How To File Bankruptcy for Free in California

Collect Your California Bankruptcy Documents

Much of the information the court needs to process your bankruptcy petition will come from the bankruptcy forms you fill out. You’ll need to look back at some of your financial documents to get the information for these forms. You’ll also need to gather additional documents to submit to the bankruptcy trustee during the bankruptcy process.

The following are documents you’ll need at some point during the bankruptcy process, even if you hire an attorney:

• Paycheck stubs from the last 60 days.

• Income tax returns from the last two years.

• Recent bank statements.

The following is a list of other documents that are helpful to have during the bankruptcy proceeding:

• Bank statements from the past 6-12 months. These can help you calculate your current living expenses.

• Bills and statements from creditors and lenders.

• Any letters from collection agencies or other third-party debt collectors.

• Your credit report. Federal law entitles you to one free credit report each year from each of the three consumer credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion). 

In addition to keeping an eye on your credit, credit reports will help you identify your debts and creditors. If you use Upsolve’s free filing tool to file your Chapter 7 bankruptcy, it will pull your credit report for you.

Take a Credit Counseling Course

The Bankruptcy Code requires that you complete a credit counseling course at some point during the 180 days before you file your bankruptcy case in court. The purpose of this class is to inform you of other debt-relief options that are available.

This class isn’t free, but it shouldn’t cost more than $50. If you shop around, you can often find a class that’s approved for California for less than that. In some cases, you can get a fee waiver and take the credit counseling course at no cost to you.

You’ll see that most of these classes can be completed remotely, either over the internet or by telephone. When you’re done with your class (which should only take a few hours), you’ll get a certificate of completion. You’ll submit this certificate to the court along with your other bankruptcy forms. 

Complete the Bankruptcy Forms

Most of the forms you’ll need to file bankruptcy in California are the same forms used in across the U.S. You can get these for free as fillable PDFs from the United States Courts website. There are also some local forms that are specific to the California district (Northern, Eastern, Central, or Southern) where you file your bankruptcy petition.

If you’ve hired an attorney to handle your bankruptcy, you probably won’t need to complete these forms yourself. Instead, you’ll probably hand over documents and fill out a questionnaire for your attorney. They will then fill out these forms for you. 

If you use Upsolve to file your bankruptcy, then you’ll complete an online questionnaire and Upsolve’s software will generate your bankruptcy forms based on the information you gave.

Get Your Filing Fee (or Apply for a Fee Waiver)

When you file Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you have to pay a fee of $338. But if your income is less than 150% of the federal income poverty guidelines, then you qualify to apply for a fee waiver. To see what these guidelines are, you can scroll down to the California Fee Waiver Eligibility table below.

If you don’t qualify for the fee waiver and can’t afford to pay the $338 filing fee, you have another option: You can apply to the court to pay your filing fee in four installments within 120 days of filing bankruptcy. 

Taking advantage of the installment payment plan is best for situations where you need to file bankruptcy as quickly as possible to make use of the automatic stay. You might need to do this if you’re dealing with wage garnishment. But if you can wait to file, it’s usually a better idea to forgo paying the filing fee in installments. This way you don’t risk the court throwing out your case because of a missed payment.

Print Your Bankruptcy Forms

If you choose to represent yourself in your bankruptcy matter you will usually file your bankruptcy forms in person or by mail. This means you must print out hard copies of your completed bankruptcy forms.

If you have access to a computer and printer, this shouldn’t be a major issue. If you don’t have access, you’ll need to find a library, copy shop, shipping store, or office supply store that can print the forms for you (often for a fee).

Regardless of where you print your forms, keep the following requirements in mind:

• Print the forms in black ink, not color

• Use white, letter-size paper (8.5” x 11”)

• Print your forms one-sided

If possible, print out two complete copies of your completed bankruptcy forms. Having a second copy for your records may come in handy. Also, many of the bankruptcy forms look the same or consist of multiple pages. So use a checklist to double-check your packet of forms to ensure they’re all there, in the proper order, and you signed all the necessary pages. 

If you use Upsolve’s filing too to prepare your forms, you’ll get your bankruptcy documents electronically with special dividers that tell you where you need to sign. If you’ve hired an attorney, they’ll most likely print out the forms for you or file your documents electronically. This means you don’t need to print them unless you want a copy for your records.

