Yes. There is no limit on how many times you can file. But federal law sets waiting periods before you can receive a discharge in a new case.
You can file bankruptcy as many times as you need to. The Bankruptcy Code does not cap the number of filings. What it does restrict is discharge -- the order that eliminates your legal obligation to pay certain debts. If you received a discharge in a prior case, you must wait a specific number of years before you can receive another one.
The waiting period depends on two things: the chapter of your prior case and the chapter of the new case you want to file.
Four separate provisions of the Bankruptcy Code govern when you can file again and receive a discharge:
| Statute | Prior Case | New Case | Wait |
|---|---|---|---|
| 727(a)(8) | Ch. 7 or Ch. 11 | Ch. 7 | 8 years |
| 727(a)(9) | Ch. 12 or Ch. 13 | Ch. 7 | 6 years* |
| 1328(f)(1) | Ch. 7, 11, or 12 | Ch. 13 | 4 years |
| 1328(f)(2) | Ch. 13 | Ch. 13 | 2 years |
*Section 727(a)(9) has exceptions: the 6-year bar does not apply if the prior Ch. 13 plan paid 100% of unsecured claims, or paid at least 70% under a plan proposed in good faith with best effort.
All waiting periods are measured from filing date to filing date, not discharge date to filing date. The Ninth Circuit confirmed this in In re Blendheim, 803 F.3d 477 (9th Cir. 2015). If your prior case was filed on January 1, 2022, and the required wait is 4 years, you must file the new case on or after January 1, 2026.
The statutes above bar discharge, not filing. But Section 109(g) can bar filing itself. Under 109(g), you cannot file any bankruptcy case within 180 days of a prior dismissal if:
This 180-day bar prevents strategic abuse of the automatic stay -- filing, getting temporary protection, dismissing, and immediately refiling.
Filing before the waiting period expires does not mean your case gets thrown out. The case can proceed, and you receive the benefit of the automatic stay (the order that stops creditors from collecting). But at the end of the process, the court cannot grant you a discharge.
A bankruptcy case without discharge means you pay attorney fees, filing fees, and potentially years of plan payments -- all without the debt relief that makes bankruptcy worthwhile. Your debts survive in full. Your filing appears on your credit report. You have used time and money for nothing.
Before filing any bankruptcy case, an attorney is required to investigate your prior filing history. The official bankruptcy petition (Form 101) asks at Question 9: "Within the last 8 years, have you filed a case under any chapter of the Bankruptcy Code?"
If the answer is yes, the attorney must determine whether the timing bars apply. Filing a case that is discharge-barred without informing the client is, at minimum, a competence issue under professional conduct rules. It may also constitute malpractice.
Screening of 4.9 million Chapter 13 cases found 391,951 prior filers who received discharge with zero eligibility verification. In a 7-district sample, 264 were confirmed violations within the 1328(f) window — 114 received a discharge despite the bar. Question 9 relies on accurate disclosure and manual review -- when it fails, the debtor pays the price.
Check whether a prior discharge bars your current Chapter 13 case.
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