United States Code
11 U.S.C. § 1327 — Effect of confirmation
Section 1327 states the effect of confirming a chapter 13 plan. Under subsection (a), the confirmed plan binds the debtor and each creditor, whether or not the plan provides for that creditor's claim and whether or not the creditor objected. Subsection (b) vests property of the estate in the debtor. Subsection (c) makes that property free and clear of claims of creditors provided for by the plan, unless the plan or confirmation order says otherwise.
Confirmation is the moment a repayment plan stops being a proposal and starts being the arrangement everyone has to live with. This section is short, but it is the one that answers two questions people ask constantly: whether a creditor who fought the plan is still bound by it, and who owns the property once the plan is confirmed. The answers are in three subsections, (a), (b) and (c).
Is a creditor bound by the plan if it objected or never voted?
Subsection (a) answers this directly. The provisions of a confirmed plan bind the debtor and each creditor, and the text then removes the two arguments a creditor would most likely make. First, a creditor is bound "whether or not the claim of such creditor is provided for by the plan" — so a creditor whose claim the plan does not address is still covered by the subsection. Second, a creditor is bound "whether or not such creditor has objected to, has accepted, or has rejected the plan." All three postures are listed together and treated the same way. Note what subsection (a) binds people to: the provisions of the plan itself. The subsection does not set out separate rules for particular kinds of claims, and it does not describe what a creditor may do after confirmation. If your question is about a specific claim, the answer will turn on what your own plan says, read alongside this subsection.
Who owns the property after the plan is confirmed?
Subsection (b) provides that confirmation of a plan vests all of the property of the estate in the debtor. "Vests" is the operative word — the subsection is about where the property of the estate goes at confirmation, and it points to the debtor. That subsection opens with a condition: "Except as otherwise provided in the plan or the order confirming the plan." So subsection (b) states the default result, and the plan or the confirmation order can set a different one. Plans in practice do sometimes address this, which is why the language of your own plan matters as much as the statute. Subsection (b) is also the hinge for subsection (c), which describes the condition the property is in when it vests. Read the two together rather than separately, and check your plan and confirmation order for any provision that changes what subsection (b) would otherwise do.
What does "free and clear" mean in subsection (c)?
Subsection (c) attaches to the property that vests in the debtor under subsection (b). It provides that this property is free and clear of any claim or interest of any creditor provided for by the plan. Two limits in that sentence are worth reading closely. It applies to the property vesting under subsection (b) — not to property generally. And it reaches the claims and interests of creditors "provided for by the plan." That phrase is doing real work: it is the category subsection (c) names, and it is narrower than the category subsection (a) uses, which expressly includes creditors whether or not their claims are provided for. Like subsection (b), subsection (c) opens with "Except as otherwise provided in the plan or in the order confirming the plan," so a plan or confirmation order can address this differently. Whether a particular claim falls inside subsection (c) is a question about your plan's contents.
Can my plan or the confirmation order change these results?
The text distinguishes the three subsections here, and the difference is easy to miss. Subsections (b) and (c) each begin with the same qualifier — "Except as otherwise provided in the plan or the order confirming the plan" — so the vesting rule and the free-and-clear rule are defaults that the plan or the confirmation order can address differently. Subsection (a), the binding rule, contains no comparable opening exception; it states flatly that the provisions of a confirmed plan bind the debtor and each creditor. Practically, that means the document you should read next is your own proposed plan and, once entered, the order confirming it. If either one contains language about vesting or about claims and interests, that language is what subsections (b) and (c) point you toward. Courts consider the plan and the confirmation order as written, so what those documents say about these subsections matters.
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. § 1327
Reproduced in full from the official source, verified as of July 2026. View it at the source.
(a) The provisions of a confirmed plan bind the debtor and each creditor, whether or not the claim of such creditor is provided for by the plan, and whether or not such creditor has objected to, has accepted, or has rejected the plan.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in the plan or the order confirming the plan, the confirmation of a plan vests all of the property of the estate in the debtor.
(c) Except as otherwise provided in the plan or in the order confirming the plan, the property vesting in the debtor under subsection (b) of this section is free and clear of any claim or interest of any creditor provided for by the plan.
(Pub. L. 95–598, Nov. 6, 1978, 92 Stat. 2650.)
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) binds the debtor and each creditor to the provisions of a confirmed plan, whether or not the claim of the creditor is provided for by the plan and whether or not the creditor has accepted, rejected, or objected to the plan. Unless the plan itself or the order confirming the plan otherwise provides, confirmation is deemed to vest all property of the estate in the debtor, free and clear of any claim or interest of any creditor provided for by the plan.
Guides that rely on 11 U.S.C. § 1327
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.
Turn this into a plan for your exact situation, state, and court.
See My Debt Relief Options→