How much does it cost to file Chapter 7?

The court charges a $245 filing fee, a $78 administrative fee, and a $15 trustee surcharge to open a Chapter 7 case. That is the court's portion only. Attorney fees, credit counseling, and the debtor education course are separate charges paid to other parties, and they are usually the larger part of the total.

How much does it cost to file Chapter 13?

The court charges a $235 filing fee plus a $78 administrative fee to open a Chapter 13 case. There is no trustee surcharge in Chapter 13. As in Chapter 7, attorney fees and the required counseling courses are separate, and a Chapter 13 case also involves ongoing plan payments that are not court fees at all.

Can the filing fee be paid in instalments?

Courts commonly allow it. An individual in a voluntary case may file a signed application asking the court to approve payment of the filing fee in instalments, using Official Form 103A. It is an application the court rules on, not an automatic right, and each district publishes its own instalment schedule and instructions.

Can the filing fee be waived entirely?

A waiver exists for Chapter 7 and is conditional. 28 U.S.C. § 1930(f) provides for waiver of the Chapter 7 filing fee subject to Judiciary procedures, and the request is made on Official Form 103B, which the court decides. The statutory Chapter 7 waiver does not extend to Chapter 13, where instalments are the usual route.

Is the filing fee refundable if the case is dismissed?

Generally not. The Judicial Conference has a long-standing policy against refunding fees upon filing, and several districts state that the clerk has no authority to refund a filing fee unless the clerk's office made an administrative error. Treat the fee as spent once the petition is filed, whatever happens to the case afterward.

Does this calculator tell me which chapter to file?

No. It compares court fees and nothing else. Which chapter fits depends on income, property, debts, and what you are trying to protect, and none of that is a cost question. Chapter 7 has an abuse analysis under 11 U.S.C. § 707(b) that has nothing to do with the filing fee, and cost is rarely the deciding factor.

Do I have to pay a lawyer on top of the court fees?

You can represent yourself, hire an attorney, or in some places use a bankruptcy petition preparer. Under 11 U.S.C. § 527(b), an attorney or petition preparer must give you a written contract stating what they will do and how much it will cost. Court staff cannot give legal advice or help complete your documents.

Tier 2 tool

Bankruptcy Cost Estimator

Court filing fees plus typical attorney-fee ranges.

The filing cost calculator adds up the court fees required to open a bankruptcy case. A Chapter 7 case carries a $245 filing fee, a $78 administrative fee, and a $15 trustee surcharge. A Chapter 13 case carries a $235 filing fee and a $78 administrative fee. Attorney fees and credit counseling costs are separate and are not included.

Key points

The Chapter 7 court fees are a $245 filing fee, a $78 administrative fee, and a $15 trustee surcharge.
The Chapter 13 court fees are a $235 filing fee plus a $78 administrative fee.
Courts commonly allow an individual to apply to pay the filing fee in installments, using an official application form.
A Chapter 7 fee waiver exists by statute and is conditional; there is no equivalent statutory waiver for Chapter 13.
The tool does not include attorney fees, credit counseling fees, or anything a case may need after it opens.

If money is the reason you have not filed yet, this is a fair place to start. The court charges a fixed amount to open a case, and those amounts are set by federal statute and a national fee schedule, so they do not change from one state to the next. This page explains what the calculator adds up, where each number comes from, and what it deliberately leaves out.

What does this tool compare?

The calculator compares the court's own charges for opening a Chapter 7 case against a Chapter 13 case. Nothing more. It takes the chapter you select and returns the fees the clerk collects when the petition is filed, itemised so you can see each piece rather than one lump figure.

Those pieces come from two places. The filing fee itself is set by statute: $245 for a Chapter 7 case and $235 for a Chapter 13 case under 28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1). The other charges come from the Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, which adds a $78 administrative fee to both chapters and a $15 trustee surcharge to Chapter 7 only.

The tool does not weigh the two chapters against each other on anything other than cost. Which chapter fits a given situation turns on income, assets, debts and goals, and cost is rarely the deciding factor.

