Bankruptcy filings fell by 1.8 percent for the 12-month period ending September 30, 2017, compared with the year ending September 30, 2016. This is the smallest one-year drop since a national decline in annual federal bankruptcy filings began in June 2011.
The September 2017 annual bankruptcy filings totaled 790,830, compared with 805,580 cases in the previous year, according to statistics released by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. The number of bankruptcy filings was the lowest for any 12-month period since the year ending June 2007.
A national wave of bankruptcies that began in 2008 reached a peak in the year ending September 2010, when nearly 1.6 million bankruptcies were filed.
| Year | Business | Non-Business | Total |
| 2017 | 23,109 | 767,721 | 790,830 |
| 2016 | 24,457 | 781,123 | 805,580 |
| 2015 | 24,985 | 835,197 | 860,182 |
| 2014 | 28,319 | 935,420 | 963,739 |
| 2013 | 34,892 | 1,072,807 | 1,107,699 |
| Year | Chapter | |||
| 7 | 11 | 12 | 13 | |
| 2017 | 486,542 | 7,052 | 508 | 296,599 |
| 2016 | 498,367 | 7,450 | 458 | 299,150 |
| 2015 | 550,036 | 7,040 | 383 | 302,642 |
| 2014 | 642,366 | 7,658 | 372 | 313,262 |
| 2013 | 753,995 | 9,564 | 405 | 343,651 |
Additional statistics released today include:
- Business and non-business bankruptcy filings for the 12-month period ending September 30, 2017 (Table F-2, 12-month);
- A comparison of September 2016 and 2017 filings (Table F);
- 4th quarter filings, Table F-2, 3-month); filings for July, August, and September 2017 (Table F-2, Monthly).
- Bankruptcy filings by county (Report F-5A).
Learn more about bankruptcy and bankruptcy court rules, or search historical data on bankruptcy filings.
Subscribe to News Updates
Subscribe to be notified when the news section is updated.