Lawyer or pro se
How do you look up a bankruptcy case and read the docket?
To look up a bankruptcy case, search the PACER Case Locator, a national index of federal court cases that needs a free PACER account, call the court's free case information line, or use the public terminals in the clerk's office. What you find is the docket: a log of the complete history of the case in brief chronological entries, where the clerk enters each judgment, order and activity.1 2 3 4
Get the Pro Se GuideEvery bankruptcy case has a docket, the court's own list of what has been filed and decided. This guide shows how to look a case up, what the entries mean, and the limits of what the docket can tell you.
General information, not legal advice. Rules and amounts change; check with a lawyer or the court before you act.
In this guide
What is on a docket?
The docket is the court's index to the case. The clerk must enter each judgment, order and activity on it, and must show the date of entry for each judgment or order.3 4
The documents behind the entries are part of the public record. The official form instructions tell filers that a bankruptcy filing is not private and that anyone has a right to see the forms unless the court orders otherwise.5
How do you look up a bankruptcy case?
Online, the starting point is the PACER Case Locator. The table below sets out the other official routes, and each court's website explains what that court offers.
| Route | What it offers | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| PACER2 | Federal case files are kept electronically and are available through PACER, which lets anyone with an account search bankruptcy case and docket information. | A fee per page with a maximum charge per document, billed quarterly. Fees are waived for users who stay under a quarterly amount. PACER's own pricing page has the current figures. |
| Public terminals at the courthouse2 | Case files can be viewed at the public access terminals in the clerk's office of the court where the case was filed. | Viewing records at the courthouse is free. |
| The court's telephone system2 | All bankruptcy courts have a telephone information system, the Voice Case Information System, that gives callers basic case information. | Free to use and available 24 hours a day. |
| The clerk's office6 | One bankruptcy court's published guide says staff can provide public information from a case docket and explain how to get it from a public terminal or PACER. | Ask the court. |
- Search the PACER Case Locator. It is a national index of district, bankruptcy and appellate courts and allows nationwide searches by party, so a name is enough to start.1
- Open the case to see its docket. A newly filed case typically appears within 24 hours, and the court where the case was filed has the most recent data.1
- No internet? Call the court's Voice Case Information System. One court's page says callers can search by name, case number, Social Security number or tax identification number and hear the chapter, the case status and the discharge date.7
Why does the docket matter more when you file alone?
A person with a lawyer has someone else watching the case. A person filing alone relies on the mail. The bankruptcy court sends notices to the mailing address listed on the petition, and the debtor must tell the court about any change of address.5 8
The docket is the court's own record of the same events. It shows what has been filed and when orders were entered, whether or not a letter has arrived yet.3 4
What kinds of entries will you see?
Entries are short descriptions of documents. These are some of the kinds that appear in an individual case, with what each term means.
- The petition and schedules: the forms that opened the case and describe the filer's finances.5
- A complaint: the document that starts an adversary proceeding, a lawsuit within or related to the bankruptcy case.3
- The discharge order: in a typical Chapter 7 case it is issued about 60 to 90 days after the date first set for the meeting of creditors.11
What do the dates on the docket mean for deadlines?
Many deadlines are counted from an event the docket records. When a deadline is counted in days, the day of the event that starts the period is left out and every day after it is counted, including weekends and legal holidays. If the last day is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the period runs until the end of the next day that is not one.12
Hearings come with notice. By default a written motion and notice of any hearing must be served at least 7 days before the hearing date, but the court or other rules can set a different period, so the notice itself is the document to read for the date.13 14 12
Working out a deadline in a particular case is not something the court does for a filer. One court's published guide lists computation of deadlines and interpretation of court orders among the things its staff cannot provide.6
What can the docket not tell you?
The docket says that something happened. It does not say what the filing means for one person's case, whether to respond, or how. Court employees and bankruptcy judges are prohibited by law from giving legal advice, so those questions go to a lawyer.15
The federal courts say people who cannot afford an attorney may qualify for free legal services, and the U.S. Trustee Program says the clerk of the local bankruptcy court or the state bar association may have information about organizations offering help on a reduced fee or pro bono basis.15 5 16
Common questions
How can you look up a bankruptcy case for free?
Viewing records at the courthouse is free, and the bankruptcy courts' telephone information system is free and available 24 hours a day. PACER charges a fee per page with a maximum charge per document, and waives fees for users who stay under a quarterly amount.2
What if something I filed does not appear?
The clerk must enter each activity in the case on the docket. Clerk's office staff can provide public information from a case docket, so the clerk's office is the place to ask about the status of a document.3 4 6
Can other people see my bankruptcy case?
Yes. A bankruptcy filing is not private: anyone has a right to see the forms unless the court orders otherwise, and PACER lets anyone with an account search bankruptcy case and docket information.5 2
Will the clerk explain what an entry means for my case?
Staff can provide public information from the docket. One court's published guide says they cannot interpret court orders or give direction on what to do next in a case.6
Does the bankruptcy court report my case to the credit bureaus?
No. Bankruptcy courts do not report or provide information to any consumer reporting agency, and they do not verify what appears in credit reports. Bankruptcy filings are public records, with few exceptions, so they can still show up.17
Sources
Official courts & government references- PACER Case Locator (uscourts.gov)
- Find a Case (PACER) (uscourts.gov)
- Glossary of Legal Terms (uscourts.gov)
- Rule 5003(a). Records to Be Kept by the Clerk (Cornell LII)
- Instructions: Bankruptcy Forms for Individuals, rev. April 2025 (uscourts.gov)
- Information the Clerk's Office Can and Cannot Provide, rev. 07/2025 (U.S. Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Okla.)
- Access to Court Records (U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Minnesota, mnb.uscourts.gov)
- Rule 4002(a)(5). Debtor's Duties (Cornell LII)
- Bankruptcy Forms (uscourts.gov)
- Rule 4003(b) and (c). Exemptions (Cornell LII)
- Chapter 7 - Bankruptcy Basics
- Rule 9006(a). Computing and Extending Time; Motions (Cornell LII)
- Rule 9014(b)(2). Contested Matters (Cornell LII)
- Rule 9013. Motions; Form and Service (Cornell LII)
- Filing Without an Attorney
- U.S. Trustee Program: Means Testing (justice.gov)
- Bankruptcy Case Records & Credit Reporting (uscourts.gov)