August 2006 - December 2008 Amendments

• Evidence Rule 502 Approved by Congress (Effective September 19, 2008)
  • Congressional Statement re Rule 502 (pdf)
    
    
• Amendments Approved by Supreme Court (April 2008)(LATEST VERSION OF THE AMENDMENTS)
• Amendments Approved by Judicial Conference (September 2007)
  • Report to Congress Transmitting Evidence Rule 502 (September 2007) (pdf)
  • Report to Congress on a Harm-to-Child Exception to Marital Privileges (September 2007) (pdf)
    
    
• Amendments Approved by Standing Committee (June 2007)
• Proposed Amendments Published for Comment (August 2006)
  
  • Comments Submitted
    
    
• Interim Bankruptcy Rules and Official Forms: August 2005 (Interim Rules and Official Forms implementing the Bankruptcy Abuse and Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005)
  • Memorandum from Secretary James C. Duff re Repeal of Interim Bankruptcy Rules  (pdf)
    
    
  • Bankruptcy Rules 1005, 1006, 1007, 1009, 1010, 1011, 1015, 1017, 1019, 1020, 2002, 2003, 2007.1, 2015, 3002, 3003, 3016, 3017.1, 3019, 4002, 4003, 4004, 4006, 4007, 4008, 5001, 5003, 6004, 7012, 7022, 7023.1, 8001, 8003, 9006, 9009, and 9024, and new Bankruptcy Rules 1021, 2007.2, 2015.1, 2015.2, 2015.3, 5008, and 6011, and Official Forms 1, 3A, 3B, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 16A, 18, 19, 21, 22A*, 22B, 22C*, 23, and 24, and new Official Forms 25A, 25B, 25C, and 26 (new Official Forms 25A, 25B, 25C, and 26 effective December 1, 2008, to coincide with rule amendments taking effect on same day).
    
    
  • Criminal Rules 1, 12.1, 17, 18, 32, 41, 45, 60, and 61; and
  • New Evidence Rule 502.
  • Supplemental Rule C (approved at March 2007 Judicial Conference Session)

* (Official Forms 22A and 22C were withdrawn at the request of the Bankruptcy Rules Committee in September 2007. The forms were later revised to conform to new IRS standards. In November 2007, the Executive Committee on behalf of the Judicial Conference approved revisions to Official Forms 22A, 22B, and 22C, effective January 1, 2008.)

Bankruptcy Rules and Official Forms:

