United States Code
11 U.S.C. § 544 — Trustee as lien creditor and as successor to certain creditors and purchasers
Section 544 gives the bankruptcy trustee power to undo certain transfers of the debtor's property and certain obligations the debtor took on. Subsection (a) treats the trustee, as of the day the case begins, as a hypothetical lien creditor or purchaser of real property — whether or not such a creditor or purchaser actually exists. Subsection (b) lets the trustee avoid transfers that an unsecured creditor could avoid under applicable law, with an exception for charitable contributions.
If you filed bankruptcy and a trustee is now asking questions about property you transferred, or about a lien someone recorded late, section 544 is often the authority behind that inquiry. It is one of the trustee's avoiding powers, and it works by giving the trustee legal positions that no real creditor in your case may actually hold. Subsection (a) creates those hypothetical positions; subsection (b) borrows the rights of a real unsecured creditor.
What does section 544 let a bankruptcy trustee do?
The section gives the trustee two different kinds of avoiding power. Under subsection (a), the trustee holds, as of the commencement of the case, the rights and powers of certain hypothetical parties, and may avoid any transfer of property of the debtor or any obligation the debtor incurred that is voidable by one of those parties. Under subsection (b), the trustee steps into the shoes of a real unsecured creditor and may avoid a transfer of an interest of the debtor in property, or an obligation the debtor incurred, that is voidable under applicable law by such a creditor. Both routes reach obligations as well as transfers, so the section is not limited to property that changed hands. Neither subsection defines what makes a transfer voidable — subsection (a) points to what the described creditor or purchaser could do, and subsection (b) points to applicable law outside this section.
What does subsection (a) mean by a creditor who does not exist?
Each of the three statuses in subsection (a) ends with language making the status hypothetical. Paragraph (a)(1) describes a creditor who extends credit at the time the case commences and obtains a judicial lien on all property on which a creditor on a simple contract could have obtained one — "whether or not such a creditor exists." Paragraph (a)(2) describes a creditor who extends credit at the same moment and obtains an execution against the debtor that is returned unsatisfied, again "whether or not such a creditor exists." Paragraph (a)(3) describes a bona fide purchaser of real property, other than fixtures, who has perfected the transfer at the time of commencement, "whether or not such a purchaser exists." The trustee is given those positions by the statute itself. Courts applying subsection (a) therefore ask what such a party could have done under applicable law, not whether anyone in the case in fact occupies that role.
How is subsection (b) different from subsection (a)?
Subsection (b)(1) does not rest on a hypothetical party. It allows the trustee to avoid a transfer of an interest of the debtor in property, or an obligation the debtor incurred, that is voidable under applicable law by a creditor holding an unsecured claim. The claim must be allowable under section 502 of this title, or must be one that is not allowable only under section 502(e). So subsection (b) has two moving parts: an actual unsecured creditor whose claim clears that allowance test, and a body of applicable law that would let that creditor undo the transfer. Subsection (a) turns on statuses fixed at the moment the case commences; subsection (b) turns on rights that already belong to a real creditor. The text also opens subsection (b)(1) with "Except as provided in paragraph (2)," which signals the charitable-contribution limit that follows.
Are charitable contributions treated differently under this section?
Yes. Subsection (b)(2) states that paragraph (1) does not apply to a transfer of a charitable contribution, as that term is defined in section 548(d)(3), that is not covered under section 548(a)(1)(B) by reason of section 548(a)(2). In other words, the exception is defined by cross-reference: it depends on the definition in section 548(d)(3) and on whether section 548(a)(2) keeps the contribution outside section 548(a)(1)(B). The subsection then adds a preemption rule. Any claim by any person to recover a transferred contribution of that kind, brought under Federal or State law in a Federal or State court, is preempted by the commencement of the case. That preemption language reaches claims by persons other than the trustee. Because the exception is written entirely through cross-references, whether a particular donation falls inside it depends on the definitions and conditions in section 548, which are not set out in the text of section 544.
Does it matter what the trustee or my creditors knew about the transfer?
Subsection (a) says the trustee has these rights and powers "without regard to any knowledge of the trustee or of any creditor." That phrase sits at the front of the subsection and applies to all three paragraphs. So an argument that the trustee, or a particular creditor, was aware of an earlier transfer does not by itself remove the trustee from the positions subsection (a) confers. Timing, by contrast, is written into the text repeatedly: the rights exist "as of the commencement of the case," the hypothetical creditor in (a)(1) and (a)(2) extends credit "at the time of the commencement of the case," and the purchaser in (a)(3) must have obtained bona fide purchaser status and perfected the transfer at that same time. Subsection (b) contains no comparable knowledge clause; it depends instead on what applicable law allows a creditor holding a qualifying unsecured claim to do.
