Bankruptcy Filings Up 12.2% in the 12 Months to Q2 2026: U.S. Bankruptcy Statistics
Bankruptcy cases filed in U.S. courts in the 12 months ending in Q2 2026 were 12.2% higher than in the same 12 months a year earlier, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. The Chapter 7-to-Chapter 13 case ratio stood at 1.77 in the same report.
What Are the Current Bankruptcy Statistics?
Bankruptcy cases filed in U.S. courts, business and nonbusiness, were 12.2% higher than in the same 12 months a year earlier in the 12 months ending in Q2 2026, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. That change is up from 11.5% a year earlier, in Q2 2025. Chapter 7 cases were 14.7% higher than in the same 12 months a year earlier, and Chapter 13 cases were 7.6% higher than in the same 12 months a year earlier. The Chapter 7-to-Chapter 13 filing ratio (Chapter 7 cases per Chapter 13 case) was 1.77.
These are 12-month case-count comparisons from Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts Tables F and F-2. They count cases, not people or households, and they do not establish filers' income, assets, motives, eligibility, or case outcomes. See the full discharge and means test definitions.
At a Glance
The American Distress Index currently reads 47.0 (Typical). The composite itself sits higher than 44% of all published quarters since 2005. Bankruptcy filings and chapter composition are not index inputs; they provide separate legal-system context. The filing data cannot identify why a case was filed or connect an individual filing to savings, delinquency, servicer conduct, or another index input.
How Did the Rolling-Year Filing Total Change?
The number of bankruptcy cases filed in the 12 months ending in Q2 2026 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. Consecutive quarterly readings are 12-month totals ending three months apart, so they share nine months of filings. The Administrative Office's release reports counts and does not identify the causes of the change.
Bankruptcy Filings Year-over-Year Change (%)
Source: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F.
Full data and trend: Bankruptcy Filings indicator page
Are More Cases Filed Under Chapter 7 or Chapter 13?
In the 12 months ending in Q2 2026, Chapter 7 cases were 14.7% higher than in the same 12 months a year earlier. That change is down from 17% a year earlier, in Q2 2025. It is the lowest year-over-year change since Q3 2023. Over the same period, Chapter 13 cases were 7.6% higher than in the same 12 months a year earlier.
A change above zero means more Chapter 7 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. Chapter 13 readings before the latest one are not like-for-like with it, so this page does not compare them; the Chapter 13 indicator page explains why. Neither count establishes a preference for either chapter or reveals filers' income, assets, motives, eligibility, or plan feasibility.
Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 Filings YoY Change (%)
Source: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-2.
Full data: Chapter 7 | Chapter 13 indicator pages
What Does the Chapter 7-to-13 Ratio Tell Us?
The ratio of Chapter 7 to Chapter 13 cases — what we call the Wipeout Ratio — stood at 1.77 in the 12 months ending in Q2 2026, up from 1.66 times a year earlier, in Q2 2025. That is about 1.8 Chapter 7 cases for every Chapter 13 case. That is the highest ratio since Q1 2022.
The ratio has been above its year-earlier level for 10 quarters in a row. We calculate the ratio from the Administrative Office's Table F-2 counts. It is a descriptive comparison of case counts, including business cases. A change in it does not, by itself, establish income, assets, motive, eligibility, case outcome, or the cause of the chapter composition.
Because neither a higher nor a lower ratio has a universal distress interpretation, this page does not label the ratio's movement as favorable or adverse. The chapter counts should be read alongside, not as proof of, other household-finance measures.
Chapter 7-to-Chapter 13 Filing Ratio
Source: American Default Research calculation from Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-2.
Full data and trend: Chapter 7-to-Chapter 13 filing ratio indicator page (the Wipeout Ratio)
How Much Debt Are Banks Writing Off?
The net charge-off rate on all loans and leases at insured U.S.-chartered commercial banks was 0.55% in Q2 2026, stated as an annual rate, according to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System via FRED. That is lower than in Q2 2025, when it was 0.6%. It is the lowest unadjusted rate since Q3 2023, when it was 0.49%. A charge-off records a bank's accounting recognition that a loan balance is unlikely to be collected, net of later recoveries; it does not determine a borrower's future financial outcome.
This is not a bankruptcy measure. It covers business and household lending together, and bankruptcy is only one of several reasons a loan is charged off. The series is not seasonally adjusted, so it is compared with the same quarter a year earlier. The highest reading in the unadjusted series, which starts in 1985, was 3.14% in 2009. For the full cross-loan-type view, see the default rates comparison hub.
Charge-Off Rate on All Loans (All Commercial Banks)
Source: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System data retrieved via FRED (CORALACBN).
Full data and trend: Charge-Off Rate on All Loans indicator page
Data Sources and Methodology
Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
Tables F and F-2 report 12-month bankruptcy case counts, in total and by chapter, at quarterly endpoints. Each year-over-year value compares a 12-month total with the 12 months ending on the same date a year earlier. The Chapter 7-to-Chapter 13 filing ratio (the Wipeout Ratio) is our calculation: the Chapter 7 count divided by the Chapter 13 count.
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System data retrieved via FRED
The all-loan charge-off rate (CORALACBN) measures loans and leases that insured U.S.-chartered commercial banks wrote off, net of recoveries, as an annualized share of average loans. It is a quarterly, not seasonally adjusted series from bank Call Reports and is separate from the court filing series.
American Distress Index
Neither bankruptcy filings nor the all-loan charge-off rate is an American Distress Index input. Neither series proves that another index input caused a filing or charge-off. Full methodology is on the methodology page.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many bankruptcies are filed per year in the United States?
The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts counted 608,511 bankruptcy cases, business and nonbusiness, in the 12 months ending June 30, 2026 (U.S. Courts, July 28, 2026). It counts cases, not people or households. In the latest report, covering the 12 months ending in Q2 2026, filings were 12.2% higher than in the same 12 months a year earlier.
What is the difference between Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy?
Chapter 7 generally provides liquidation and discharge subject to eligibility and exemptions. Chapter 13 generally uses a court-supervised repayment plan. In the 12 months ending in Q2 2026, Chapter 7 cases were 14.7% higher than in the same 12 months a year earlier, and Chapter 13 cases were 7.6% higher than in the same 12 months a year earlier. Filing counts alone do not establish a filer's income, assets, motive, eligibility, or case outcome.
Is bankruptcy increasing in 2026?
In the 12 months ending in Q2 2026, bankruptcy cases were 12.2% higher than in the same 12 months a year earlier, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. 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. The court release reports counts and does not give a cause for the change.
What is the Chapter 7-to-Chapter 13 filing ratio?
The Chapter 7-to-Chapter 13 filing ratio divides Chapter 7 cases by Chapter 13 cases. We calculate it from the counts in Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts Table F-2, and our indicator page calls it the Wipeout Ratio. It stood at 1.77 in the 12 months ending in Q2 2026, up from 1.66 times a year earlier, in Q2 2025, or about 1.8 Chapter 7 cases per Chapter 13 case. The ratio is descriptive and does not establish income, assets, motive, eligibility, or future outcomes.
How does bankruptcy connect to the American Distress Index?
Bankruptcy filings are not an input to the American Distress Index; this page shows them as separate legal-system context. The index currently reads 47.0 (Typical). The composite itself sits higher than 44% of all published quarters since 2005. The filing series and chapter ratio do not prove a causal path from the index's inputs to bankruptcy.