Bankruptcy Rule 1005 (Caption of Petition) (requires disclosure of all names used by the debtor in the past eight years and last four digits of debtor’s taxpayer-identification number) (pdf)
Bankruptcy Rule 1006 (Filing Fee) (allows courts to waive payment of filing fees or allows debtor to pay in installments) (pdf)
Bankruptcy Rule 1007 (Lists, Schedules, Statements, and other Documents; Time Limits) (requires debtor to file additional documents mandated under the Act and limits extensions of time for small business debtors to file schedules and statements. Also requires debtor filing a petition under chapter 15 to include a list of entities with whom the debtor is engaged in litigation) (pdf)
Bankruptcy Rule 1009 (Amendments of Voluntary Petitions, Lists, Schedules, and Statements) (technical amendment correcting cross reference) (pdf)
Bankruptcy Rule 1010 (Service of Involuntary Petition and Summons; Petition For Recognition of a Foreign Nonmain Proceeding) (requires service of summons and petition on debtor and other entity against whom the representative is seeking provisional relief in a pending foreign nonmain proceeding) (pdf)
Bankruptcy Rule 1011 (Responsive Pleading or Motion in Involuntary and Cross-Border Cases) (technical amendment, including a requirement that corporation involved in cross-border insolvency file corporate disclosure ownership statement) (pdf)
Bankruptcy Rule 1015 (Consolidation or Joint Administration of Cases Pending in Same Court) (technical amendment re change in numbering) (pdf)
Bankruptcy Rule 1017 (Dismissal or Conversion of Case; Suspension) (permits parties to move to dismiss chapter 7 consumer-debtor case for abuse) (pdf)
Bankruptcy Rule 1019 (Conversion of a Chapter 11 Reorganization Case, Chapter 12 Family Farmer’s Debt Adjustment Case, or Chapter 13 Individual’s Debt Adjustment Case to a Chapter 7 Liquidation Case) (preserves creditor’s right to bring actions to determine dischargeability under § 523 and motion to dismiss under § 707 upon conversion of a case from chapter 13 to chapter 7) (pdf)
Bankruptcy Rule 1020 (Small Business Chapter 11 Reorganization Case) (provides new procedures to determine whether debtor is a small business) (pdf)
Bankruptcy Rule 1021 (Health Care Business Case) (provides procedures for designating debtor as a health-care business) (pdf)
Bankruptcy Rule 2002 (Notices to Creditors, Equity Security Holders, Administrators in Foreign Proceedings, Persons Against Whom Provisional Relief is Sought in Ancillary and Other Cross-Border Cases, United States, and United States Trustee) (requires court to promptly provide all creditors with statement by trustee re whether debtor’s case is presumed abusive. Implements other parts of 2005 Act) (PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule 2003 (Meeting of Creditors or Equity Security Holders) (authorizes court to order that a meeting of creditors not be convened if the debtor has solicited acceptances of a plan prior to the commencement of a case) (PDF)
Bankruptcy Rule 2007.1 (Appointment of Trustee or Examiner in a Chapter 11 Reorganization Case) (requires elected trustee to file an affidavit with information on that person’s connection with creditors and others with an interest in the case) (pdf)
Bankruptcy Rule 2007.2 (Appointment of Patient Care Ombudsman in a Health Care Business Case) (requires the appointment of a health care ombudsman in the first 30 days of all health care business cases unless the court finds it unnecessary. Also provides for parties in interest to file motions to object to the appointment) (pdf)
Bankruptcy Rule 2015 (Duty to Keep Records, Make Reports, and Give Notice of Case or Change of Status) (requires small-business chapter 11 debtors to file periodic financial and operating reports. Also requires foreign representatives to report to court and sets the time for filing reports) (pdf)
Bankruptcy Rule 2015.1 (Patient Care Ombudsman) (governs reports issued by health- care ombudsman and protects patient’s privacy when ombudsman requests access to patient records) (pdf)
Bankruptcy Rule 2015.2 (Transfer of Patient in Health Care Business Case) (requires trustee to issue notice when relocating patients from a health-care business debtor’s facility that is closing) (pdf)
Bankruptcy Rule 2015.3 (Reports of Financial Information on Entities in Which a Chapter 11 Estate Holds a Controlling or Substantial Interest) (requires debtors to file periodic reports re value and profitability of any entity in which the debtor has a substantial or controlling interest) (pdf)
Bankruptcy Rule 3002 (Filing Proof of Claim or Interest) (conforms time period for filing proofs of government claims under § 1308 to time periods under § 502. Also gives court discretion for extending time for foreign creditor to file proof of claim) (pdf)
Bankruptcy Rule 3003 (Filing Proof of Claim or Equity Security Interest in Chapter 9 Municipality or Chapter 11 Reorganization Cases) (requires court to grant additional time to creditor with foreign address to file proofs of claim in chapter 9 or chapter 11 cases) (pdf)
Bankruptcy Rule 3016 (Filing of Plan and Disclosure Statement in a Chapter 9 Municipality or Chapter 11 Reorganization Case) (small-business debtor need not file disclosure statement in a chapter 9 or 11 case if the plan itself includes adequate information and court finds that separate disclosure statement is unnecessary) (pdf)
