How to File Bankruptcy Without a Lawyer (2025 Step-by-Step Guide)

The court filing fee for Chapter 7 bankruptcy is $338. That's the only mandatory cost. Yet most people pay $1,500 to $3,000 to lawyers to prepare paperwork they could complete themselves.

This isn't about saving money at the expense of safety. For straightforward Chapter 7 cases, you don't need an attorney. You need accurate information, the right tools, and attention to detail. This guide walks you through the entire process.

When You Can File Bankruptcy Yourself

Chapter 7 bankruptcy works well as a DIY project if your situation is simple:

• You own little or no property beyond basic household items
• Your income is below your state's median (roughly $50,000 for a single person in most states)
• Your debts are mostly credit cards, medical bills, or personal loans
• You haven't filed bankruptcy in the past eight years
• No one is accusing you of fraud or hiding assets

If you own a business, face complex tax debts, or earn significantly above the median income, hire a lawyer. Those cases involve intricate legal questions that one mistake can derail.

The Real Cost: $338 Plus Your Time

The filing fee breaks down to $245 for the case plus $78 for administrative costs and $15 for trustee surcharge. If you cannot afford this upfront, you can apply to pay in installments over 120 days. In rare cases, courts waive the fee entirely for people earning less than 150% of the poverty line.

Your time investment runs 10 to 20 hours spread over several weeks. You'll gather financial documents, complete forms, attend a credit counseling course ($10-$50), and show up to one court meeting.

Compare that to paying a lawyer $2,000 to do work you can handle yourself.

Step 1: Take the Credit Counseling Course

You must complete credit counseling from an approved agency within 180 days before filing. This course costs $10 to $50 and takes about an hour online. You'll receive a certificate to file with your petition.

The counseling requirement is federal law. Without that certificate, the court rejects your case. Get it done first.

Step 2: Gather Your Financial Documents

You need six months of financial records:

• Pay stubs or proof of all income (Social Security, disability, unemployment, rental income)
• Bank statements showing deposits and withdrawals
• Tax returns from the past two years
• List of everything you own and its current value (car, furniture, jewelry, retirement accounts)
• List of everyone you owe money to, with account numbers and balances
• Monthly expense records (rent, utilities, food, insurance)

Be thorough. Missing assets or debts can get your case dismissed or worse—referred for fraud investigation.

Step 3: Complete the Bankruptcy Forms

You file a petition plus supporting schedules. The core documents:

Form 101 (Voluntary Petition): Basic information about you and your case.

Schedule A/B: Everything you own, from real estate to kitchen appliances. List current value, not what you paid.

Schedule C: Property you're claiming as exempt (more on this below).

Schedule D, E/F: All your debts, sorted by secured (like car loans), priority (like taxes), and unsecured (like credit cards).

Schedule I and J: Your income and monthly expenses. These determine if you pass the means test.

Form 122A-1 and 122A-2: The means test calculation. If your income is below your state's median, you're done. Above median requires detailed expense calculations.

Free tools like Upsolve guide you through these forms with plain-language questions. They auto-calculate numbers and catch common errors. The alternative is downloading PDFs from uscourts.gov and filling them out manually,doable but tedious.

Understanding Exemptions: What You Keep

Bankruptcy doesn't take everything. Federal and state laws protect certain property as "exempt." You keep exempt property; the trustee can sell non-exempt assets to pay creditors.

Federal exemptions (available in some states) include:

• $29,275 in home equity
• $4,450 in vehicle equity
• $14,875 in household goods (total, not per item)
• Unlimited retirement accounts (401k, IRA)
• $1,875 in tools of your trade

Many states offer different exemptions. California, Texas, and Florida have generous homestead protections. New York protects more vehicle equity. Check your state's rules or use them if they're better than federal.

If you own a house with $100,000 in equity and your state only exempts $50,000, the trustee can force a sale. This is when you need a lawyer to explore Chapter 13 or other strategies.

Step 4: File Your Petition

You file electronically through your local bankruptcy court's Electronic Case Filing system or mail paper copies (some courts still accept these). The $338 fee is due at filing unless you've applied for installments or a waiver.

The moment you file, an automatic stay goes into effect. Creditors must stop calling, lawsuits freeze, wage garnishments halt. This protection lasts until your case closes or the court lifts the stay.

Step 5: Attend the 341 Meeting of Creditors

About 30 days after filing, you attend a meeting with the bankruptcy trustee assigned to your case. Creditors can attend but rarely do. The meeting lasts 10 to 15 minutes.

The trustee asks questions under oath:

• Did you review your petition and schedules? Are they accurate?
• Do you own any assets not listed in your paperwork?
• Have you transferred any property to friends or family in the past two years?
• Have you filed bankruptcy before?

Answer truthfully and simply. If the trustee spots inconsistencies or missing information, they'll request documents. Provide them promptly.

