Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure
Fed. R. Bankr. P. 4007 — Determining Whether a Debt Is Dischargeable
Rule 4007 sets out how a bankruptcy court is asked to decide whether one particular debt can be discharged. Subsection (a) lets the debtor or any creditor file a complaint. Subsection (b) allows most such complaints at any time, while subsection (c) sets a 60-day deadline for complaints under §523(c), counted from the first date set for the §341(a) meeting of creditors.
Bankruptcy does not treat every debt the same way, and disagreements about whether a specific debt survives the case are decided in their own separate court proceeding. Rule 4007 is the rule that governs how that proceeding starts — who may begin it, and when. Missing the deadline in subsection (c) is one of the most consequential timing questions in a consumer case, which is why the clerk is required to send notice of it.
Who can ask the court whether a debt is dischargeable?
Subsection (a) is short and it runs both directions: a debtor or any creditor may file a complaint to determine whether a debt is dischargeable. That means the question does not belong only to the creditor who wants to keep collecting. If you believe a particular debt should be discharged and the creditor disagrees, subsection (a) is the provision that lets you be the one who brings the matter to the court rather than waiting to be sued. Rule 4007 does not itself say which debts are or are not dischargeable — it refers that question to §523 and simply establishes the procedure for putting the question in front of the judge. Note that this is a complaint, not a motion or a letter. Subsection (e) confirms that a proceeding filed under this rule is governed by the Part VII rules, which are the rules for adversary proceedings — in other words, a full lawsuit inside the bankruptcy case, with the steps a lawsuit involves.
What is the deadline to file a dischargeability complaint?
There are two different answers, and which one applies depends entirely on whether the complaint is brought under §523(c). Subsection (b) sets the general rule: a complaint that is not a §523(c) complaint may be filed at any time. There is no cutoff in the rule for those. Subsection (c) sets the exception, and it is a firm one. A complaint to determine dischargeability under §523(c) must be filed within 60 days after the first date set for the §341(a) meeting of creditors. Two details in that sentence do real work. The clock runs from the first date set for the meeting, not from a later rescheduled date, and it runs from the date set, not from the date the meeting actually happens. Subsection (c) applies in cases under chapters 7, 11, 12, and 13, except where subsection (d) governs instead. Because the deadline is short and starts early, subsection (c) also requires the clerk to give creditors notice of it.
Which complaints can be filed at any time?
Subsection (b) covers every dischargeability complaint other than one under §523(c). For those, the rule imposes no time limit at all — they may be filed at any time. That includes after the case has closed. Subsection (b) anticipates exactly that situation and adds a practical provision: if a case is reopened to permit the complaint to be filed, no fee for reopening is required. This matters to people who discover a dispute long after their case ends. A creditor may resurface years later claiming a particular debt was never discharged, or a debtor may need a court to say plainly that it was. Subsection (b) keeps that door open and removes the reopening fee as an obstacle. The distinction the rule draws is between §523(c) debts, which are governed by the 60-day deadline in subsection (c), and everything else, which falls under subsection (b). Which category a specific debt falls into is a question about §523, not about Rule 4007.
How is the deadline different in a Chapter 13 hardship discharge?
Subsection (d) creates a separate track that applies when a Chapter 13 debtor files a motion for a discharge under §1328(b). In that situation there is no fixed 60-day period running from the meeting of creditors. Instead, the court must set the time to file a complaint under §523(a)(6) to determine whether a debt is dischargeable. The deadline is therefore established by the court in that case rather than calculated from the calendar. The notice requirement is the same as in subsection (c): the clerk must give all creditors at least 30 days' notice of the time to file, in the manner provided by Rule 2002. The opening words of subsection (c) — 'Except as (d) provides' — are what keeps the two provisions from overlapping. When a §1328(b) motion puts subsection (d) in play, the court-set date controls for a §523(a)(6) complaint, and creditors learn of it through the clerk's notice.
Can the deadline to object to a debt's discharge be extended?
Yes, but only under conditions the rule states precisely. Subsections (c) and (d) contain the same extension language. A party in interest may move for more time, the court may act after notice and a hearing, and the court must find cause. The requirement that carries the most weight is the timing of the motion itself: it must be filed before the time expires. The rule provides for extending a deadline that is still running, not for reviving one that has already passed. That is why the clerk's notice obligation appears in both subsections. Creditors are entitled to at least 30 days' notice of the filing deadline, given in the manner Rule 2002 provides, so that the opportunity to seek an extension is a real one. If you have received a notice from the clerk setting a date for filing complaints of this kind, the date on that notice is the one the extension provisions are measured against.
What kind of court proceeding does a Rule 4007 complaint start?
Subsection (e) answers this in one line: the Part VII rules govern a proceeding on a complaint filed under Rule 4007. The Part VII rules are the bankruptcy rules that apply to adversary proceedings, so a dischargeability dispute is handled as a separate contested lawsuit within the bankruptcy case rather than as a routine filing. That has practical consequences for anyone on either side of one. It begins with a complaint, as subsection (a) says, and it proceeds under the litigation rules that Part VII supplies rather than the simpler motion practice used for much of a consumer case. This is a meaningful difference in effort and formality, and it is one reason the deadlines in subsections (c) and (d) receive their own notice from the clerk. If a complaint under this rule has been filed against you, or if you are considering filing one, the proceeding it starts is a lawsuit, and this is a point at which people commonly seek help from a bankruptcy attorney or a local legal aid office.
