Below you’ll find current and historical data on bankruptcy case filings by chapter. The first table presents filings for the current year-to-date, and the subsequent tables provide annual totals for previous years. This information can be useful for understanding trends in bankruptcy filings over time.
| Chapter | Filings |
|---|---|
| Chapter 7 | 174,718 |
| Chapter 11 | 4,177 |
| Chapter 12 | 181 |
| Chapter 13 | 101,045 |
| Total | 280,121 |
| Chapter | Filings |
|---|---|
| Chapter 7 | 298,644 |
| Chapter 11 | 9,012 |
| Chapter 12 | 202 |
| Chapter 13 | 195,971 |
| Total | 503,829 |
| Chapter | Filings |
|---|---|
| Chapter 7 | 248,680 |
| Chapter 11 | 6,473 |
| Chapter 12 | 142 |
| Chapter 13 | 178,214 |
| Total | 433,509 |
| Chapter | Filings |
|---|---|
| Chapter 7 | 229,703 |
| Chapter 11 | 4,762 |
| Chapter 12 | 182 |
| Chapter 13 | 149,077 |
| Total | 383,724 |
| Chapter | Filings |
|---|---|
| Chapter 7 | 310,597 |
| Chapter 11 | 5,622 |
| Chapter 12 | 344 |
| Chapter 13 | 117,784 |
| Total | 434,347 |
Bankruptcy activity is clearly in a rebuilding phase. After historic lows during the pandemic, filings rose in fiscal year 2023 and accelerated again in fiscal year 2024. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AOUSC) reports total cases climbed from 383,810 in FY 2022 to 433,658 in FY 2023 and 504,112 in FY 2024. That 2024 total reflects broad gains across chapter 7, chapter 11, and chapter 13, signaling a normalization toward pre-pandemic baselines even as levels remain below Great Recession peaks.
Early reads for 2025 point to continued but measured growth rather than a spike. AOUSC data for the 12 months ending March 31, 2025 showed total filings up 13.1 percent year over year, while private court analytics from Epiq indicate the first half of 2025 ran roughly 10 percent higher than the same period in 2024, with June 2025 alone up 15 percent year over year. The picture is consistent: a steady upward glide path, not a surge.
Several fundamentals support this trajectory. First, household credit stress is elevated compared with 2021–2022. Federal Reserve researchers and regional banks highlight that credit-card delinquencies climbed from their post-pandemic troughs through 2024, particularly among lower-income ZIP codes, even if some measures stabilized modestly in late 2024. Elevated revolving balances and tighter household budgets typically translate into more chapter 7 and chapter 13 cases over time.
Second, the resumption and normalization of student-loan repayment has increased financial pressure for millions of borrowers. New York Fed data show a marked rise in serious student-loan delinquencies in early 2025 as paused obligations returned to credit reports, a shift that can strain household cash flow and, for some, nudge overall debt portfolios toward insolvency solutions. Policy changes continue to evolve, but the directional effect on budgets in 2025 has been a headwind.
Looking ahead to the remainder of 2025, expect chapter 7 and chapter 13 to carry most of the volume gains, with chapter 11 remaining sensitive to financing conditions and sector-specific stresses. If labor markets stay resilient and inflation cools further, filings should continue to rise at a moderate pace rather than accelerate sharply; conversely, any deterioration in employment or a renewed tightening of consumer credit would likely quicken the climb in consumer filings. In short, the baseline outlook is a continued return toward long-run norms, with regional and sector variation.
Data Source: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (Table F-2) for annual figures; U.S. Bankruptcy Court Q1 2025 report for YTD.