Court fees collected when a consumer case is filed
Charge	Chapter 7	Chapter 13
Statutory filing fee	$245	$235
Administrative fee	$78	$78
Trustee surcharge	$15	Not charged

What does the law actually say about these fees?

The filing fee is not a number a court picks. 28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1) states that the parties commencing a case under title 11 shall pay to the clerk the listed fees: $245 for a case commenced under chapter 7 and $235 for a case commenced under chapter 13. The administrative fee and the Chapter 7 trustee surcharge come from the Judicial Conference's Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, at Items 8 and 9 respectively.

Because these are federal charges, they are the same in every district. What varies is how a particular clerk's office wants to receive the money. Some courts accept cash in person, money orders, cashier's checks, or online payment; the District of Connecticut, for example, publishes that credit cards are not accepted from self-represented individuals for petition filing fees. Check your own court's payment page before you go.

Nonpayment matters. Under 11 U.S.C. § 707(a)(2), a court may dismiss a Chapter 7 case for cause, including nonpayment of fees required under chapter 123 of title 28.

Chapter 7 filing fee: $245 (28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(A), (f)(1))
Chapter 13 filing fee: $235 (28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(B))
Administrative fee, both chapters: $78 (Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 8)
Chapter 7 trustee surcharge: $15 (Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 9)

How should you read the result?

Read the number as the price of the courthouse door, not the price of the case. It is the amount the clerk expects when the petition is filed, assuming the fee is paid in full at filing and nothing unusual happens afterward.

It is also not necessarily the amount you would need on the day you file. Courts commonly allow an individual in a voluntary case to apply to pay the filing fee in instalments using Official Form 103A, and the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure provide for that application. There is a separate application to have the Chapter 7 filing fee waived, Official Form 103B. Both are applications to the court, decided by the judge, not boxes you tick.

So treat the result as a ceiling on the court's charges and a starting point for a conversation about how to pay them, rather than a bill that must be met in one payment before anything else can happen.

Application for Individuals to Pay the Filing Fee in Instalments — Official Form 103A
Application to Have the Chapter 7 Filing Fee Waived — Official Form 103B
A waiver application is available in Chapter 7; the statutory waiver does not extend to Chapter 13

What does the result not tell you?

Four things, and they matter more than the number itself.

First, it is not the cost of representation. Attorney fees are separate, they vary widely, and 11 U.S.C. § 527(b) requires an attorney or a bankruptcy petition preparer to give you a written contract specifying what they will do for you and how much it will cost. Ask to see the contract before you hire anyone.

Second, it excludes the required credit counseling briefing and the later financial management course, which approved providers charge for separately.

Third, it excludes anything a case may need after it opens. Some post-filing actions carry additional fees, including certain amendments; consult the current national fee schedule and your district's payment instructions rather than relying on a saved local amount.

Fourth, and most importantly, cost says nothing about whether a chapter fits. The calculator has no view on your income, your property, or your debts, and it does not evaluate anything under 11 U.S.C. § 707(b).

Attorney fees and petition preparer fees are not included
Credit counseling and debtor education course fees are not included
Post-filing court fees, such as amending the creditor list, are not included
Nothing here evaluates which chapter fits your circumstances

Does the cost change depending on which state you live in?

No. The filing fee, the administrative fee and the Chapter 7 trustee surcharge are federal charges that apply identically in every bankruptcy district in the country. A Chapter 7 case costs the same to open in Alabama as it does in Minnesota.

State law does matter elsewhere in a bankruptcy case, particularly on exemptions — the property a filer may keep. Those amounts vary a great deal by state, and some states also charge their own fees for unrelated filings; Alabama, for instance, charges recording fees for a declaration of claimed exemptions equal to those for deeds under Ala. Code § 6-10-22. Those are separate from anything the bankruptcy clerk collects.

What does vary district by district is process: how the clerk accepts payment, what the local rules require alongside the petition, and whether self-represented filers can use an online petition tool. Find your district first, then check its own filing page.

Court fees to open a case: identical nationwide
Exemptions and state-level fees: vary by state
Payment methods, local forms and instalment schedules: vary by district

What should you do next?