Step 6: Complete the Financial Management Course

After the 341 meeting but before your discharge, you must take a debtor education course. Like credit counseling, this is an approved online class costing $10 to $50. File the completion certificate with the court.

Skip this and you don't get a discharge. Set a calendar reminder.

Step 7: Receive Your Discharge

If the trustee finds no assets to liquidate and no one objects, the court grants your discharge about 60 to 90 days after the 341 meeting. The discharge order wipes out qualifying debts permanently. Creditors cannot pursue collection, reopen lawsuits, or contact you about those debts ever again.

What doesn't get discharged:

• Most student loans (unless you prove undue hardship in a separate lawsuit)
• Recent taxes (less than three years old)
• Child support and alimony
• Debts from fraud or malicious injury
• DUI-related fines and restitution

Your total timeline: three to six months from filing to discharge.

Three Mistakes That Sabotage DIY Bankruptcies

1. Leaving out debts or assets. You must disclose everything, even debts you plan to keep paying (like a car loan) and assets with no value (like old furniture). Omitting information looks like fraud, even if it's an honest mistake.

2. Transferring property before filing. Giving your car to your brother or selling your boat to a friend for $1 can unwind your entire case. The trustee can reverse those transfers and accuse you of hiding assets. If you need to transfer property, talk to a lawyer first.

3. Using credit cards right before filing. Charging $2,000 on a vacation two weeks before filing bankruptcy? That debt probably won't be discharged, and the creditor might sue you for fraud. Stop using credit cards at least 90 days before filing.

When to Hire a Lawyer Instead

Get an attorney if:

• You own a business or significant assets
• Your income exceeds the median and you're not sure you'll pass the means test
• A creditor is accusing you of fraud
• You've made large payments or transfers to friends or family recently
• You're trying to keep a house with non-exempt equity
• You want to file Chapter 13 to catch up on a mortgage or car loan

Most bankruptcy lawyers offer free consultations. Use them. A good lawyer can spot problems you'd never see coming.

How Bankruptcy Affects Your Credit

Chapter 7 bankruptcy stays on your credit report for 10 years. Your credit score drops immediately,often 100 to 200 points. But here's what matters: you can rebuild faster than you think.

Within two years, people who file bankruptcy often have better credit scores than those who keep struggling with unpayable debt. Why? Because they're no longer missing payments, maxing out cards, or facing collections. They've wiped the slate clean.

You can get a secured credit card immediately after discharge. Use it for small purchases and pay the balance in full each month. Within 12 to 24 months, you'll qualify for an unsecured card. In three to five years, you can buy a house with a reasonable mortgage rate.

What Happens to Lawsuits and Wage Garnishments

If a creditor has sued you, filing bankruptcy stops the lawsuit instantly. The automatic stay prohibits any collection action, including court proceedings. If the creditor already won a judgment and is garnishing your wages, the garnishment stops once your employer receives notice of the bankruptcy.

One important note: if you're being sued and considering bankruptcy, respond to the lawsuit first. Don't ignore it while you prepare your bankruptcy paperwork. File an answer to the complaint (you can do this yourself in one afternoon). This prevents a default judgment and buys you time to file bankruptcy properly.

Free Tools That Make DIY Bankruptcy Possible

A decade ago, filing bankruptcy yourself meant deciphering legal jargon and hand-calculating complex formulas. Now, free software handles the heavy lifting:

Upsolve: Free nonprofit tool that interviews you in plain English and generates all required forms. It checks your work for errors and provides video tutorials for each step. Available in most states for simple Chapter 7 cases.

NOLO's bankruptcy resources: Comprehensive articles and form instructions. No software, but excellent for understanding the process.

Court websites: Your local bankruptcy court's site has local rules, form requirements, and trustee panel information. Essential reading before filing.

These tools exist because Chapter 7 bankruptcy, for most people, is a mechanical process. The law is clear, the forms are standardized, and the outcomes are predictable. Lawyers are crucial for complex cases, but they're not required for straightforward ones.

Life After Bankruptcy

You'll face some short-term hassles. Banks might close accounts when they see the bankruptcy filing. You'll need to open new accounts at a different bank. Landlords and employers can see the bankruptcy on background checks, though federal law prohibits discrimination solely based on bankruptcy.

But you walk away with something invaluable: no debt. The $40,000 or $80,000 or $150,000 that was crushing you? Gone. The harassing phone calls, the anxiety, the impossible math of paying more than you earn? Over.

People rebuild. They save money for the first time in years. They sleep better. They start businesses, buy houses, send kids to college. Bankruptcy is not a moral failure. It's a legal tool designed to give people a second chance when debt becomes unpayable.

If you've been putting this off because you thought you couldn't afford a lawyer, that excuse is gone. You can do this yourself. Start gathering your documents today.