United States Code
11 U.S.C. § 1324 — Confirmation hearing
Section 1324 requires the bankruptcy court to hold a hearing on confirmation of a chapter 13 plan, after notice. Subsection (a) also states that a party in interest may object to confirmation. Subsection (b) sets the timing: the hearing is held not earlier than 20 days and not later than 45 days after the meeting of creditors under section 341(a), unless the court moves it earlier under the conditions listed there.
A chapter 13 case runs on a repayment plan, and that plan does not take effect just because it was filed. Section 1324 is the step where a judge takes it up in open court and anyone with a stake in the case can speak against it. This section tells you that the hearing must happen, that objections are allowed, and roughly when on the calendar it falls.
When does the chapter 13 confirmation hearing happen?
Subsection (b) ties the hearing date to one event: the meeting of creditors under section 341(a). Counting from the date of that meeting, the hearing may be held not earlier than 20 days afterward and not later than 45 days afterward. That is a window, not a fixed date, so the actual setting falls somewhere inside it. Because the clock runs from the creditors' meeting rather than from the filing of the case or the filing of the plan, anything that moves the creditors' meeting moves the outer edges of this window with it. Subsection (b) also describes one way the hearing can land before the 20-day mark, discussed below. It describes no mechanism within this section for pushing the hearing past the 45-day mark.
Can the confirmation hearing be held earlier than 20 days?
Yes, but subsection (b) attaches two conditions and both must be present. First, the court must determine that holding the hearing on an earlier date would be in the best interests of the creditors and the estate. Second, there must be no objection to that earlier date. So an earlier hearing is not something a single party can simply request and receive; the court makes the best-interests determination, and any objection to the earlier date defeats it. Note what the text does not say. It does not describe who may raise that objection, what form it takes, or how the court makes the best-interests determination. It gives the conditions, not the procedure for meeting them.
Who can object to my chapter 13 plan?
Subsection (a) states that a party in interest may object to confirmation of the plan. That phrase is broader than "creditor" — it is the term the statute uses, and this section does not define it or list who falls inside it. In practice the objection is the reason the hearing exists as a hearing rather than a formality: the plan is put before the court and anyone with standing to object can be heard on it. This section describes the right to object and nothing more. It does not set out grounds for an objection, deadlines for filing one, what happens if nobody objects, or what the court must do once an objection is made. Those questions are answered elsewhere, not in the two subsections here.
Does the court have to hold a hearing at all?
Subsection (a) says the court shall hold a hearing on confirmation of the plan, after notice. "Shall" is mandatory language, and the hearing is not conditioned on someone requesting it or objecting first. The opening words of subsection (a), "Except as provided in subsection (b)," point the reader to the timing rules rather than creating a way to skip the hearing — subsection (b) addresses when the hearing may be held, not whether it happens. On notice, the section says only that the hearing follows notice. It does not itself describe the form that notice takes, how far in advance it must go out, or who must receive it.
What does section 1324 not tell you?
It is worth being clear about the limits of this section, because it is short and it is easy to read more into it. Section 1324 sets up the hearing and its timing. It does not state the requirements a plan must meet to be confirmed, and it does not describe what the court does after the hearing — whether the plan is confirmed, denied, or modified first. It does not address what happens if the debtor or a creditor does not appear. It does not describe continuances or resettings of the hearing. The dates in subsection (b) are counted in days from the creditors' meeting under section 341(a), and the text supplies no other timing rule. For anything beyond the hearing itself and its place on the calendar, this is not the section that answers the question.
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. § 1324
Reproduced in full from the official source, verified as of July 2026. View it at the source.
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) and after notice, the court shall hold a hearing on confirmation of the plan. A party in interest may object to confirmation of the plan.
(b) The hearing on confirmation of the plan may be held not earlier than 20 days and not later than 45 days after the date of the meeting of creditors under section 341(a), unless the court determines that it would be in the best interests of the creditors and the estate to hold such hearing at an earlier date and there is no objection to such earlier date.
(Pub. L. 95–598, Nov. 6, 1978, 92 Stat. 2649; Pub. L. 98–353, title III, §529, July 10, 1984, 98 Stat. 389; Pub. L. 99–554, title II, §283(x), Oct. 27, 1986, 100 Stat. 3118; Pub. L. 109–8, title III, §317, Apr. 20, 2005, 119 Stat. 92.)
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
Any party in interest may object to the confirmation of a plan, as distinguished from merely rejecting a plan. An objection to confirmation is predicated on failure of the plan or the procedures employed prior to confirmation to conform with the requirements of chapter 13. The bankruptcy judge is required to provide notice and an opportunity for hearing any such objection to confirmation.
Editorial Notes
Amendments
**2005**—Pub. L. 109–8 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), substituted "Except as provided in subsection (b) and after" for "After", and added subsec. (b).
**1986**—Pub. L. 99–554 struck out "the" after "object to".
**1984**—Pub. L. 98–353 struck out "the" before "confirmation of the plan".
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.
Effective Date of 1986 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 99–554 effective 30 days after Oct. 27, 1986, see section 302(a) of Pub. L. 99–554, set out as a note under section 581 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.
Effective Date of 1984 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 98–353 effective with respect to cases filed 90 days after July 10, 1984, see section 552(a) of Pub. L. 98–353, set out as a note under section 101 of this title.
Guides that rely on 11 U.S.C. § 1324
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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