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Bankruptcy Filings Down 13 Percent for March

Published onMay 9, 2012

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.

Business and Non-Business Filings
Years Ended March 31, 2008-2012

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. 

Total Bankruptcy Filings by Bankruptcy Chapter
Years Ended March 31, 2008-2012

 

Chapter

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.

Related Topics: Bankruptcy Courts, Bankruptcy Filings