Federal Judiciary News Release

NEWS RELEASE
Bankruptcy Filings Rose in March 2006 12-Month Period
Quarterly Filings Lowest Since Mid-80s

Contact:

Karen Redmond, 202-502-2600

Related Items

Table F-2 (Filing by Month) (xls)
Table F (12-Month Period) (xls)
Table F-2 (12-Month Period) (xls)
Table F-2 (3-Month Period) (xls)

May 26, 2006 — The number of bankruptcy cases filed in federal courts rose 12.8 percent in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2006, according to statistics released today by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Bankruptcy cases totaled 1,794,795 for that period, compared to 1,590,975 bankruptcy cases filed in the 12-month period ending March 2005.

Prior to the March 2006 12-month reporting period, bankruptcy filings rose 30 percent in the 12-month period ending December 31, 2005. The increase in both the December and March 12-month reporting periods was the result of many debtors filing for bankruptcy before the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 took effect on October 17, 2005. The March reporting period includes bankruptcy petitions filed during that period.

Business and Non-Business Filings Years Ended March 31, 2001-2006
Year	Total	Non-Business	Business
2006	1,794,795	1,759,503	35,292
2005	1,590,975	1,559,023	31,952
2004	1,654,847	1,618,062	36,785
2003	1,611,268	1,573,720	37,548
2002	1,504,806	1,464,961	39,845
2001	1,307,857	1,271,865	35,992

Non-business filings for the 12-month period ending March 31, 2006, totaled 1,759,503, up 12.9 percent from the 1,559,023 total non-business filings in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2005. Business filings in March 2006, totaled 35,292, up 10.5 percent from the 31,952 bankruptcy petitions filed in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2005.

Filings by Quarter

Filings for the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2006 (October 1, 2005 – December 31, 2005) totaled 667,431. The number of bankruptcies filed during the second quarter of the Judiciary's Fiscal Year 2006 (January 1, 2006-March 31, 2006) totaled 116,771. Bankruptcy filings for any three-month period have not fallen this low since 1985. In Fiscal Year 2005, filings for the second quarter totaled 401,149.

The Judiciary's Fiscal Year ends September 30. Statistics for previous quarters can be found on the Judiciary's website at www.uscourts.gov/bnkrpctystats/statistics.htm#quarterly.

Filings by Chapter

Total Bankruptcy Filings by Bankruptcy Chapter Years Ending March 31, 2001-2006
Chapter
Year	7	11	12	13
2006	1,432,074	6,497	366	355,756
2005	1,141,715	7,115	189	441,838
2004	1,176,654	11,649	573	465,878
2003	1,135,436	10,722	632	464,369
2002	1,059,777	11,477	389	433,107
2001	904,397	10,139	248	393,033

Chapter 7 filings rose 25.4 percent, from 1,141,715 in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2005 to 1,432,074 in March 2006. Chapter 13 filings fell 19.5 percent, to 355,756 in March 2006 from 441,838 in March 2005. Chapter 11 filings also declined, falling 8.7 percent to 6,497 in March 2006 from 7,115 in March 2005. Chapter 12 filings rose 93.7 percent from 189 in March 2005 to 366 in March 2006.

For more on bankruptcy, visit the Judiciary's website or go to www.fjc.gov/federal/courts.nsf. Local bankruptcy court rules can be found at www.uscourts.gov/rules/bk-localrules.html. Historic data on bankruptcy filings is available on the Judiciary's website under Bankruptcy Statistics. Additional bankruptcy statistics, including bankruptcies by county, can be found on the Judiciary's PACER system.

Quarterly Filings*

PERIOD	FILINGS	PERIOD	FILINGS	PERIOD	FILINGS
MAR. 31, 2006	116,771	MAR. 31, 2002	379,012	MAR. 31, 1998	354,118
DEC. 31, 2005	667,431	DEC. 31, 2001	364,921	DEC. 31, 1997	347,685
SEPT. 30, 2005	542,002	SEPT. 30, 2001	359,518	SEPT. 30, 1997	353,515
JUN. 30, 2005	467,333	JUN. 30, 2001	400,394	JUN. 30, 1997	367,168
MAR.31, 2005	401,149	MAR. 31, 2001	366,841	MAR. 31, 1997	335,073
DEC. 31, 2004	371,668	DEC. 31, 2000	310,169	DEC. 31, 1996	311,131
SEPT. 30, 2004	396,438	SEPT. 30, 2000	308,718	SEPT. 30, 1996	303,309
JUN. 30, 2004	421,110	JUN. 30, 2000	321,729	JUN. 30, 1996	297,162
MAR. 31, 2004	407,572	MAR. 31, 2000	312,335	MAR. 31, 1996	266,149
DEC. 31, 2003	393,348	DEC. 31, 1999	318,634	DEC. 31, 1995	244,494
SEPT. 30, 2003	412,989	SEPT. 30, 1999	323,550	SEPT. 30, 1995	233,593
JUN. 30, 2003	440,257	JUN. 30, 1999	345,956	JUN. 30, 1995	235,302
MAR. 31, 2003	412,968	MAR. 31, 1999	330,784	MAR. 31, 1995	212,626
DEC. 31, 2002	395,129	DEC. 31, 1998	353,108	DEC. 31, 1994	201,618
SEPT. 30, 2002	401,306	SEPT. 30, 1998	361,205	SEPT. 30, 1994	208,187
JUN. 30, 2002	400,686	JUN. 30, 1998	373,460

* Because of ongoing corrections to the bankruptcy database, the quarterly data may not total to the most recent annual figures.

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