FREE Bankruptcy Forms - Six Options

Filing a chapter 7, 11, 12, or 13 bankruptcy petition requires specific official federal forms and schedules and certain procedural forms as well. In addition, some bankruptcy courts require the filing of one or more local forms. These district and/or court-specific forms are usually available at the court house in hard-copy or from the court's web site in electronic copy. To find out if you need additional forms, call the clerk of the court and ask if you'll need any forms beyond the standard federal bankruptcy forms or see our state bankruptcy guides.

Option 1: Complete Bankruptcy Package (Only $5!)

The most complete package found anywhere for under ten bucks! It includes ALL Official Bankruptcy Forms for filing chapters 7, 11, 12 or 13 under the Bankruptcy Code plus all instructions, schedules, procedural forms and four special forms designed to help you avoid the Top 10 filing mistakes. (Note: forms comply with 2005 Act and all revisions for December 2007 and January 2008. Some of the forms are read only (required by bankruptcy law) which means you will need to print the document and then manually fill in your information. Where its not prohibited by the bankruptcy code, forms are in Adobe Acrobat's fill-in and save format(.pdf) which allow you to save the completed document and edit it later on. A few forms are fill-in-the blank documents that you can type in information using your computer. Although you can print these documents, you cannot save them with the information filled in).

Option 2: Get the FREE Basic Kit for Chapters 7 and 13 in one convenient package via E-mail using this Free Request Form

Note: The Basic Kit includes all forms and instructions plus 70 additional bankruptcy forms and four specific documents to help you avoid these Top 10 Filing Mistakes The kit does NOT contain any procedural forms!

Option 3: Download only the bankruptcy forms and procedural forms you need from this site: cost is FREE!

Option 4: Purchase pre-made kits from stationary stores. Costs range from $14.95 to $49.95 (not all stores carry bankruptcy forms, so consider calling ahead. These pre-made kits rarely include all forms and procedural forms and they are fill out by hand. Consider making copies to practice on.)

Option 5: Download individual forms from the official government site: cost is free however, the forms are listed in alphabetical/numerical order, with no instructions explaining which forms go with which chapter of the bankruptcy code.

Option 6: Utilize one of the 8 million web sites that sell the forms: cost ranges from $12.95 per individual form to over $50 for a chapter-specific kit. Forms come in Word, Rich Text, and in PDF formats. Many are not the fill and save type which means you have to print and fill in manually. (Consider making copies to practice on.)

WARNING! If you plan to file your personal bankruptcy on-line, then for security reasons, you should "flatten" the electronic file (i.e., make the field data indistinguishable from the rest of the text in the form). Do this by printing the form to PDF (can be done in Word) and file the resulting document.

Note: Don't be fooled by sites claiming you have to use state-specific forms. The federal bankruptcy code requires that all bankruptcy courts accept the official forms. In additional, the bankruptcy courts accept most homemade forms as long as they conform to the courts requirements. Put another way, many state courts develop their own forms for convenience, and post them on their websites, but they cannot reject your petition because you failed to use their forms.