Start by finding out which district and division you would file in, because that is the office whose payment instructions and local rules apply to you. From there, the practical sequence is usually the same regardless of chapter.

Gather the numbers before you decide anything. Most courts publish a checklist of what a petition requires — a list of every creditor with addresses, a list of everything you own, income records for the past six months, and the certificate showing you completed the required credit counseling briefing within the 180 days before filing.

Then get advice on the choice itself. Clerk's office staff are not attorneys and cannot give legal advice, and courts say so directly. Many districts publish legal aid, lawyer referral and pro bono resources on their own websites, and the Roadmap here can help you organise what you have before you talk to anyone.

Identify your bankruptcy district and division
Check that court's page for payment methods and instalment procedures
Complete the required credit counseling briefing within 180 days before filing
Talk to an attorney or a legal aid organisation about which chapter fits

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to file Chapter 7?: The court charges a $245 filing fee, a $78 administrative fee, and a $15 trustee surcharge to open a Chapter 7 case. That is the court's portion only. Attorney fees, credit counseling, and the debtor education course are separate charges paid to other parties, and they are usually the larger part of the total.
How much does it cost to file Chapter 13?: The court charges a $235 filing fee plus a $78 administrative fee to open a Chapter 13 case. There is no trustee surcharge in Chapter 13. As in Chapter 7, attorney fees and the required counseling courses are separate, and a Chapter 13 case also involves ongoing plan payments that are not court fees at all.
Can the filing fee be paid in instalments?: Courts commonly allow it. An individual in a voluntary case may file a signed application asking the court to approve payment of the filing fee in instalments, using Official Form 103A. It is an application the court rules on, not an automatic right, and each district publishes its own instalment schedule and instructions.
Can the filing fee be waived entirely?: A waiver exists for Chapter 7 and is conditional. 28 U.S.C. § 1930(f) provides for waiver of the Chapter 7 filing fee subject to Judiciary procedures, and the request is made on Official Form 103B, which the court decides. The statutory Chapter 7 waiver does not extend to Chapter 13, where instalments are the usual route.
Is the filing fee refundable if the case is dismissed?: Generally not. The Judicial Conference has a long-standing policy against refunding fees upon filing, and several districts state that the clerk has no authority to refund a filing fee unless the clerk's office made an administrative error. Treat the fee as spent once the petition is filed, whatever happens to the case afterward.
Does this calculator tell me which chapter to file?: No. It compares court fees and nothing else. Which chapter fits depends on income, property, debts, and what you are trying to protect, and none of that is a cost question. Chapter 7 has an abuse analysis under 11 U.S.C. § 707(b) that has nothing to do with the filing fee, and cost is rarely the deciding factor.
Do I have to pay a lawyer on top of the court fees?: You can represent yourself, hire an attorney, or in some places use a bankruptcy petition preparer. Under 11 U.S.C. § 527(b), an attorney or petition preparer must give you a written contract stating what they will do and how much it will cost. Court staff cannot give legal advice or help complete your documents.

Sources

28 U.S.C. § 1930 — Bankruptcy fees · official source
11 U.S.C. § 707 — Dismissal of a case or conversion to a case under chapter 11 or 13 · official source
11 U.S.C. § 527 — Disclosures · official source
11 U.S.C. § 110 — Penalty for persons who negligently or fraudulently prepare bankruptcy petitions · official source
Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 8
Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 9
Bankr. E.D. La. official guidance — Chapter 7 Form Packet
Bankr. S.D. Iowa official guidance — List of Required Forms and Fees to File for Bankruptcy
CTB official page — Petition Forms for Individuals to File Bankruptcy and Filing Guidelines
Bankr. N.D. Ill. official page — Electronic Refunds
Bankr. N.D. Ind. official page — Electronic Refund Request
Bankr. E.D. La. official guidance — Filing Without an Attorney
Bankr. N.D. Ill. official page — eSR Chapter 7 Checklist
Bankr. W.D. Ky. official guidance — Filing Without an Attorney
Ala. Code § 6-10-22

By Antonio G. Jimenez, Esq. · Florida Bar No. 21022

Last reviewed July 31, 2026 · Sources verified July 31, 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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