with the applicable filing fee," and the judge decides whether to reopen and whether to hold a hearing (Bankr. D. Mass. official page — FAQs for Debtors). Ask your court's clerk what its procedure and fee are.
Will there be a hearing?: Commonly, yes. Vermont's local rule states that relief for a stay or discharge-injunction violation "ordinarily" will not be granted without an evidentiary hearing, though the court may rule without one if the record already contains sufficient information (Vt. LBR 4071-1). Plan to bring documents, a call log, and proof the creditor knew about your discharge.
Do I have to warn the creditor before filing?: In some districts, yes. Vt. LBR 4071-1 requires serving a notice of intent to seek sanctions at least seven days before filing the motion. Other districts have no such rule. Even where it is not required, sending the creditor a copy of your discharge order first creates evidence that the creditor had notice and continued anyway.
What does it cost to get a copy of my discharge order?: Costs are set locally and are usually small. One court lists $0.10 per page if you print records yourself and $0.50 per page if the clerk prints them, and notes documents are also available online through PACER (Bankr. D. Md. official guidance). Reopening a closed case carries a separate filing fee set by your court.
Can the bankruptcy clerk tell me whether this is a violation?: No. Clerk's offices are barred from giving legal advice or helping prepare forms — one court's pro se guide says its clerk's office is prohibited by federal law from doing either (Bankr. W.D. Ky. official guidance). Clerks can tell you procedural facts, such as fees, filing events, and where to find local rules, but not whether your specific debt was discharged.

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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