Public Guide
Bankruptcy Costs and Fee Categories
General information about court fees, installment and waiver procedures, required courses, attorney fees, other expenses, and official sources.
Bankruptcy costs can include a court filing fee, required credit-counseling and debtor-education courses, attorney fees, document or valuation expenses, and charges for additional litigation or post-filing work.
Federal court fees change periodically. The current Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule and the filing court are authoritative. Individual Chapter 7 debtors may request installment payments, and qualifying debtors may request a fee waiver under the court's standards; the court decides those requests.
Attorney pricing varies by chapter, district, complexity, business activity, assets, litigation, language access, and scope. Chapter 13 fee review and payment through a plan can follow local procedures. A written agreement can identify included services, excluded proceedings, payment timing, refunds, and other costs.
Approved providers set counseling-course prices and must disclose fee-waiver or reduction policies. Court transcripts, amendments, reopened cases, adversary proceedings, appraisals, tax work, and appeals can create separate expenses.
Official Sources
- U.S. Courts: Bankruptcy court fees
- U.S. Trustee Program: Approved credit-counseling agencies
- U.S. Courts: Bankruptcy forms
This page describes general cost categories and does not quote or endorse a fee for an individual case.