Federal law requires waiting periods of 2 to 8 years between bankruptcy filings before you can receive a new discharge, depending on the chapters involved. Chapter 7 to Chapter 7 requires 8 years, Chapter 13 to Chapter 7 requires 6 years, Chapter 7 to Chapter 13 requires 4 years, and Chapter 13 to Chapter 13 requires 2 years. All periods are measured from filing date to filing date.
Every combination of prior case and new case has a specific waiting period before you can receive a discharge. Here they are in one place:
| Prior Case | New Case | Wait | Statute |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chapter 7 | Chapter 7 | 8 years | 727(a)(8) |
| Chapter 11 | Chapter 7 | 8 years | 727(a)(8) |
| Chapter 12 | Chapter 7 | 6 years* | 727(a)(9) |
| Chapter 13 | Chapter 7 | 6 years* | 727(a)(9) |
| Chapter 7 | Chapter 13 | 4 years | 1328(f)(1) |
| Chapter 11 | Chapter 13 | 4 years | 1328(f)(1) |
| Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | 4 years | 1328(f)(1) |
| Chapter 13 | Chapter 13 | 2 years | 1328(f)(2) |
*The 6-year bar under 727(a)(9) has exceptions: it 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 run from the filing date of the prior case to the filing date of the new case. Not the discharge date. Not the closing date. The Ninth Circuit confirmed this interpretation in In re Blendheim, 803 F.3d 477 (9th Cir. 2015), holding that the statutory phrase "order for relief" refers to the date the petition is filed in a voluntary case.
This matters because the discharge date is often months or years after the filing date. A debtor counting from discharge date might believe they are outside the waiting period when they are actually still within it.
Separate from the discharge waiting periods, Section 109(g) bars filing itself for 180 days if a prior case was dismissed for failure to comply with court orders, or if the debtor voluntarily dismissed after a creditor moved for stay relief. This prevents abuse of the automatic stay through serial filing and dismissing.
The discharge bars in Sections 727(a)(8), 727(a)(9), and 1328(f) only apply when the prior case resulted in a discharge. If the prior case was dismissed without a discharge, these waiting periods do not apply. However, the 109(g) filing bar may still apply depending on why the case was dismissed.
Some attorneys count from discharge date instead of filing date, or confuse the different waiting periods for different chapter combinations. This error can result in a client spending years in a Chapter 13 repayment plan that can never end in discharge. Our screening of 4.9 million cases found 391,951 prior filers discharged with zero eligibility verification. In a 7-district sample, 264 were confirmed 1328(f) violations -- 114 received a discharge despite the bar.
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Dedicated Resources
Discharge bars: dischargebar.org -- comprehensive discharge bar waiting periods
Section 727(a)(8): 727a8.com -- dedicated Section 727(a)(8) discharge bar resource
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