These two words sound similar but describe opposite outcomes. One means your debts are gone. The other means your case failed.
A bankruptcy discharge is a court order that releases you from personal liability on certain debts. After discharge, creditors can no longer legally pursue you for those obligations. The discharge is the goal of every bankruptcy case -- it is the "fresh start" that bankruptcy is designed to provide.
In a Chapter 7 case, discharge typically occurs about 60-90 days after the meeting of creditors. In a Chapter 13 case, discharge occurs after the debtor completes the 3-to-5-year repayment plan.
Chapter 7 discharge: 11 U.S.C. Section 727. Chapter 13 discharge: 11 U.S.C. Section 1328. The discharge injunction that prevents creditor collection is found at 11 U.S.C. Section 524.
A bankruptcy dismissal means the court terminated your case before it reached completion. You receive no debt relief. All your debts return to their pre-filing status, and creditors are free to resume collection efforts including lawsuits, wage garnishment, and phone calls.
Nationally, about one-third of Chapter 13 cases end in dismissal rather than discharge. But the rate varies dramatically by attorney. Some attorneys consistently achieve discharge rates above 80%. Others have dismissal rates above 60%.
An abnormally high dismissal rate may signal inadequate case preparation, unrealistic plan proposals, poor communication with clients, failure to file documents on time, or a business model that profits from filing fees regardless of client outcome. When an attorney's clients are dismissed at twice the national rate, that is a pattern worth investigating.
Dismissal rates are calculable from public PACER data. Every case filing, every dismissal order, and every discharge order is a matter of public record. The data exists to evaluate any bankruptcy attorney's track record -- the question is whether anyone is checking.
Dismissal creates a cycle. A dismissed debtor still needs debt relief, so they often refile. If they refile with the same attorney who failed the first time, the odds of a second dismissal are high. Each dismissed case costs filing fees ($338 for Chapter 13) and attorney fees (often $3,000-$4,000). After two or three dismissed cases, the debtor has spent thousands of dollars with nothing to show for it -- and their filing history now counts against them under Section 362(c)(3), which limits the automatic stay for repeat filers.
If your case is dismissed, you can generally refile. But there are restrictions:
| Situation | Restriction | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| Dismissed for failure to obey court orders | 180-day filing bar | 109(g)(1) |
| Voluntary dismissal after stay relief motion | 180-day filing bar | 109(g)(2) |
| One prior dismissal within 1 year | Automatic stay limited to 30 days | 362(c)(3) |
| Two+ prior dismissals within 1 year | No automatic stay at all | 362(c)(4) |
All bankruptcy case outcomes are public record. You can look up any attorney's cases through PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) and calculate their discharge rate versus dismissal rate. The data covers every bankruptcy case filed in every federal district.
See national dismissal and discharge data by district and attorney.
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