Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure

Fed. R. Bankr. P. 2004 — Examinations

Rule 2004 lets any party in interest ask the bankruptcy court to order the examination of any entity — subsection (a). Subsection (b) limits the questioning to the debtor's acts, conduct, property, liabilities, financial condition, matters affecting administration of the estate, and the right to a discharge, with additional plan-related topics in Chapter 12 and 13 cases and most Chapter 11 cases. Subsections (c) through (e) address subpoenas, time and place, and witness fees.

A Rule 2004 examination is the questioning that can happen in a bankruptcy case outside the usual meeting of creditors. A trustee, a creditor, or another party in interest asks the court for it, and the court decides. This rule sets the boundaries: who can be examined, what subjects the questions may touch, how attendance and documents are compelled, and what has to be paid to a witness before they are required to show up.

What is a Rule 2004 examination?

Subsection (a) states the whole mechanism in one sentence: on a party in interest's motion, the court may order the examination of any entity. Three things follow from that wording. First, it starts with a motion — someone with a stake in the case has to ask. Second, the court decides whether to order it; the rule says the court "may," not that it must. Third, the person examined does not have to be the debtor. The rule says "any entity," so the order can reach a spouse, a business partner, an employer, a bank, or anyone else the moving party believes has relevant information. The limits on what can be asked come from subsection (b), and the mechanics of actually compelling attendance come from subsection (c).

What can they ask about in a Rule 2004 examination?

Subsection (b)(1) is written as a ceiling, not a suggestion: an examination under this rule, or an examination of a debtor under section 343, "may relate only to" four subjects. Those are the debtor's acts, conduct, or property; the debtor's liabilities and financial condition; any matter that may affect the administration of the debtor's estate; and the debtor's right to a discharge. That fourth category is broad, and the third one is broader still, but the rule does draw a line — the subjects listed are the subjects available. Subsection (b)(2) then adds three more topics in a defined set of cases: Chapter 12 cases, Chapter 13 cases, and Chapter 11 cases that are not railroad reorganizations. In those cases the examination may also reach the operation of any business and whether continuing it is desirable, the source of money or property the debtor acquired or will acquire to consummate a plan and what was given or offered for it, and any other matter relevant to the case or to formulating a plan.

Can I be required to bring documents or turn over emails and files?

Subsection (c) is the enforcement piece. It says that regardless of the district where the examination will be conducted, an entity may be compelled under Rule 9016 to attend and to produce documents or electronically stored information. Two points matter for someone on the receiving end. The reference to electronically stored information means the demand is not limited to paper — files, records, and other electronic material fall within the same compulsion mechanism. And the phrase "regardless of the district" means the location of the examination does not by itself defeat the subpoena. Subsection (c) also addresses who issues the paperwork: an attorney may issue and sign a subpoena on behalf of the court where the case is pending, provided that attorney is admitted to practice in that court. So a subpoena you receive may carry an attorney's signature rather than a clerk's, and subsection (c) is where that authority comes from.

Where and when does the examination take place?

Subsection (d) deals with the debtor specifically. It provides that the court may order the debtor to be examined at any designated time and place, in or outside the district, and it attaches two conditions to that power: the court acts "for cause," and it may impose terms. In other words, moving an examination to a distant location or an inconvenient time is not automatic — subsection (d) frames it as something the court orders when there is a reason, and the court can set conditions around it. If the location is far from where the debtor lives, subsection (e)(2) becomes relevant, because it sets a mileage requirement tied to a 100-mile threshold. Anyone facing a scheduling or location dispute should read subsections (d) and (e) together, since one sets the court's authority and the other sets what must be tendered.

Who has to pay for a witness to show up?

Subsection (e) splits this into two rules. Under (e)(1), an entity other than the debtor may be required to attend as a witness only if the lawful mileage and the witness fee for one day's attendance are tendered first. The word "first" is doing real work: the tender comes before the obligation to appear attaches. The amounts themselves are set elsewhere, not in this rule. Under (e)(2), the debtor is treated differently. A debtor required to appear for examination more than 100 miles from their residence must be tendered a mileage fee, and the fee need cover only the distance beyond 100 miles. The measuring point is the nearer of two places where the debtor resides: where they resided when the first petition was filed, or where they reside when the examination takes place. A debtor examined within 100 miles of home does not fall within the mileage provision at all.

This summary is our plain-English explanation, written to help you find the right part of the text below. The section itself is the authority — where the two differ, the text controls.

Text of Fed. R. Bankr. P. 2004

Reproduced in full from the official source, verified as of July 2026. View it at the source.

(a) In General. On a party in interest's motion, the court may order the examination of any entity.

(b) Scope of the Examination.

(1) *In General*. The examination of an entity under this Rule 2004, or of a debtor under §343, may relate only to:

(A) the debtor's acts, conduct, or property;

(B) the debtor's liabilities and financial condition;

(D) the debtor's right to a discharge.

(2) *Other Topics in Certain Cases*. In a Chapter 12 or 13 case, or in a Chapter 11 case that is not a railroad reorganization, the examination may also relate to:

(A) the operation of any business and the desirability of its continuing;

(B) the source of any money or property the debtor acquired or will acquire for the purpose of consummating a plan and the consideration given or offered; and

(c) Compelling Attendance and the Production of Documents or Electronically Stored Information. Regardless of the district where the examination will be conducted, an entity may be compelled under Rule 9016 to attend and produce documents or electronically stored information. An attorney may issue and sign a subpoena on behalf of the court where the case is pending if the attorney is admitted to practice in that court.

