Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Filings (YoY % Change)
Year-over-year change in Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings
What is the current Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Filings (YoY % Change)?
Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings — the liquidation type where debtors surrender assets to eliminate debt — rose 15.3% year-over-year in the latest reading. Chapter 7 is the 'last resort' bankruptcy for households with no repayment capacity, making its growth a signal of severe financial distress beyond what loan modifications or payment plans can address. Source: American Bankruptcy Institute / Epiq.
Chapter 7 filings moved 15.3% in fiscal 2024, accelerating from 8.3% the prior year and outpacing the Chapter 13 repayment pathway.
Chapter 7 is the bankruptcy people file when the math no longer works.
There is no repayment plan. Non-exempt assets get liquidated by the trustee. Qualifying unsecured debt — credit cards, medical bills, personal loans — gets discharged. It's the option that says: the house is gone or was never there, the income can't support a plan, and the only path forward is to erase what can be erased and start over.
U.S. Courts data show Chapter 7 filings moved 15.3% in fiscal 2024, accelerating from 8.3% the prior year and well above the 10.0% growth in Chapter 13 Filings. The shift matters because it captures a composition change underneath the headline bankruptcy numbers: more households are crossing into total liquidation rather than attempting a payment plan.
Current filings sit closer to the pre-pandemic range than to the suppressed 2020-2021 period. The distress feeding it is visible upstream — Credit Card Delinquency still above pre-pandemic norms, Credit Card Charge-Offs at an elevated post-2011 pace, and Auto Delinquency back in the pressure stack.
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How has Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Filings (YoY % Change) changed over time?
Most affected counties
Counties with the highest default and legal scores in the County Distress Index.
Explore all 3,144 counties →| Period | Value | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 2026 | 15.3% | −2.6 pts |
| Q4 2025 | 14.8% | −4.1 pts |
| Q3 2025 | 15.5% | −4.6 pts |
| Q2 2025 | 17% | −2.2 pts |
| Q1 2025 | 17.9% | — |
| Q4 2024 | 18.9% | — |
| Q3 2024 | 20.1% | — |
| Q2 2024 | 19.2% | — |
Frequently Asked Questions
How fast are Chapter 7 filings growing?
Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings increased 15.3% year-over-year in the latest data, indicating accelerating financial distress among households with no ability to repay debts.
What is Chapter 7 bankruptcy?
Chapter 7 is liquidation bankruptcy — debtors surrender non-exempt assets and most debts are discharged. It is chosen by households too financially distressed to enter a repayment plan (Chapter 13).
Where does this data come from?
Published by the American Bankruptcy Institute based on Epiq court filing data, tracked monthly.
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