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. 4007
Reproduced in full from the official source, verified as of July 2026. View it at the source.
(a) Who May File a Complaint. A debtor or any creditor may file a complaint to determine whether a debt is dischargeable.
(b) Time to File; No Fee for a Reopened Case. A complaint, except one under §523(c), may be filed at any time. If a case is reopened to permit filing the complaint, no fee for reopening is required.
(c) Chapter 7, 11, 12, or 13—Time to File a Complaint Under §523(c); Notice of Time; Extension. Except as (d) provides, a complaint to determine whether a debt is dischargeable under §523(c) must be filed within 60 days after the first date set for the §341(a) meeting of creditors. The clerk must give all creditors at least 30 days' notice of the time to file in the manner provided by Rule 2002. On a party in interest's motion filed before the time expires, the court may, after notice and a hearing and for cause, extend the time to file.
(d) Chapter 13—Time to File a Complaint Under §523(a)(6); Notice of Time; Extension. When a debtor files a motion for a discharge under §1328(b), the court must set the time to file a complaint under §523(a)(6) to determine whether a debt is dischargeable. The clerk must give all creditors at least 30 days' notice of the time to file in the manner provided by Rule 2002. On a party in interest's motion filed before the time expires, the court may, after notice and a hearing and for cause, extend the time to file.
(e) Applying Part VII Rules. The Part VII rules govern a proceeding on a complaint filed under this Rule 4007.
(As amended Mar. 30, 1987, eff. Aug. 1, 1987; Apr. 30, 1991, eff. Aug. 1, 1991; Apr. 26, 1999, eff. Dec. 1, 1999; Apr. 23, 2008, eff. Dec. 1, 2008; 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
This rule prescribes the procedure to be followed when a party requests the court to determine dischargeability of a debt pursuant to §523 of the Code.
Although a complaint that comes within §523(c) must ordinarily be filed before determining whether the debtor will be discharged, the court need not determine the issues presented by the complaint filed under this rule until the question of discharge has been determined under Rule 4004. A complaint filed under this rule initiates an adversary proceeding as provided in Rule 7003.
*Subdivision (b)* does not contain a time limit for filing a complaint to determine the dischargeability of a type of debt listed as nondischargeable under §523(a)(1), (3), (5), (7), (8), or (9). Jurisdiction over this issue on these debts is held concurrently by the bankruptcy court and any appropriate nonbankruptcy forum.
*Subdivision (c)* differs from subdivision (b) by imposing a deadline for filing complaints to determine the issue of dischargeability of debts set out in §523(a)(2), (4) or (6) of the Code. The bankruptcy court has exclusive jurisdiction to determine dischargeability of these debts. If a complaint is not timely filed, the debt is discharged. See §523(c).
*Subdivision (e)*. The complaint required by this subdivision should be filed in the court in which the case is pending pursuant to Rule 5005.
Notes of Advisory Committee on Rules—1991 Amendment
*Subdivision (a)* is amended to delete the words "with the court" as unnecessary. See Rules 5005(a) and 9001(3).
*Subdivision (c)* is amended to apply in chapter 12 cases the same time period that applies in chapter 7 and 11 cases for filing a complaint under §523(c) of the Code to determine dischargeability of certain debts. Under §1228(a) of the Code, a chapter 12 discharge does not discharge the debts specified in §523(a) of the Code.
Committee Notes on Rules—1999 Amendment
*Subdivision (c)* is amended to clarify that the deadline for filing a complaint to determine the dischargeability of a debt under §523(c) of the Code is 60 days after the first date set for the meeting of creditors, whether or not the meeting is held on that date. The time for filing the complaint is not affected by any delay in the commencement or conclusion of the meeting of creditors. This amendment does not affect the right of any party in interest to file a motion for an extension of time to file a complaint to determine the dischargeability of a debt in accordance with this rule.
The substitution of the word "filed" for "made" in the final sentences of subdivisions (c) and (d) is intended to avoid confusion regarding the time when a motion is "made" for the purpose of applying these rules. *See, e.g., In re Coggin*, 30 F.3d 1443 (11th Cir. 1994). As amended, these subdivisions require that a motion for an extension of time be *filed* before the time has expired.
The other amendments to this rule are stylistic.
*GAP Report on Rule 4007*. No changes since publication, except for stylistic changes in the heading of Rule 4007(d).
Committee Notes on Rules—2008 Amendment
Subdivision (c) is amended because of the 2005 amendments to §1328(a) of the Code. This revision expands the exceptions to discharge upon completion of a chapter 13 plan. Subdivision (c) extends to chapter 13 the same time limits applicable to other chapters of the Code with respect to the two exceptions to discharge that have been added to §1328(a) and that are within §523(c).
The amendment to subdivision (d) reflects the 2005 amendments to §1328(a) that expands the exceptions to discharge upon completion of a chapter 13 plan, including two out of three of the provisions that fall within §523(c). However, the 2005 revisions to §1328(a) do not include a reference to §523(a)(6), which is the third provision to which §523(c) refers. Thus, subdivision (d) is now limited to that provision.
*Changes Made After Publication*. No changes were made after publication.
Committee Notes on Rules—2024 Amendment
The language of Rule 4007 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.
Guides that rely on Fed. R. Bankr. P. 4007
Plain-language explanations on this site that cite this rule.
By Antonio G. Jimenez, Esq. · Florida Bar No. 21022
Last reviewed July 25, 2026 · Sources verified July 25, 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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