(d) Time and Place to Examine the Debtor. The court may, for cause and on terms it may impose, order the debtor to be examined under this Rule 2004 at any designated time and place, in or outside the district.

(e) Witness Fees and Mileage.

(1) *For a Nondebtor Witness*. An entity, except the debtor, may be required to attend as a witness only if the lawful mileage and witness fee for 1 day's attendance are first tendered.

(2) *For a Debtor Witness*. A debtor who is required to appear for examination more than 100 miles from the debtor's residence must be tendered a mileage fee. The fee need cover only the distance exceeding 100 miles from the nearer of where the debtor resides:

(A) when the first petition was filed; or

(B) when the examination takes place.

(As amended Mar. 30, 1987, eff. Aug. 1, 1987; Apr. 30, 1991, eff. Aug. 1, 1991; Apr. 29, 2002, eff. Dec. 1, 2002; Apr. 27, 2020, eff. Dec. 1, 2020; Apr. 2, 2024, eff. Dec. 1, 2024.)

Notes and amendment history

Published by the official source alongside the section above. These notes record how the text has changed over time and the reasoning behind those changes. They are not the operative rule — the enacted text is the section itself.

Notes of Advisory Committee on Rules—1983

*Subdivision (a)* of this rule is derived from former Bankruptcy Rule 205(a). See generally 2 Collier, *Bankruptcy* 343.02, 343.08, 343.13 (15th ed. 1981). It specifies the manner of moving for an examination. The motion may be heard *ex parte* or it may be heard on notice.

*Subdivision (b)* is derived from former Bankruptcy Rules 205(d) and 11–26.

*Subdivision (c)* specifies the mode of compelling attendance of a witness or party for an examination and for the production of evidence under this rule. The subdivision is substantially declaratory of the practice that had developed under §21a of the Act. See 2 Collier, *supra* 343.11.

This subdivision will be applicable for the most part to the examination of a person other than the debtor. The debtor is required to appear at the meeting of creditors for examination. The word "person" includes the debtor and this subdivision may be used if necessary to obtain the debtor's attendance for examination.

*Subdivision (d)* is derived from former Bankruptcy Rule 205(f) and is not a limitation on subdivision (c). Any person, including the debtor, served with a subpoena within the range of a subpoena must attend for examination pursuant to subdivision (c). Subdivision (d) applies only to the debtor and a subpoena need not be issued. There are no territorial limits on the service of an order on the debtor. See, *e.g., In re Totem Lodge & Country Club, Inc*., 134 F. Supp. 158 (S.D.N.Y. 1955).

*Subdivision (e)* is derived from former Bankruptcy Rule 205(g). The lawful mileage and fee for attendance at a United States court as a witness are prescribed by 28 U.S.C. §1821.

*Definition of debtor*. The word "debtor" as used in this rule includes the persons specified in the definition in Rule 9001(5).

*Spousal privilege*. The limitation on the spousal privilege formerly contained in §21a of the Act is not carried over in the Code. For privileges generally, see Rule 501 of the Federal Rules of Evidence made applicable in cases under the Code by Rule 1101 thereof.

Notes of Advisory Committee on Rules—1991 Amendment

This rule is amended to allow the examination in a chapter 12 case to cover the same matters that may be covered in an examination in a chapter 11 or 13 case.

Committee Notes on Rules—2002 Amendment

*Subdivision (c)* is amended to clarify that an examination ordered under Rule 2004(a) may be held outside the district in which the case is pending if the subpoena is issued by the court for the district in which the examination is to be held and is served in the manner provided in Rule 45 F. R. Civ. P., made applicable by Rule 9016.

The subdivision is amended further to clarify that, in addition to the procedures for the issuance of a subpoena set forth in Rule 45 F. R. Civ. P., an attorney may issue and sign a subpoena on behalf of the court for the district in which a Rule 2004 examination is to be held if the attorney is authorized to practice, even if admitted pro hac vice, either in the court in which the case is pending or in the court for the district in which the examination is to be held. This provision supplements the procedures for the issuance of a subpoena set forth in Rule 45(a)(3)(A) and (B) F. R. Civ. P. and is consistent with one of the purposes of the 1991 amendments to Rule 45, to ease the burdens of interdistrict law practice.

*Changes Made After Publication and Comments*. The typographical error was corrected, but no other changes were made.

Committee Notes on Rules—2020 Amendment

Subdivision (c) is amended in two respects. First, the provision now refers expressly to the production of electronically stored information, in addition to the production of documents. This change is an acknowledgment of the form in which information now commonly exists and the type of production that is frequently sought in connection with an examination under Rule 2004.

Second, subdivision (c) is amended to bring its subpoena provision into conformity with the current version of F.R.Civ.P. 45, which Rule 9016 makes applicable in bankruptcy cases. Under Rule 45, a subpoena always issues from the court where the action is pending, even for a deposition in another district, and an attorney admitted to practice in the issuing court may issue and sign it. In light of this procedure, a subpoena for a Rule 2004 examination is now properly issued from the court where the bankruptcy case is pending and by an attorney authorized to practice in that court, even if the examination is to occur in another district.

Committee Notes on Rules—2024 Amendment

The language of Rule 2004 has been amended as part of the general restyling of the Bankruptcy Rules to make them more easily understood and to make style and terminology consistent throughout the rules. These changes are intended to be stylistic only.

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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