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Bankruptcy Filings Decline Is Smallest in Years

Published onOctober 18, 2017

Bankruptcy filings fell by 1.8 percent for the 12-month period ending September 30, 2017, compared with the year ending September 30, 2016. This is the smallest one-year drop since a national decline in annual federal bankruptcy filings began in June 2011. 

The September 2017 annual bankruptcy filings totaled 790,830, compared with 805,580 cases in the previous year, according to statistics released by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. The number of bankruptcy filings was the lowest for any 12-month period since the year ending June 2007.

A national wave of bankruptcies that began in 2008 reached a peak in the year ending September 2010, when nearly 1.6 million bankruptcies were filed. 

Business and Non-Business Filings,
Years Ending
September 30, 2013-2017
Year Business Non-Business Total
2017 23,109 767,721 790,830
2016 24,457 781,123 805,580
2015 24,985 835,197 860,182
2014 28,319 935,420 963,739
2013 34,892 1,072,807 1,107,699
Total Bankruptcy Filings By Chapter,
Years Ending
September 30, 2013-2017
Year Chapter
  7 11 12 13
2017 486,542 7,052 508 296,599
2016 498,367 7,450 458 299,150
2015 550,036 7,040 383 302,642
2014 642,366 7,658 372 313,262
2013 753,995 9,564 405 343,651

Additional statistics released today include:

  • Business and non-business bankruptcy filings for the 12-month period ending September 30, 2017 (Table F-2, 12-month);
  • A comparison of September 2016 and 2017 filings (Table F);
  • 4th quarter filings, Table F-2, 3-month); filings for July, August, and September 2017    (Table F-2, Monthly). 
  • Bankruptcy filings by county (Report F-5A).

Learn more about bankruptcy and bankruptcy court rules, or search historical data on bankruptcy filings.