Bankruptcy Rule 3017.1 (Court Consideration of Disclosure Statement in a Small Business Case) (court in a small-business chapter 11 case may conditionally approve plan if adequate information is provided) (pdf)
Bankruptcy Rule 3019 (Modification of Accepted Plan Before or After Confirmation in a Chapter 9 Municipality or Chapter 11 Reorganization Case) (establishes procedures for filing and objecting to a proposed modification of a confirmed plan) (pdf)
Bankruptcy Rule 4002 (Duties of Debtor) (requires debtor to provide additional evidence of personal identity, current income, recent Federal income tax returns or tax transcripts, and financial account information existing at commencement of the case, consistent with the 2005 Act) (pdf)
Bankruptcy Rule 4003 (Exemptions) (extends deadline for filing objections to exemptions from 30 days to 60 days and allows trustee to object to an exemption up to one year after case closed if the exemption was fraudulent) (pdf)
Bankruptcy Rule 4004 (Grant or Denial of Discharge) (requires debtor to complete a financial management program before court enters discharge, and allows court to postpone discharge to determine whether debtor committed a felony or owes money arising from certain causes of action) (pdf)
Bankruptcy Rule 4006 (Notice of No Discharge) (requires clerk to notify parties in interest, including the debtor, that no discharge was entered if debtor failed to complete financial management course) (pdf)
Bankruptcy Rule 4007 (Determination of Dischargeability of a Debt) (expands the exceptions to discharge upon completion of a chapter 13 plan) (pdf)
Bankruptcy Rule 4008 (Filing of Reaffirmation Agreement; Statement in Support of Reaffirmation Agreement) (establishes a deadline for filing a reaffirmation agreement. Also requires debtor to file a signed statement showing total income and expense from schedules and an explanation of any discrepancies so that the court can evaluate the reaffirmation for undue hardship) (pdf)
Bankruptcy Rule 5001 (Courts and Clerks’ Offices) (permits bankruptcy judges in emergency situations to hold hearings outside of the district in which the case is pending) (pdf)
Bankruptcy Rule 5003 (Records Kept By the Clerk) (allows taxing authorities to designate addresses to use for the service of a request under § 505(b)(1)) (pdf)
Bankruptcy Rule 5008 (Notice Regarding Presumption of Abuse in Chapter 7 Cases of Individual Debtors) (requires clerks to give written notice to all creditors not later than 10 days after the filing of a petition that a presumption of abuse has arisen) (pdf)
Bankruptcy Rule 5012 (Communication and Cooperation With Foreign Courts and Foreign Representatives) (provides opportunity for parties in a cross-border insolvency case to participate on timely request in a court’s communication with a foreign court or foreign representative) (pdf)
Bankruptcy Rule 6004 (Use, Sale, or Lease of Property) (requires the appointment of a consumer privacy ombudsman in certain circumstances when a debtor proposes to sell personally identifiable information) (pdf)
Bankruptcy Rule 6011 (Disposal of Patient Records in Health Care Business Case) (requires trustee to notify patients before destroying their medical records) (pdf)
Bankruptcy Rule 8001 (Manner of Taking Appeal; Voluntary Dismissal; Certification to Court of Appeals) (authorizes appeals directly to the courts of appeals upon certification either by the bankruptcy or district court or the bankruptcy appellate panel) (pdf)
Bankruptcy Rule 8003 (Leave to Appeal) (implements the direct appeal provisions of the Act) (pdf)
Bankruptcy Rule 9006 (Time) (extensions of time for filing schedules and a statement of financial affairs by small business debtors cannot be extended beyond the time set in the Code) (pdf)
Bankruptcy Rule 9009 (Forms) (plan proponent in a small business chapter 11 case need not use an Official Form of a plan of reorganization and disclosure statement) (pdf)
Official Form 1 (Voluntary Petition) (requests for information about the debtor have been revised and the statutory definition of “consumer debt” has been added) (AMENDMENT TOOK EFFECT ON 12.1.07) (pdf)
Exhibit D to Official Form 1 (Individual Debtor’s Statement of Compliance with Credit Counseling Requirement) (alerts debtors to the prepetition credit counseling requirement) (REVISED AMENDMENT TO TAKE EFFECT ON 12.1.08) )
Official Form 3A (Application to Pay Filing Fee in Installments) (amended to state that, until the filing fee is paid in full, the debtor will not make any additional payment or transfer any additional property for services in connection with the case)(AMENDMENT TOOK EFFECT ON 12.1.07) (pdf)
Official Form 3B (Application for Waiver of the Chapter 7 Filing Fee for Individuals Who Cannot Pay the Filing Fee in Full or in Installments) (courts permitted to waive the filing fee or permit the debtor to pay in installments in a case under chapter 7) (AMENDMENT TOOK EFFECT ON 12.1.07) (pdf)
Official Form 4 (List of Creditors Holding 20 Largest Unsecured Claims) (provides more information concerning notification to a guardian or other adult when a minor child is a creditor in a bankruptcy case) (AMENDMENT TOOK EFFECT ON 12.1.07) (pdf)
