Changes to Official Bankruptcy Forms Effective December 1, 2015

Release Date: 
Mon, 11/30/2015

Last updated: 11/24/2015
[This page will be updated frequently; please continue to check back for additional information]

The Judicial Conference has approved significant changes to the Official Bankruptcy Forms. Most of the Official Forms will be replaced with substantially revised, reformatted and renumbered versions effective Tuesday, December 1, 2015.

Use of the revised Official Forms will be mandatory beginning December 1, 2015, except where the Court has its own local form.

  • Attorneys using petition preparation software are reminded to contact their software vendor and install updates related to the December 1, 2015 form.
  • ECF will be unavailable on November 30, 2015, from 7:00 pm to 1:00 am (December 1) to  accommodate changes to ECF necessitated by the new forms.  Please plan accordingly.
  • Effective December 1, 2015, the Court will require the use of the revised Official Forms, including in cases initiated before December 1. For example, if a case is filed on or after Monday, November 16, and is deficient on a 15-day item (such as schedules or the means test), documents submitted on December 1 must be submitted on the new forms in order to satisfy the deficiency.
     
  • The Court will be using the revised Official Forms starting December 1, 2015.  Watch particularly for the improved format in 341 notices and discharge orders.
     
  • The revised Official Bankruptcy Forms, Committee Notes, and other related information, are available on the U.S. Court's website.
     
  • A CM/ECF Overview of the revised official forms, for attorneys and their staff, can be accessed in a pdf document here.
     
  • Fed. R. Bankr. Pro. 1007 is revised effective December 1, 2015, to accommodate the renumbering of the Official Forms. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(m) is revised to require a summons be served 90 days after the filing of the complaint (instead of the current 120 days). In addition, many of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, particularly those related to discovery practices, are revised effective December 1, 2015, specifically Fed. R. Civ. Pro. 1, 4, 16, 26, 30 - 34, 37, 55 and 84. See www.uscourts.gov/rules-policies/pending-rules-amendments.
     
  • Attorneys are advised to contact their software vendors sooner rather than later to obtain information about updates. Attorneys using EZFiling or New Hope Software should be aware that those systems will not be updated or supported after November 30, 2015. Due to ECF changes related to the new forms, the Court cannot guarantee the ability to upload a case or complete an electronic filing with EZFiling after November 30, 2015.
    See go.cingroup.com/ezfilingtransition and http://www.bankruptcysoftware.com.
     
  • Highlights of the form changes:
    • The new forms differentiate between individual debtors and non-individual debtors. A new numbering system will distinguish the two categories of forms. For example, the new voluntary petition for individuals is Form B101 and the 100 series forms include the schedules and statements for individual debtors. A non-individual debtor will use voluntary petition Form B201 and the 200 series forms for schedules and statements.
       
    • ECF events will change to accommodate some of the new forms and additional information being collected.
       
    • A separate declaration under penalty of  perjury will be required with the filing of schedules and amended schedules.  See Form B106 for individual debtors and Form B202 for non-individual debtors.
       
    • Some of the modernized forms, such as the means test forms, are already in effect and will simply be renumbered on December 1, 2015.
       
    • Exhibit D to the voluntary petition has been eliminated; information about credit counseling is now included in Part 5 of the voluntary petition for individuals.