File Your Forms With the California Bankruptcy Court

California is divided into four districts. Each district has its own filing rules for individuals handling their bankruptcy cases without an attorney. In all districts, you can file by mail or in person. You can go yourself or have someone else drop off your forms for you.

If you are filing your bankruptcy petition in the Central, Southern, or Eastern District of California, you can electronically file some or all of your bankruptcy forms. 

Mail Documents to Your Trustee

Completing and filing your bankruptcy petition is the hardest part of the bankruptcy process. But there’s still a little bit of work to do after your forms get filed. For example, you’ll get assigned a bankruptcy trustee, which is an independent party to the case. The trustee’s job is to help ensure the information you’ve provided is accurate and that creditors get paid if you have non-exempt property that is sold. (This is rare in Chapter 7 cases.)

To help accomplish these tasks, you’ll need to send your trustee certain financial documents at least seven days before your 341 creditors’ meeting. These documents include:

• Bank statements for any bank account you had open when you filed for bankruptcy. These statements must cover a time period that includes the date you filed bankruptcy.

• Your two most recent federal income tax returns.

If you’re not sure what to send or who to send it to, don’t worry. You’ll most likely get a letter from your trustee explaining who they are and what they need from you.

Take a Debtor Education Course

To be eligible for a bankruptcy discharge, you need to take a second financial course that covers personal financial management topics. Many organizations offer this class, but you’ll need to complete it from an approved provider.

You have some flexibility around when you schedule this course, but you must finish it within 60 days of the 341 creditors’ meeting. If you fail to do so, the court could close your case without discharging any of your debts.

Once your class is done, you’ll receive a certificate of completion. Some course providers file the certificate with the court for you, but others have you do it yourself.

Attend Your 341 Meeting of Creditors

For most filers, the 341 meeting (also known as a 341 creditors’ meeting or meeting of creditors) will be the only time you need to go to court. That said, many courts continue to hold these meetings virtually (a practice started during the pandemic).

Most in-person 341 meetings take place in a meeting room in front of your trustee with you and sometimes your creditors present. The purpose of this meeting is to let the trustee and creditors ask you questions. But most of the time, creditors won’t attend this meeting, so it’ll just be the trustee asking you questions about your case and finances. 

This might seem intimidating, but it shouldn’t be. As long as you’ve been honest on your bankruptcy forms and you answer the trustee truthfully, you should get through the 341 meeting without issue. 

To help make this meeting go according to plan, it might help to prepare for your 341 meeting. You also need to bring acceptable forms of identification and proof of your Social Security number. You’ll be done with your 341 meeting before you realize and ready for the next step in the bankruptcy process.

Figure Out What You Want To Do With Your Car (if You Have One)

The fate of your car during and after bankruptcy will largely depend on whether you want to keep it and how much it’s worth. Generally speaking, California's bankruptcy exemptions allow most people to keep their car during bankruptcy.

If you are leasing the vehicle and you want to keep it, you’ll need to continue making your lease payments. You’ll also need to inform the court of your decision with a Statement of Intention. If you don’t want the leased vehicle anymore, then the terms and procedures for returning your vehicle will depend on what your lease agreement says.

If you own your vehicle and it's paid off, then you can keep it as long as its fair market value is less than the exemption provided for personal vehicles under California law, which is $3,525, plus any available wildcard exemption.

If you’re still paying on a car loan and you have positive equity — meaning your car is worth more than you owe on it — you can keep it as long as you stay current with your monthly payments. In this case, the equity you have in the car must be less than the available exemption.

If you're still paying on a car loan, but the car is worth less than what you owe on it — the car loan is “underwater” — then you can surrender it if you don’t want it anymore. When you surrender the vehicle, you get rid of car itself and the outstanding balance on the car loan. This is a good approach if you can’t afford your current vehicle during bankruptcy, but you have plans to buy another one after your bankruptcy is over.

If you still want your underwater vehicle, then you can enter into a reaffirmation agreement. This requires you to continue making your monthly car loan payments. 

Finally, you can redeem your vehicle. This lets you keep your vehicle by purchasing it for fair market value instead of paying off the remaining balance on your car loan. This makes it possible to own your vehicle outright for less than what you’d have to pay for the car loan. The catch is that redeeming your vehicle requires you to pay for the vehicle in one lump sum.