Pro se bankruptcy vs a lawyer: what do official figures show?

Where do these figures come from?

There are two official sources, and they measure different things. The District of Colorado bankruptcy court publishes a monthly table of all cases filed there and how many were filed pro se. It counts filings only and says nothing about how the cases ended.1

The outcome figures come from a report the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California published on self-represented parties in its own court. That court was not typical: the report said it had over 57,000 filings in 2014, that 23.2 percent were filed without an attorney, and that the nationwide pro se share was approximately 8.8 percent.2

We did not find a later edition of that report, or a national breakdown of pro se outcomes, on the official pages we checked. Read every figure below with its court and date attached.

How many people file bankruptcy without a lawyer today?

In the District of Colorado, roughly one case in ten or a little more is filed pro se in recent years, and the share has been rising since 2021.1

One district is not the country. The share varies widely between courts, as the California report shows next.

How did one busy court compare in 2014?

The report gives a national figure and its own district's figures side by side.

So the share of people filing alone differed widely between the country as a whole and that one busy district.2

What did the report find about incomplete filings?

The report defined incomplete cases as those filed without all required schedules and the statement of financial affairs. Its findings were specific to that kind of failure.2

• Over 21 percent of pro se cases were filed incomplete, compared with about three percent of attorney-represented cases.2
• Over 99 percent of the pro se cases filed with incomplete information were dismissed.2
• Dismissals of attorney-represented cases stood at 13.7 percent across all chapters.2

The report also suggested a reason. People hastily seeking the automatic stay to hold off an imminent foreclosure or eviction may neglect to file the correct papers or meet the deadlines for schedules. It noted that such a filer may get the stay for a short time but receive no discharge.2

Why would incomplete paperwork lead to dismissal?

The pattern in the report matches how the rules are written. Some forms are due on the day the case is opened and the rest then or within 14 days after the petition is filed, and the official instructions say a case may be dismissed if they are not.3

The Bankruptcy Code goes further for individuals in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. If all of the required information is not filed within 45 days after the petition, the law says the case is automatically dismissed, effective on the 46th day.4

The required information is a defined list. It covers a list of creditors, a schedule of assets and liabilities, a schedule of current income and expenditures, a statement of financial affairs, recent pay stubs, and statements about monthly net income and expected changes in income or expenses. A filer working alone has to track every item on it.4

What do the figures not show?

They do not show how judges decide disputes. The comparison is about paperwork being complete and cases being dismissed, in one court, in one year.2

They do not describe other courts or the present day. They also say nothing about the harder parts of a case. The official form instructions warn separately that it is extremely difficult to succeed in a Chapter 11, 12 or 13 case without an attorney.3

And they are not a prediction. A statistic about a group cannot say how one person's case will go, which depends on that person's documents, property, debts and court.

What do the courts themselves say about filing alone?

Federal law lets parties in all courts of the United States plead and conduct their own cases personally or by counsel, and individuals can file bankruptcy without an attorney. The federal courts strongly recommend getting advice from a qualified attorney because bankruptcy has long-term financial and legal consequences.5 6

The official form instructions add that many people find it difficult to represent themselves successfully, that the rules are technical, and that a mistake or inaction may cause harm.3

For people who cannot afford an attorney, the federal courts say free legal services may be available, and point to the American Bar Association's legal help page and the Legal Services Corporation.6 3 7