How Often Can You File Bankruptcy in Alabama: 8, 4, and 2-Year Waits

How often you can file bankruptcy in Alabama is governed by federal law, and the required gap between cases depends on which chapter you filed last and which one you want to file next. The shortest wait is two years, between back-to-back Chapter 13 cases. The longest is eight years, between back-to-back Chapter 7 cases. Every waiting period is measured from the filing date of your prior case to the filing date of the new one, and missing the window doesn’t block you from filing — it blocks you from getting a discharge.

How the Waiting Period Is Measured

Two dates appear in every bankruptcy case: the filing date, when your petition reaches the court, and the discharge date, when the court wipes out your personal liability on eligible debts. Re-filing waiting periods always run from filing date to filing date. That distinction matters most in Chapter 13, where a case can stretch three to five years between those two dates. If your prior Chapter 13 was filed in January 2022, the two-year clock for your next Chapter 13 discharge opens in January 2024, even if your discharge paperwork didn’t come through until 2025.

Chapter 7 After a Previous Chapter 7: Eight Years

You must wait eight full years between the filing dates of two Chapter 7 cases to receive a discharge in the second one. The statute denies a Chapter 7 discharge if you already received one “in a case commenced within 8 years before the date of the filing of the petition.”¹ This is the longest waiting period in the Bankruptcy Code, and no exceptions shorten it.

Technically you can file a new Chapter 7 petition before eight years have passed. The clerk will accept it. But the trustee or a creditor will almost certainly object, and the court will deny your discharge. You’ll have spent the filing fee and added a second bankruptcy to your credit report with nothing to show for it.

Chapter 13 After a Previous Chapter 13: Two Years

The gap between two Chapter 13 cases is only two years, measured from the filing date of the first to the filing date of the second.² The shorter window reflects the reality that a Chapter 13 case already involves years of repayment under a court-supervised plan.

Because the clock starts at the filing of the prior case rather than the completion of your plan, most Chapter 13 filers who need to come back have already cleared the window by the time they’re ready. If your earlier case was filed four years ago, the two-year bar is long behind you, even if you only recently finished your plan payments.

Chapter 7 After a Previous Chapter 13: Six Years, With Exceptions

If you received a discharge in a prior Chapter 13 case and now want to file Chapter 7, the general waiting period is six years from the date the Chapter 13 was filed.¹ Two exceptions can erase that bar:

If your Chapter 13 plan paid 100% of allowed unsecured claims, there is no waiting period at all.
If your plan paid at least 70% of allowed unsecured claims and the court found that the plan was proposed in good faith and reflected your best effort, the six-year bar also drops away.

These exceptions reward debtors who paid back a meaningful share of what they owed. If you aren’t sure what percentage your prior plan actually paid, your Chapter 13 trustee’s final report shows the distribution to unsecured creditors line by line.

Chapter 13 After a Previous Chapter 7: Four Years

Filing Chapter 13 after a Chapter 7 discharge requires a four-year gap between filing dates to qualify for a discharge in the Chapter 13.² Unlike the other combinations, filing before the four years are up can still serve a purpose.

Bankruptcy practitioners sometimes call a Chapter 13 filed shortly after a Chapter 7 a “Chapter 20” case. There’s no discharge waiting at the end, but the filing still triggers the automatic stay, which stops creditor collection activity immediately. It also lets you propose a repayment plan for debts that survived the Chapter 7 — certain tax obligations, mortgage arrears — spreading those payments over three to five years instead of facing them all at once. In some circuits, a Chapter 20 case can also be used to strip a junior lien that exceeds the property’s value, though courts disagree about whether lien stripping is available without a discharge.³

Waiting Periods at a Glance

Chapter 7 after Chapter 7: 8 years from prior filing date.
Chapter 13 after Chapter 13: 2 years from prior filing date.
Chapter 7 after Chapter 13: 6 years from prior filing date, waived if the plan paid 100%, or 70%+ in good faith.
Chapter 13 after Chapter 7: 4 years from prior filing date; filing earlier is allowed, but no discharge.

If Your Previous Case Was Dismissed, Not Discharged

A dismissal is not a discharge. The waiting periods above apply only to filers who actually received a discharge, so a dismissed prior case doesn’t impose any of them. The tradeoff is a different set of restrictions, and some of them bite harder than a waiting period would.

The Automatic Stay Shrinks or Disappears

The automatic stay is the order that stops creditor collection the moment you file. For repeat filers with a recent dismissal, it shrinks fast.

If you had one case dismissed within the year before your new filing, the automatic stay expires after 30 days unless you convince the court to extend it.⁴ You have 30 days to file a motion showing the new case was filed in good faith. Miss that window and creditors can resume foreclosures, garnishments, and lawsuits as if you never filed.