Official Form 5 (Involuntary Petition) (facilitates collection in an involuntary case the same statistical information as in a voluntary case) (AMENDMENT TOOK EFFECT ON 12.1.07) (pdf)
Official Form 6 (Schedules) (facilitates statistical reporting requirements and other conforming amendments) (AMENDMENT TOOK EFFECT ON 12.1.07) (pdf)
Official Form 7 (Statement of Financial Affairs) (conforms to proposed new Bankruptcy Rule 9037) (AMENDMENT TOOK EFFECT ON 12.1.07) (pdf)
Official Form 8 (Chapter 7 Individual Debtor’s Statement of Intention) (adds section covering personal property subject to an unexpired lease and an option labeled “lease will be assumed pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 362(h)(1)(A)” to the choices a debtor may make) (REVISED AMENDMENT TO TAKE EFFECT ON 12.1.08) (pdf)
Official Form 9 (Notice of Commencement of Case, Meeting of Creditors and Deadlines) (adds “family fisherman” as a category of debtor eligible for bankruptcy relief under chapter 12 of the Bankruptcy Code. Also allows Internal Revenue Service to assert a claim in a chapter 13 case based on a debtor’s income tax return filed during the three to five years the case is pending) (AMENDMENT TOOK EFFECT ON 12.1.07). (ADDITIONAL TECHNICAL AMENDMENT TO FORM 9F TO TAKE EFFECT ON 12.1.08) (pdf)
Official Form 10 (Proof of Claim) (conforms with the changed priority scheme in the Code. Also provides more accurate addresses for transmittal of payments and notices and updates the Instructions and Definitions portions of the form) (AMENDMENT TOOK EFFECT ON 12.1.07). (ADDITIONAL TECHNICAL AMENDMENT TO TAKE EFFECT ON 12.1.08) (pdf)
Official Form 16A (Caption (Full)) and Official Form 18 (Discharge of Debtor in a Chapter 7 Case) (requires disclosure of all names used by the debtor in the past eight years and last four digits of debtor’s taxpayer-identification number. Also reflects changes to the Bankruptcy Code governing nondischargeability of certain obligations) (AMENDMENTS TOOK EFFECT ON 12.1.07) (pdf)
Official Form 19A (Declaration and Signature of Non-Attorney Bankruptcy Petition Preparer) (changes the former “certification” to “declaration” and contains additional language mandated by the 2005 Act) (REVISED AMENDMENT COMBING FORMS 19A AND 19B TOOK EFFECT ON 12.1.07) (pdf)
Official Form 19B (Notice to Debtor by Non-Attorney Bankruptcy Petition Preparer) (contains the notice that a non-attorney bankruptcy petition preparer is required to give a debtor) (REVISED AMENDMENT COMBING FORMS 19A AND 19B TOOK EFFECT ON 12.1.07) (pdf)
Official Form 21 (Statement of Social-Security Number) (requires taxpayers that do not have a social-security number to provide a taxpayer-identification number on form) (AMENDMENT TOOK EFFECT ON 12.1.07) (pdf)
Official Form 22A (Chapter 7 Statement of Current Monthly Income and Means-Test Calculation) (deletes the phrase “in default” in recognition that a debtor may be required to make additional payments to a creditor even if the loan is not in default) (REVISED AMENDMENT TOOK EFFECT ON 1.1.08) (pdf)
Official Form 22B (Chapter 11 Statement of Current Monthly Income) (allows calculation of disposable income under judicially-determined standards, rather than pursuant to the means-test deductions specified for higher-income chapter 13 debtors) (AMENDMENT TOOK EFFECT ON 1.1.08) (pdf)
Official Form 22C (Chapter 13 Statement of Current Monthly Income and Calculation of Commitment Period and Disposable Income) (requires all chapter 13 debtors, including those whose income is below the applicable median, to complete Part III of the form) (REVISED AMENDMENT TOOK EFFECT ON 1.1.08) (pdf)
Official Form 23 (Debtor’s Certification of Completion of Instructional Course Concerning Personal Financial Management) (requires debtor to provide number of the certificate of completion received from the course, requires debtor to indicate any applicable exception to the requirement to complete the course, and states deadlines for filing the certification in a chapter 7 case and a chapter 13 case) (AMENDMENT TOOK EFFECT ON 12.1.07). (ADDITIONAL TECHNICAL AMENDMENT TO TAKE EFFECT ON 12.1.08) (pdf)
Official Form 24 (Certification to Court of Appeals by All Parties) (must be used to file any certification of an appeal, bankruptcy court judgment, order, or decree directly to the United States Court of Appeals by all the appellants and appellees acting jointly) (AMENDMENT TOOK EFFECT ON 12.1.07) (pdf)
Official Form 25A ([Name of Proponent]’s Plan of Reorganization, Dated [Insert Date]) and Official Form 25B ([Name of Proponent]’s Disclosure Statement, Dated [Insert Date]) (new forms re reorganization plan and disclosure statement to be used in small business cases under chapter 11) (AMENDMENTS TO TAKE EFFECT ON 12.1.08) (pdf)
Official Form 25C (Small Business Monthly Operating Report) (new form to assist small business debtors in chapter 11 cases to fulfill their financial reporting responsibilities under the Act) (AMENDMENT TO TAKE EFFECT ON 12.1.08) (pdf)
Official Form 26 (Periodic Report Concerning Related Entities) (new form to be used when required by proposed new Bankruptcy Rule 2015.3 to file periodic reports on the profitability of any entities in which a chapter 11 debtor holds a substantial or controlling interest) (AMENDMENT TO TAKE EFFECT ON 12.1.08) (pdf)

