Bankruptcy filings for the 12-month period ending March 31, 2012, fell 13 percent compared to bankruptcy filings for the 12-months ending March 31, 2011, according to statistics released today by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. March 2012 bankruptcy filings totaled 1,367,006, compared to 1,571,183 bankruptcy cases filed in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2011.
Business and Non-Business Filings
The majority of bankruptcy filings involve predominantly non-business debts. For the 12-month period ending March 31, 2012, non-business filings—where the debts are predominantly personal or consumer in nature—totaled 1,320,613, down 13 percent from the 1,516,971 nonbusiness bankruptcies filed in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2011.
Filings involving predominantly business debts totaled 46,393, down 14 percent from the 54,212, business bankruptcies filed in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2011.
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Business and Non-Business Filings |
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| Year | Total |
Non- Business |
Business |
| 2012 | 1,367,006 | 1,320,613 | 46,393 |
| 2011 | 1,571,183 | 1,516,971 | 54,212 |
| 2010 | 1,531,997 | 1,470,849 | 61,148 |
| 2009 | 1,202,395 | 1,153,318 | 49,077 |
| 2008 | 901,927 | 871,186 | 30,741 |
Second Quarter of FY 2012
The first three months of 2012 were the second quarter of the Judiciary's 2012 fiscal year. The number of bankruptcies filed during those three months was 322,973, down 12 percent from the 366,178 filings in the same quarter of 2011.
Filings by Chapter
For the 12-month period ending March 31, 2012, filings fell for chapters 7, 11, 12, and 13 compared to filings in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2011.
- Chapter 7 filings fell 14 percent to 958,757 from the 1,118,481 Chapter 7 filings in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2011.
- Chapter 13 filings fell 10 percent to 396,175 from the 438,788 Chapter 13 bankruptcies filed in the same time period in 2011.
- Chapter 11 filings fell 13 percent to 11,339 from the 13,051 Chapter 11 filings in the same time period in 2011.
- Chapter 12 filings fell 18 percent to 606 from the 743 Chapter 12 filings in the same time period in 2011.
For more on bankruptcy and its chapters, visit the Judiciary's website or go to www.fjc.gov/federal/courts.nsf. Local bankruptcy court rules can be found at Current Rules of Practice & Procedure. Additional bankruptcy statistics, including bankruptcies by county, can be found on the Judiciary's PACER system.
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Total Bankruptcy Filings by Bankruptcy Chapter |
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Chapter |
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| Year | 7 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 2012 | 958,757 | 11,339 | 606 | 396,175 |
| 2011 | 1,118, 481 | 13,051 | 743 | 438,788 |
| 2010 | 1,100,032 | 15,251 | 605 | 415,966 |
| 2009 | 819,304 | 11,774 | 367 | 370,836 |
| 2008 | 560,015 | 6,971 | 343 | 334,551 |
Quarterly Bankruptcy Filings*
| Period | Filings | Period | Filings | Period | Filings | Period | Filings |
| MAR. 31, 2012 | 322,973 | ||||||
| MAR. 31, 2011 | 366,178 | JUN. 30, 2011 | 379,790 | SEPT. 30, 2011 | 348,635 | DEC. 31, 2011 | 313,775 |
| MAR. 31, 2010 | 388,148 | JUN. 30, 2010 | 422,061 | SEPT. 30, 2010 | 412,380 | DEC. 31, 2010 | 370,080 |
| MAR. 31, 2009 | 330,394 | JUN. 30, 2009 | 381,073 | SEPT. 30, 2009 | 388,485 | DEC. 31, 2009 | 372,203 |
| MAR. 31, 2008 | 245,695 | JUN. 30, 2008 | 276,428 | SEPT. 30, 2008 | 292,218 | DEC. 31, 2008 | 301,253 |
| MAR. 31, 2007 | 193,641 | JUN. 30, 2007 | 210,449 | SEPT. 30, 2007 | 218,909 | DEC. 31, 2007 | 226,413 |
| MAR. 31, 2006 | 116,771 | JUN. 30, 2006 | 155,833 | SEPT. 30, 2006 | 171,146 | DEC. 31, 2006 | 177,599 |
| MAR. 31, 2005 | 401,149 | JUN. 30, 2005 | 467,333 | SEPT. 30, 2005 | 542,002 | DEC. 31, 2005 | 667,431 |
| MAR. 31, 2004 | 407,572 | JUN. 30, 2004 | 421,110 | SEPT. 30, 2004 | 396,438 | DEC. 31, 2004 | 371,668 |
| MAR. 31, 2003 | 412,968 | JUN. 30, 2003 | 440,257 | SEPT. 30, 2003 | 412,989 | DEC. 31, 2003 | 393,348 |
| MAR. 31, 2002 | 379,012 | JUN. 30, 2002 | 400,686 | SEPT. 30, 2002 | 401,306 | DEC. 31, 2002 | 395,129 |
| MAR. 31, 2001 | 366,841 | JUN. 30, 2001 | 400,394 | SEPT. 30, 2001 | 359,518 | DEC. 31, 2001 | 364,921 |
| MAR. 31, 2000 | 312,335 | JUN. 30, 2000 | 321,729 | SEPT. 30, 2000 | 308,718 | DEC. 31, 2000 | 310,169 |
| MAR. 31, 1999 | 330,784 | JUN. 30, 1999 | 345,956 | SEPT. 30, 1999 | 323,550 | DEC. 31, 1999 | 318,634 |
| MAR. 31, 1998 | 354,118 | JUN. 30, 1998 | 373,460 | SEPT. 30, 1998 | 361,205 | DEC. 31, 1998 | 353,108 |
| MAR. 31, 1997 | 335,073 | JUN. 30, 1997 | 367,168 | SEPT. 30, 1997 | 353,515 | DEC. 31, 1997 | 347,685 |
| MAR. 31, 1996 | 266,149 | JUN. 30, 1996 | 297,162 | SEPT. 30, 1996 | 303,309 | DEC. 31, 1996 | 311,131 |
| MAR. 31, 1995 | 212,626 | JUN. 30, 1995 | 235,302 | SEPT. 30, 1995 | 233,593 | DEC. 31, 1995 | 244,494 |
* Because of ongoing corrections to the bankruptcy database, the quarterly data may not total to the most recent annual figures.
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