How Often Can You File for Bankruptcy?
Bankruptcy isn’t a magic wand. No matter how you file for bankruptcy, you might go through the entire process only to end up back where you started.
There is no legal limit on how many times you can file for bankruptcy in the U.S. That said, if the court decides to discharge your eligible debts — meaning, permanently release you from your legal obligation to repay — you may need to wait two to eight years from the initial filing date before a court can discharge more debt.
- You can file for bankruptcy as many times as you want — but practical considerations may limit how often you do so.
- If you’ve already received a bankruptcy discharge of your debt, you may face a waiting period before a court can discharge more debt.
- The waiting period can be anywhere from two to eight years, depending on the type of bankruptcy you’ve filed before and the type you plan to file now.
How often can you file for bankruptcy?
The two most common types of personal bankruptcy in the U.S. are Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. In Chapter 7 bankruptcies, filers liquidate assets to pay creditors for qualifying debts (with the exception of no-asset cases). With Chapter 13, a filer’s debt is restructured into a three- to five-year payment plan.
There is no limit to how many times you can file for bankruptcy, but if you received a discharge, then a waiting period will apply before you can receive another.
Although you have to wait for a new discharge, you can still potentially receive an automatic stay against creditors if you file for bankruptcy during your waiting period; this will temporarily stop them from taking action against you to collect unpaid debts. The stay’s duration will depend on how many times you have filed for bankruptcy within the last year.
How long you must wait before being eligible for a bankruptcy discharge depends on three factors:
- Whether your last bankruptcy was dismissed or discharged
- What type of bankruptcy you last filed
- What type of bankruptcy you plan to file next
Depending on the type of bankruptcy you previously filed for, if you received a discharge in your last bankruptcy, you typically have to wait:
- Six to eight years to be eligible for a Chapter 7 discharge.
- Two to four years for a Chapter 13 discharge.
However, there are exceptions. The waiting period begins on the filing date of your last bankruptcy, not the discharge date.
If your previous case was dismissed without prejudice, you can refile immediately. You may need to file a motion to extend or impose an automatic stay against collection activities in the refiled case.
If your case was dismissed because you failed to appear in court, did not follow court orders or voluntarily agreed after a creditor requested relief from an automatic stay, you must wait 180 days before refiling.
Exercise caution when making subsequent filings during your waiting period. A court could decide you’re abusing the system if it determines you are filing solely to delay collection activities.
It’s important to check with a bankruptcy lawyer to understand the specifics of your situation.
Typical wait times between bankruptcy discharges
The waiting period between bankruptcies will depend on the type(s) of bankruptcy you filed last and the type you plan to file next, among other factors.
If you’re filing a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the wait is less than if you plan to declare Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
| You originally filed… | You plan to file… | Waiting period |
|---|---|---|
| Chapter 7 | Another Chapter 7 | 8 years |
| Chapter 7 | Chapter 13 | 4 years |
| Chapter 13 | Chapter 7 | Up to 6 years* |
| Chapter 13 | Another Chapter 13 | 2 years |
*If you previously filed Chapter 13 but want to file for Chapter 7 this time, you might not need to wait at all if you:
- Paid off 100% of your unsecured debt from your previous Chapter 13 bankruptcy, or
- Paid off at least 70% of your unsecured debt and have made your best effort to repay based on a plan that was proposed in good faith
Remember, this waiting period applies only if you received a discharge of any debts in your previous case and want to be eligible for a discharge of any debts in your current case.
How the 30-day automatic stay rule affects repeat filers
When you file for bankruptcy, an automatic stay typically bars creditors from pursuing your debts until your case closes. But if you’ve previously filed, protection will be more limited.
When you file bankruptcy for a second time within a year of your last case’s dismissal, the automatic stay is often limited to 30 days, starting from your new file date. The court might extend the stay if you submit a request by motion before the stay’s expiration and demonstrate that you’re operating in good faith.
If you file for bankruptcy for a third time within a year, you will not receive a stay unless you can show sufficient cause. As with second bankruptcies, you can submit a motion to request a stay within 30 days of filing the new case. If you successfully argue that you are acting in good faith, the court may grant the protection.
These limitations differ from the two- to eight-year waiting period for debt discharges. In those cases, the court already legally released you from your obligation to repay the funds in your first case, and the waiting period dictates how much time must pass before a court can discharge more debt in a new case.
Dismissed vs. discharged cases: How each affects your next filing
If you didn’t receive a discharge in your previous bankruptcy case, you can usually file again much sooner.
You may be able to refile immediately, particularly if your case was dismissed without prejudice.
