What Is My Bankruptcy Discharge Date?

What Is the Bankruptcy Discharge?

A bankruptcy discharge is the most important outcome of filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. It’s a court order that permanently erases your responsibility to pay back certain types of debt, including credit card bills, medical debt, past-due utility bills, and some loans. This means creditors can’t take any action to collect those debts, like calling, sending letters, or filing lawsuits against you. The discharge gives you a clean slate, allowing you to move forward without the burden of those financial obligations.

It’s important to know that not all debts can be discharged in bankruptcy. For example, child support, most student loans, and recent tax debts usually can’t be eliminated. However, most unsecured debts, like credit card balances, medical bills, and personal loans, are dischargeable. A discharge provides the financial fresh start many people need when they’re overwhelmed by debt they simply can’t pay.

How Do I Find My Discharge Date? 

The discharge date is the date that your assigned bankruptcy judge signs the discharge order. The bankruptcy court will mail you a copy of the order after the judge signs it. The discharge date is next to the judge’s signature on the discharge. Even though your creditors are also notified of your discharge, keep a copy of the discharge order close by in case a creditor contacts you. They will want to know the date of your discharge and your bankruptcy case number. Read more on this below in the section titled “What if Creditors Still Contact Me After My Discharge Date?”

If you filed on your own, you can sign up to receive notices electronically and access your discharge document online through the PACER platform.

What Is PACER? 

PACER stands for Public Access to Court Electronic Records. It’s a service that provides electronic public access to federal court records. PACER provides access to any document filed in a federal court. You can’t access documents filed in state courts through PACER. Every document filed in your bankruptcy case, including your discharge order with your discharge date, is available through PACER. You can download a PDF of any document for a small fee — 10 cents per page with a cap of $3.00 for any document.

How Long Does It Take To Get a Bankruptcy Discharge? 

When you file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, it typically takes 3–6 months to get your debts discharged. This estimate starts from the day you file your bankruptcy petition and depends on how quickly you complete required steps and whether you experience any complications in your case. 

If you complete your required courses promptly and no objections or delays occur, you can expect your discharge closer to the three-month mark.

If you have complications — such as creditors filing objections or the court requiring additional information — your discharge might take longer. However, these situations aren’t common.

Here’s a simplified timeline*:

• Day 0: File your bankruptcy petition 

• Day 30–45: 341 meeting of creditors 

• Day 90–105: Objection period ends

• Day 95–115: Court issues discharge order 

Let’s break down the key steps and their associated timelines so you can better understand how long the process will take.

*Note that these timelines are general guidelines.

Pre-Bankruptcy Credit Counseling

Before filing your bankruptcy case, you must complete a pre-bankruptcy credit counseling course. This course generally takes around 1–2 hours and can often be completed online or by phone. Once you finish, you’ll receive a certificate that must be filed with your bankruptcy paperwork. While this step doesn’t add significant time to your case, it’s essential to do it before filing, as the court won’t accept your petition without the completion certificate.

After Filing: Complete the Post-Filing Debtor Education Course

After you file your bankruptcy petition, you must also complete a post-filing debtor education course. This is separate from the pre-bankruptcy counseling and usually takes about two hours to finish. It can be completed at any time after your case is filed but must be done before the court will issue your discharge order. Most people choose to take this course as soon as possible to avoid delaying their case.

Only providers approved by the U.S. Trustee Program (or state administrators in Alabama and North Carolina) can issue valid certificates for these courses. You’ll need to submit your completion certificate to the court as proof.

The 341 Meeting of Creditors

About 30–45 days after you file, the bankruptcy trustee assigned to your case will hold a meeting of creditors, also called a 341 meeting. This is a required step, and you must attend this meeting for your case to proceed. While creditors are invited to attend, they rarely do in consumer bankruptcy cases. The trustee will review your paperwork and ask questions to confirm your eligibility and the accuracy of your bankruptcy documents. This meeting usually takes no more than 15 minutes.

