Bankruptcy Filings YoY Change
Year-over-year change in 12-month bankruptcy filings, all chapters
What is the current Bankruptcy Filings YoY Change reading?
Over the 12 months through Q2 2026, bankruptcy filings in U.S. courts were 12.2% higher than in the same 12 months a year earlier, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. That is up from a change of 11.5% for the 12 months through Q2 2025. The count covers all chapters and includes business cases. It counts cases, not people. Source: U.S. Courts, Table F-2.
In the 12 months through Q2 2026, U.S. bankruptcy courts logged 12.2% more cases than a year earlier.
The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts counts every bankruptcy case filed in the federal bankruptcy courts over a rolling 12 months, under every chapter, business cases included. For the 12 months through Q2 2026, the total was 12.2% higher than in the same 12 months a year earlier. That change is up from 11.5% a year earlier, in Q2 2025. It is the highest year-over-year change since Q1 2025, when it was 13.1%.
A change above zero means more bankruptcy cases were filed than in the same 12 months a year earlier. When the change gets smaller but stays above zero, the count is still growing, only more slowly; it does not mean filings fell.
Each quarter the Courts publish a new 12-month total, so two readings in a row share nine of their 12 months. For the longer view, the Courts counted 2,078,415 cases in the 12 months ending December 31, 2005, just after the 2005 bankruptcy law (BAPCPA) changed who can file under Chapter 7, and nearly 1.6 million in the 12 months ending September 30, 2010. The count reached 380,634 in the 12 months ending June 30, 2022, after the pandemic drop in filings that began in 2020.
The chapter ratio is a separate composition measure that splits the total by chapter, and the Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 pages track each chapter's own change. None of these counts shows why people filed: the Courts report cases, not causes, and a case is not a person or a household.
Explore Further
Is this happening to you?
Do you feel like your debts have grown beyond what you can realistically pay back?
Bankruptcy Filings YoY Change over time: what has changed?
Counties with the highest default and legal scores
These are default and legal scores from our County Distress Index, not county readings of Bankruptcy Filings YoY Change.
Explore all 3,144 counties →| Period | Value | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 12.2% | +0.7 pp |
| Q1 2026 | 11.9% | -1.2 pp |
| Q4 2025 | 11% | -3.2 pp |
| Q3 2025 | 10.6% | -5.6 pp |
| Q2 2025 | 11.5% | — |
| Q1 2025 | 13.1% | — |
| Q4 2024 | 14.2% | — |
| Q3 2024 | 16.2% | — |
Frequently Asked Questions
How much have bankruptcy filings changed?
The Courts' 12-month total through Q2 2026 was 12.2% higher than a year earlier, up from 11.5% in Q2 2025. Each figure compares a full 12 months of filings with the same 12 months a year earlier, not a single quarter.
Is this the number of people who filed for bankruptcy?
No. The Courts count cases, not people. A married couple can file one joint petition, and the total includes business cases filed by corporations and partnerships. The Courts report nonbusiness filings separately.
Why did bankruptcy filings change?
The court statistics do not say. The Courts' releases report counts and percent changes and state no cause. Explanations in the news come from commentators, not from this data, and the count alone does not establish why people filed.
Where does bankruptcy filing data come from?
The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts publishes Table F-2 each quarter, with 12-month filing totals by chapter and district for periods ending March 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31. There is no fixed release calendar. Private counts, such as Epiq AACER's, cover calendar months and differ from the Courts' figures.
Quick poll
Is this affecting you or your household?
Discussion
Get the numbers when they move.
New data drops, indicator updates, and American Distress Index changes — delivered when it matters. No spam.
or Create an Account for full access
Loading comments…