You may need to wait 180 days from your last filing if your previous case was dismissed for one of the following reasons:
- On your own request, after a creditor filed for relief from an automatic stay
- Due to a willful failure to abide by the orders of the court
Your ability to file for bankruptcy repeatedly is ultimately up to the court. If you’re filing over and over again to delay repaying your debt, the court might decide that you’re abusing the system and issue an order stopping you from filing another case.
What happens if you file before the waiting period ends
Although you can file for bankruptcy before your waiting period ends, you likely won’t be eligible for discharge before then.
For many people, alleviating debt is the main reason to file for bankruptcy, so filing again before the waiting period ends might not be worth the effort and damage to your credit score. This is especially true for Chapter 7 filings, which the court could consider abusive if undertaken solely to delay collections.
On the other hand, Chapter 13 filings can serve purposes beyond debt relief. This type of filing can include facilitating a three-to-five-year repayment plan, which might be sufficient reason to file even before the waiting period ends. But it’s important to remember that each case is different.
Consult with a bankruptcy attorney to determine which path is best for you.
Alternatives to filing for bankruptcy again
It can be hard to recover from bankruptcy. If you file again, the bankruptcy will stay on your credit report for another seven to 10 years, and it can become more difficult to get a personal loan.
Make sure you’ve consulted with a bankruptcy attorney and considered the pros and cons of filing for bankruptcy, as well as alternatives like these:
- Forbearance: This allows you to press pause on certain loan payments, although interest will still pile up. You may be able to request student loan forbearance or mortgage forbearance if you’re facing a short-term financial hardship, such as a job loss or medical expenses.
- Balance transfer credit card: If you’re paying off credit card debt and you just need a lower interest rate to make your payments more manageable, consider transferring your balance to a less expensive card. The best balance transfer credit cards come with a 0% intro APR, sometimes for up to 21 months. You’ll usually need good credit to qualify, and most of these cards charge high rates after the 0% period ends, so you’ll want to make sure you can repay your balance before those rates kick in.
- Debt management plan: This may be a good option for anyone with high-interest debt and a stable income who could make monthly payments if they were just a little lower. You’ll work with a credit counselor to develop a debt management plan, and they’ll negotiate with creditors on your behalf to get your fees, rates and monthly minimum payments down.
- Debt consolidation: If you’re doing fine paying off debt from a bunch of different creditors, but you struggle to keep track of them all, consolidating your debt into one monthly payment could help. If your credit is good enough to qualify for the best debt consolidation loans, you may even be able to lower your interest rate and monthly payments a bit. Just be careful of debt consolidation scams.
- Debt relief: Debt relief, sometimes referred to as debt settlement, means negotiating with creditors to settle your debt for less than what you owe. It’s worth considering if you truly can’t afford to pay off your debt; but keep in mind that debt settlement can damage your credit. Also, beware of debt relief companies that promise quick debt forgiveness, ask for a lot of money up front, contact you via automated unsolicited calls, or claim they can remove accurate negative marks from your credit report — these might be scams.
Frequently asked questions
There’s no limit to how many times you can file for bankruptcy. However, if you want to be eligible to have your debts discharged, there may be a waiting period.
Depending on the type of bankruptcy you filed last time and the type you plan to file next, discharge waiting periods can range from two to eight years.
In total, 519,486 people filed for personal (nonbusiness) bankruptcy in the 12 months ended in June 2025. Including business filings, there were 542,529 total bankruptcy filings in that time frame, an 11.5% increase from the previous year, when there were 486,613 total filings.
Bankruptcy cases don’t get denied often, but a denial or dismissal can happen for a variety of reasons. When bankruptcy cases are dismissed, it’s often because of an incomplete filing, which may mean the filer made paperwork errors, didn’t obtain credit counseling or didn’t pay the filing fees.
Just because an application is accepted doesn’t mean the debts will be discharged. A bankruptcy discharge can be denied due to the debtor’s own misconduct or because the debtor hasn’t completed the required waiting period since the last time they filed for bankruptcy. That’s why it’s important to understand how often you can file for bankruptcy.
Finally, some debts aren’t dischargeable, such as most tax debt, student loan debt and child support.
This waiting period applies only to cases in which the court discharged your debt. If you received a dismissal, you may be able to file for bankruptcy again either immediately or after 180 days.
Once you receive a debt discharge, you will need to wait for the mandatory waiting period to end before you can get another. Because of this, it’s often pointless to pursue Chapter 7 during that window.
If you received a debt discharge in your Chapter 7 case, you must wait four years before you can receive a debt discharge through Chapter 13. That said, there are other reasons to file Chapter 13, which can break debt into more manageable installments over three to five years.
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