Bankruptcy Filings Drop 6.3 Percent

Bankruptcy filings fell 6.3 percent for the 12-month period ending Dec. 31, 2022, continuing a fall that coincided with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. But individual filings under Chapter 13 increased significantly.

Annual bankruptcy filings in calendar year 2022 totaled 387,721, compared with 413,616 cases in 2021, according to statistics released by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

Business filings fell 6 percent, from 14,347 to 13,481 in the year ending Dec. 31, 2022. Non-business bankruptcy filings fell 6.3 percent, to 374,240, compared with 399,269 in the previous year.

Filings for Chapters 11 and 13 both increased in the year ending Dec. 31, 2022. Chapter 11, which provides for reorganization, usually involving a corporation, increased 1.7 percent, to 4,918, compared with 4,836 in the previous year. Chapter 13 filings increased 30.9 percent, from 120,002 to 157,087 in the year ending Dec. 31, 2022. This chapter of the Bankruptcy Code provides for adjustment of debts of an individual with regular income.

The following tables are available:

• Business and non-business bankruptcy filings for the 12-month period ending Dec. 31, 2022 (Table F-2, 12-Month);
• Bankruptcy data for the twelve-month periods ending in December 2021 and in December 2022 (Table F);
• Filings by quarter, (Table F-2, 3-Month); and filings by month (Table F-2, October, November, and December)
• Bankruptcy filings by county (Report F-5A).

For more on bankruptcy and its chapters, view the following resources:

• Historic caseload statistics data tables
• Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure
• General information about bankruptcy, including Bankruptcy Basics