United States Code
11 U.S.C. § 107 — Public access to papers
Section 107 makes papers filed in a bankruptcy case, and the court's dockets, public records open to examination by anyone at reasonable times without charge. Subsection (b) directs the court, on request of a party in interest, to protect trade secrets, confidential commercial information, and scandalous or defamatory matter. Subsection (c) lets the court, for cause, protect an individual's identifying information where disclosure would create undue risk of identity theft or other unlawful injury.
One of the first questions people ask before filing is who will be able to see it. Section 107 answers that with a default of openness — filings and dockets are public records — and then sets out the narrow circumstances in which a bankruptcy court can shield specific material. Understanding which subsection covers which kind of information tells you what a court is being asked to do when protection is sought.
Is a bankruptcy filing a public record?
Subsection (a) sets the default. A paper filed in a case under this title, and the dockets of a bankruptcy court, are public records and open to examination by an entity at reasonable times without charge. Three things about that sentence matter to a reader worried about privacy. First, it reaches both the papers themselves and the docket — the running list of what has been filed. Second, it is open to examination by an entity, not only by people involved in the case. Third, examination is without charge at reasonable times. The subsection then names its own limits: it applies "except as provided in subsections (b) and (c)," and it is "subject to section 112." So openness is the starting point, and anything withheld from public view has to come through one of those routes. The section does not describe any automatic sealing or redaction; subsections (b) and (c) describe how material comes to be protected.
What can a bankruptcy court protect under subsection (b)?
Subsection (b) covers two categories. Paragraph (1) is protection of an entity with respect to a trade secret or confidential research, development, or commercial information. Paragraph (2) is protection of a person with respect to scandalous or defamatory matter contained in a paper filed in a case under this title. The subsection also states who can start the process and how strongly the court is directed to act. On request of a party in interest, the bankruptcy court shall act. On the bankruptcy court's own motion, the court may act. That difference in wording — shall on request, may on the court's own motion — is written into the statute. Note also the categories are defined by the nature of the information, not by who is embarrassed by it. Business confidentiality and defamatory content are the subjects named here; personal identifying information is addressed separately, in subsection (c).
Can the court protect my Social Security number or other identifying information?
Subsection (c)(1) is the provision addressed to an individual. It states that the bankruptcy court, for cause, may protect an individual with respect to two types of information: under subparagraph (A), any means of identification, as defined in section 1028(d) of title 18, contained in a paper filed or to be filed in a case under this title; and under subparagraph (B), other information contained in a paper described in subparagraph (A). The protection is not automatic and it is not unconditional. The text builds in two requirements. There must be cause, and the court must find that disclosure of the information would create undue risk of identity theft or other unlawful injury to the individual or the individual's property. The word used is "may," so the subsection describes authority the court has rather than an outcome that follows from asking. Subparagraph (A) also reaches a paper "to be filed," so it is not limited to documents already on the docket.
Who can still see information the court has protected?
Two paragraphs answer this. Subsection (c)(2) addresses government access: upon ex parte application demonstrating cause, the court shall provide access to information protected under paragraph (1) to an entity acting pursuant to the police or regulatory power of a domestic governmental unit. Ex parte means the application is made without the other side participating, and the statute still requires cause to be demonstrated. Subsection (c)(3) addresses case administrators. The United States trustee, bankruptcy administrator, trustee, and any auditor serving under section 586(f) of title 28 shall have full access to all information contained in any paper filed or submitted in a case under this title. That access is paired with a duty in subparagraph (B): those same officials shall not disclose information specifically protected by the court under this title. So protection under subsection (c) limits what the general public can examine; it does not withhold information from the people administering the case.
How is subsection (b) different from subsection (c)?
The two protection subsections differ in who they cover, what they cover, and how the court is directed to act. Subsection (b)(1) protects an entity as to trade secrets and confidential research, development, or commercial information, and (b)(2) protects a person as to scandalous or defamatory matter. Subsection (c) protects an individual as to means of identification and other information in the same paper. On the court's role, subsection (b) says the court shall act on request of a party in interest and may act on its own motion; subsection (c) says the court, for cause, may protect, and adds a required finding — that disclosure would create undue risk of identity theft or other unlawful injury to the individual or the individual's property. Subsection (c) also carries its own access rules in paragraphs (2) and (3), which subsection (b) does not contain. Courts consider these provisions separately, and which one applies depends on the kind of information at issue.
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 11 U.S.C. § 107
Reproduced in full from the official source, verified as of July 2026. View it at the source.
(a) Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c) and subject to section 112, a paper filed in a case under this title and the dockets of a bankruptcy court are public records and open to examination by an entity at reasonable times without charge.
(b) On request of a party in interest, the bankruptcy court shall, and on the bankruptcy court's own motion, the bankruptcy court may—
(1) protect an entity with respect to a trade secret or confidential research, development, or commercial information; or
(2) protect a person with respect to scandalous or defamatory matter contained in a paper filed in a case under this title.
(c)(1) The bankruptcy court, for cause, may protect an individual, with respect to the following types of information to the extent the court finds that disclosure of such information would create undue risk of identity theft or other unlawful injury to the individual or the individual's property:
(A) Any means of identification (as defined in section 1028(d) of title 18) contained in a paper filed, or to be filed, in a case under this title.
(B) Other information contained in a paper described in subparagraph (A).
(2) Upon ex parte application demonstrating cause, the court shall provide access to information protected pursuant to paragraph (1) to an entity acting pursuant to the police or regulatory power of a domestic governmental unit.
(3) The United States trustee, bankruptcy administrator, trustee, and any auditor serving under section 586(f) of title 28—
(A) shall have full access to all information contained in any paper filed or submitted in a case under this title; and
(B) shall not disclose information specifically protected by the court under this title.
(Pub. L. 95–598, Nov. 6, 1978, 92 Stat. 2556; Pub. L. 109–8, title II, §§233(c), 234(a), (c), Apr. 20, 2005, 119 Stat. 74, 75; Pub. L. 111–327, §2(a)(5), Dec. 22, 2010, 124 Stat. 3557.)
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.
Historical and Revision Notes
senate report no. 95–989
Subsection (a) of this section makes all papers filed in a bankruptcy case and the dockets of the bankruptcy court public and open to examination at reasonable times without charge. "Docket" includes the claims docket, the proceedings docket, and all papers filed in a case.
Subsection (b) permits the court, on its own motion, and requires the court, on the request of a party in interest, to protect trade secrets, confidential research, development, or commercial information, and to protect persons against scandalous or defamatory matter.
Editorial Notes
Amendments
**2010**—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 111–327 substituted "subsections (b) and (c)" for "subsection (b) of this section".
**2005**—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 109–8, §234(c), which directed the substitution of "subsections (b) and (c)," for "subsection (b),", could not be executed because "subsection (b)," did not appear in text.
Pub. L. 109–8, §233(c), inserted "and subject to section 112" after "section".
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 109–8, §234(a), added subsec. (c).
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date of 2005 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 109–8 effective 180 days after Apr. 20, 2005, and not applicable with respect to cases commenced under this title before such effective date, except as otherwise provided, see section 1501 of Pub. L. 109–8, set out as a note under section 101 of this title.
Guides that rely on 11 U.S.C. § 107
Plain-language explanations on this site that cite this section.
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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