Criminal Rules:

Criminal Rule 1 (Scope; Definitions) (incorporates definition of “crime victim” from the Crime Victims’ Rights Act and specifies legal representatives who may act on behalf of victims under 18, incompetent, or deceased. Also clarifies that a person accused of an offense cannot be a “victim” under the rules) (pdf)
Criminal Rule 12.1 (Notice of Alibi Defense) (provides that a victim’s address and telephone number should not automatically be provided to the defense when an alibi defense is raised) (pdf)
Criminal Rule 17 (Subpoena) (requires court approval when defendant subpoenas third party to provide personal or confidential information about a victim. Also requires notice of subpoena to victim and opportunity to quash or modify it) (pdf)
Criminal Rule 18 (Place of Trial) (requires court to consider convenience of victims as well as defendants and witnesses when setting place for trial within the district) (pdf)
Criminal Rule 29 (Motion for a Judgment of Acquittal) (allows government to seek appellate review of preverdict judgment of acquittal)(Deferred indefinitely) (pdf)
Criminal Rule 32 (Sentencing and Judgment) (several amendments implementing the Crime Victims’ Rights Act) (pdf)
Criminal Rule 45 Criminal Rule 45 (Computing and Extending Time) (technical amendment that revises cross references to Civil Rule 5) (pdf)
Criminal Rule 41 (Search and Seizure) (authorizes magistrate judges to issue search warrants for property located outside any state or federal judicial district, including U.S. territories, possessions, and commonwealths not within a federal judicial district as well as certain premises associated with U.S. diplomatic and consular missions) (pdf)
Criminal Rule 60 (Victim’s Rights) (consolidates in one rule new provisions implementing the Crime Victims’ Rights Act, including notice to victims of judicial proceedings, victim attendance at these proceedings, victim’s right to be heard, and enforcement of victims’ rights. Also incorporates statutory provisions limiting relief and states that failure to provide relief under the rule is not a basis for a new trial) (pdf)
Criminal Rule 61 (Title) (conforming amendment) (pdf)

Evidence Rule:

Evidence Rule 502 (Attorney-Client Privilege and Work Product; Limitations on Waiver) (waiver of attorney-client privilege and work product protection) (pdf)