If everything checks out, the trustee will conclude the meeting, and the clock starts ticking on a 60-day waiting period. During this time, the trustee or any of your creditors can file objections to your discharge. If no objections are filed — and they rarely are in straightforward consumer bankruptcy cases — you’ll be eligible for a discharge as soon as the 60 days are up.

Once the 60-day objection period ends, the court can process and issue your discharge order. This typically takes a few days to one week. However, processing times can vary slightly depending on how busy the court is.

What Can Delay the Entry of My Discharge? 

Several situations can delay the entry of your bankruptcy discharge. One of the most common is failing to complete the required debtor education course after filing for bankruptcy. This course, also called the financial management course, is mandatory. Once you finish it, you must submit a certificate of completion to the court. If you don’t complete this step, the court won’t issue your discharge.

Another delay is possible if you reaffirm a debt. Reaffirming a debt means you’ve chosen to keep paying a specific obligation, like a car loan, even though you’re filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. If a reaffirmation hearing is scheduled after the 60-day waiting period is up — the earliest date your discharge can be issued — your discharge will be postponed until the reaffirmation process is complete. The court needs to review and approve reaffirmation agreements before finalizing the discharge.

Finally, any objections from your creditors could also delay the discharge. For example, a creditor might argue that you shouldn’t be allowed to discharge a particular debt. The court must resolve all objections before the discharge can be granted. If no objections are filed, your discharge is typically entered automatically, and you won’t need to do anything further.

What’s the Discharge Date in a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy? 

The discharge date in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy is the official date when the court issues your discharge order, which is signed by the judge. This date marks the point when you’re no longer legally obligated to pay back eligible debts included in your bankruptcy case. After the discharge is entered, your case is closed as part of routine court administration.

The key difference between Chapter 13 and Chapter 7 bankruptcies is how long it takes to reach the discharge date. In a Chapter 13 case, you must complete a repayment plan that lasts 3–5 years before your debts can be discharged. In contrast, Chapter 7 bankruptcy typically moves much faster, with the discharge occurring about 3–6 months after you file. Even though Chapter 13 is a longer process, it provides a way to catch up on secured debts like a mortgage or car loan while still ultimately receiving debt relief.

What if Creditors Still Contact Me After My Discharge Date? 

No creditor for any of your discharged debts should contact you after you receive your discharge. The discharge order contains a section that states creditors can’t collect discharged debts. The court typically includes this section using a form that explains the effect of the discharge order. 

So if a creditor for one of your discharged debts like a credit card contacts you, they’re violating a federal court order. It’s quite possible that the person on the phone, whether they’re representing the original creditor or a collection agency, doesn’t know about the bankruptcy or the discharge. This may occur even if you sent the creditor notice of your bankruptcy. 

Tell them the date of the discharge, your bankruptcy case number, and the specific bankruptcy court where you filed it, such as “the District of Arizona.” Also, tell them if it was a Chapter 7 or 13 case and the filing date. This should be enough information for them to realize that they should never contact you.

If a creditor makes further attempts to collect a discharged debt after your bankruptcy case is closed even though you’ve given them all the necessary information about the bankruptcy case, you may want to get legal help. You can talk to a bankruptcy attorney about filing a claim that the creditor violated the order of discharge under the Bankruptcy Code.

Non-Dischargeable Debts

Keep in mind that some debts like child support and alimony are non-dischargeable. That means they won’t be erased in your bankruptcy case. If you’re behind on any of these debts or a real estate mortgage with a secured creditor, you still have to repay these debts. 

If a creditor contacts you because the debt is non-dischargeable, this may be a good opportunity to negotiate and set up a payment plan that resolves the debt. This will help you move forward and focus on improving your credit without the negative information from this creditor affecting your credit report and credit score. 

Let’s Summarize…

The discharge date for a bankruptcy case is the date that the judge in your case signs the order finalizing your bankruptcy, which wipes out all of your dischargeable debts. You can find the date of the discharge next to the judge's signature.

If a creditor files an objection to the discharge or you fail to take the required financial management course, you may delay your discharge. It’s illegal for a creditor of any of your discharged debts to contact you after you receive your discharge order. If this happens, you may need to seek legal advice.