If you had two or more cases dismissed in the prior year, the automatic stay doesn’t go into effect at all.⁴ You can ask the court to impose one, but the law presumes your filing is not in good faith, and you’ll need clear and convincing evidence to overcome that presumption.

The 180-Day Filing Bar

In two specific situations, you can’t file any bankruptcy case for 180 days after a dismissal: if your previous case was dismissed because you willfully failed to follow court orders or appear in court, or if you voluntarily dismissed your own case after a creditor had already filed a motion seeking relief from the automatic stay.⁵ The second scenario targets a specific tactic: filing bankruptcy to block a foreclosure, dismissing once the creditor pushes back, then refiling to restart the clock. Congress closed that loop.

Court-Ordered Bars

A bankruptcy court can also impose longer filing bars when it dismisses a case “for cause.”⁶ If a judge concludes you’ve been abusing the system by filing and dismissing repeatedly, that bar can stretch a year or longer. These orders are discretionary and relatively uncommon, but Alabama judges don’t hesitate to use them against filers who treat bankruptcy as a delay tactic.

Debts That Survive Any Discharge

Before you plan a second filing, ask whether the debts troubling you can actually be wiped out. Some categories survive every bankruptcy no matter how many times you file:

Child support and alimony.
Most student loans, unless you prove “undue hardship” in a separate proceeding.
Recent income taxes, taxes where no return was filed, and taxes involving fraud.
Debts obtained through false representations, embezzlement, or larceny.
Debts from willful injury to another person or property.
Debts for death or injury caused by drunk driving.

A creditor can also file an adversary proceeding during your case to argue that a specific debt falls into one of these categories.⁷ If most of what you owe is non-dischargeable, a second filing may cost money without fixing the underlying problem.

What Filing Again in Alabama Still Requires

Clearing the waiting period is one hurdle. Every new filing requires you to meet all the eligibility requirements over again.

Credit Counseling, Every Time

Federal law requires every bankruptcy filer to complete a credit counseling briefing from an approved nonprofit agency within 180 days before filing.⁵ The certificate from your prior case does not carry over. You also have to complete a separate debtor education course after filing but before discharge. Skip either one and the court dismisses the case.

The Chapter 7 Means Test

A second Chapter 7 filing requires you to pass the means test again. The test compares your average monthly income over the six months before filing against Alabama’s median income for your household size. For cases filed between November 2025 and March 2026, the Alabama figures are:

One earner: $62,672
Two-person household: $75,465
Three-person household: $90,321
Four-person household: $104,003

Add $11,100 for each additional household member beyond four.⁸ Income below the applicable figure qualifies you for Chapter 7 without further analysis. Income above it triggers a more detailed calculation of disposable income after allowable expenses. These numbers are updated periodically, so check the U.S. Trustee Program’s figures in effect on the date you file.

Chapter 13 Debt Limits

Chapter 13 is only available if your debts fall below set ceilings. As of 2026, unsecured debts must be less than $526,700 and secured debts less than $1,580,125.⁹ Debts above those caps push you out of Chapter 13 entirely and toward Chapter 11.

Alabama Exemptions

Alabama does not allow bankruptcy filers to use the federal exemption scheme. You must claim exemptions under Alabama state law.¹⁰ This matters for repeat filers whose asset picture has changed since the last case. Alabama’s homestead exemption is capped at $15,000 for most filers, with a higher amount for those age 62 or older or those with a disability. If you’ve acquired property since your previous discharge, confirm it fits within those limits before filing again.

Filing Fees and District

A Chapter 7 case currently costs $338 and a Chapter 13 case $313. Chapter 7 filers with household income below 150% of the federal poverty guidelines who cannot afford installments may qualify for a fee waiver. Chapter 13 has no waiver, but the fee can be paid in installments. Alabama is divided into three federal bankruptcy districts: the Northern District (Birmingham, Huntsville, Anniston, Tuscaloosa), the Middle District (Montgomery), and the Southern District (Mobile). You file in the district where you’ve lived for the greater part of the past 180 days, so a move across district lines since your last case may put the new one in a different courthouse with different local rules.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 727 – Discharge
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 1328 – Discharge
3
Emory Law Scholarly Commons. Lien Stripping in Chapter 20 Bankruptcy: A Permissible Relief to Debtors
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 362 – Automatic Stay
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 109 – Who May Be a Debtor
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 349 – Effect of Dismissal
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 523 – Exceptions to Discharge
8
U.S. Department of Justice. November 1, 2025 Median Income Table
9
United States Courts. Chapter 13 – Bankruptcy Basics
10
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 6-10-11 – Exemptions in Federal Bankruptcy