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. § 544
Reproduced in full from the official source, verified as of July 2026. View it at the source.
(a) The trustee shall have, as of the commencement of the case, and without regard to any knowledge of the trustee or of any creditor, the rights and powers of, or may avoid any transfer of property of the debtor or any obligation incurred by the debtor that is voidable by—
(1) a creditor that extends credit to the debtor at the time of the commencement of the case, and that obtains, at such time and with respect to such credit, a judicial lien on all property on which a creditor on a simple contract could have obtained such a judicial lien, whether or not such a creditor exists;
(2) a creditor that extends credit to the debtor at the time of the commencement of the case, and obtains, at such time and with respect to such credit, an execution against the debtor that is returned unsatisfied at such time, whether or not such a creditor exists; or
(3) a bona fide purchaser of real property, other than fixtures, from the debtor, against whom applicable law permits such transfer to be perfected, that obtains the status of a bona fide purchaser and has perfected such transfer at the time of the commencement of the case, whether or not such a purchaser exists.
(b)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the trustee may avoid any transfer of an interest of the debtor in property or any obligation incurred by the debtor that is voidable under applicable law by a creditor holding an unsecured claim that is allowable under section 502 of this title or that is not allowable only under section 502(e) of this title.
(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a transfer of a charitable contribution (as that term is defined in section 548(d)(3)) that is not covered under section 548(a)(1)(B), by reason of section 548(a)(2). Any claim by any person to recover a transferred contribution described in the preceding sentence under Federal or State law in a Federal or State court shall be preempted by the commencement of the case.
(Pub. L. 95–598, Nov. 6, 1978, 92 Stat. 2596; Pub. L. 98–353, title III, §459, July 10, 1984, 98 Stat. 377; Pub. L. 105–183, §3(b), June 19, 1998, 112 Stat. 518.)
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
legislative statements
Section 544(a)(3) modifies similar provisions contained in the House bill and Senate amendment so as not to require a creditor to perform the impossible in order to perfect his interest. Both the lien creditor test in section 544(a)(1), and the bona fide purchaser test in section 544(a)(3) should not require a transferee to perfect a transfer against an entity with respect to which applicable law does not permit perfection. The avoiding powers under section 544(a)(1), (2), and (3) are new. In particular, section 544(a)(1) overrules *Pacific Finance Corp. v. Edwards*, 309 F.2d 224 (9th Cir. 1962), and *In re Federals, Inc*., 553 F.2d 509 (6th Cir. 1977), insofar as those cases held that the trustee did not have the status of a creditor who extended credit immediately prior to the commencement of the case.
The House amendment deletes section 544(c) of the House bill.
senate report no. 95–989
Subsection (a) is the "strong arm clause" of current law, now found in Bankruptcy Act §70c [section 110(c) of former title 11]. It gives the trustee the rights of a creditor on a simple contract with a judicial lien on the property of the debtor as of the date of the petition; of a creditor with a writ of execution against the property of the debtor unsatisfied as of the date of the petition; and a bona fide purchaser of the real property of the debtor as of the date of the petition. "Simple contract" as used here is derived from Bankruptcy Act §60a(4) [section 96(a)(4) of former title 11]. The third status, that of a bona fide purchaser of real property, is new.
Subsection (b) is derived from current section 70e [section 110(e) of former title 11]. It gives the trustee the rights of actual unsecured creditors under applicable law to void transfers. It follows *Moore v. Bay*, 284 U.S. 4 (1931), and overrules those cases that hold section 70e gives the trustee the rights of secured creditors.
Editorial Notes
Amendments
**1998**—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 105–183 designated existing provisions as par. (1), substituted "Except as provided in paragraph (2), the trustee" for "The trustee", and added par. (2).
**1984**—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 98–353, §459(1), inserted "such" after "obtained".
Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 98–353, §459(2), substituted "; or" for "; and".
Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 98–353, §459(3), inserted ", other than fixtures," after "property", and "and has perfected such transfer" after "purchaser" the second place it appeared.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date of 1998 Amendment
Pub. L. 105–183, §5, June 19, 1998, 112 Stat. 518, provided that: "This Act [amending this section and sections 546, 548, 707, and 1325 of this title and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section and section 101 of this title] and the amendments made by this Act shall apply to any case brought under an applicable provision of title 11, United States Code, that is pending or commenced on or after the date of enactment of this Act [June 19, 1998]."
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.
Construction of 1998 Amendment
Pub. L. 105–183, §6, June 19, 1998, 112 Stat. 519, provided that: "Nothing in the amendments made by this Act [amending this section and sections 546, 548, 707, and 1325 of this title] is intended to limit the applicability of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 2002bb [2000bb] et seq.)."
Guides that rely on 11 U.S.C. § 544
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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