Federal Judiciary News Release

NEWS RELEASE
Bankruptcy Filings Drop 61 Percent
in March 2007 12-Month Period

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)

June 27, 2007 — In the 12-month period ending March 31, 2007, 695,575 bankruptcy cases were filed in federal courts, according to statistics released today by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Compared to filings in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2006, when bankruptcy cases totaled 1,794,795, this was a 61 percent drop in filings. The 12-month period ending March 31, 2006, included the surge in filings that occurred prior to the October 17, 2005, implementation date of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA).

Filings for the 3-month period of January 1, 2007-March 31, 2007 were the highest of any quarter in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2007, totaling 193,641. This was a 66 percent increase when compared to the 116,771 filings in the 3-month period ending March 31, 2006. In addition, filings in the 12-month period ending March 2007 were higher compared to calendar year 2006 filings that totaled 617,660.

Business and Non-Business Filings Years Ended March 31, 2002-2007
Year	Total	Non-Business	Business
2007	695,575	673,615	21,960
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

Business and Non-Business Filings

The majority of bankruptcy filings are filings involving predominantly non-business debts. Non-business filings for the 12-month period ending March 31, 2007, totaled 673,615, down 62 percent from the 1,759,503 non-business filings in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2006.

Filings involving predominantly business debts totaled 21,960 in March 2007, down 38 percent from the 35,292 total business filings in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2006.

Filings by Chapter

Chapter 7 filings fell 71 percent to 413,294, from 1,432,074 Chapter 7 filings in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2006.

Total Bankruptcy Filings by Bankruptcy Chapter Years Ending March 31, 2000-2007
Chapter
Year	7	11	12	13
2007	413,294	5,199	372	276,649
2006	1,432,074	6,497	366	355,756
2005	1,141,074	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

Chapter 13 filings fell 22 percent, to 276,649, compared to the 355,756 Chapter 13 filings in March 2006. Chapter 11 filings also declined, falling 20 percent to 5,199 from the 6,497 Chapter 11 filings in March 2006. Chapter 12 filings rose 2 percent from 366 in March 2006 to 372 in March 2007.

For more on bankruptcy and its chapters, visit the Judiciary's web site or go to www.fjc.gov/federal/courts.nsf. Local bankruptcy court rules and historic data on bankruptcy filings are also available. 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, 2007	193,641	MAR. 31, 2003	412,968	MAR. 31, 1999	330,784
DEC. 31, 2006	177,599	DEC. 31, 2002	395,129	DEC. 31, 1998	353,108
SEPT. 30, 2006	171,146	SEPT. 30, 2002	401,306	SEPT. 30, 1998	361,205
JUN. 30, 2006	155,833	JUN. 30, 2002	400,686	JUN. 30, 1998	373,460
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, 1995	212,626

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

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