To file for bankruptcy in Florida, you choose between Chapter 7 or Chapter 13, complete a pre-filing credit counseling course, pull together your financial records, submit the voluntary petition and supporting schedules to the correct U.S. Bankruptcy Court district in Florida along with the filing fee, and then attend a trustee-led meeting of creditors before your discharge is entered. The steps below walk through each decision and document in the order you’ll handle them.
Pick Your Chapter First
Almost every Florida consumer files under Chapter 7 or Chapter 13, and that choice shapes everything else.
Chapter 7 is a liquidation. A court-appointed trustee reviews what you own, sells anything not covered by an exemption, and uses the proceeds to pay creditors; remaining qualifying debt is discharged. Most Florida Chapter 7 cases are “no-asset” cases because the state’s exemptions cover everything the filer owns. The case typically wraps up in three to four months.
Chapter 13 restructures rather than liquidates. You propose a repayment plan funded by your disposable income that runs three years if your income is below Florida’s median and five years if it’s above. Remaining eligible debts are discharged at the end. Chapter 13 is usually the better fit if you’re behind on a mortgage or car loan and want to catch up through the plan while keeping the property.
Confirm You Qualify
The Chapter 7 Means Test
Chapter 7 eligibility turns on the means test, which compares your household income over the six months before filing to Florida’s median. For cases filed on or after November 1, 2025, the median thresholds are $68,085 for one person, $84,305 for two, $95,039 for three, and $111,819 for four, with $11,100 added for each additional household member.
Fall below the median and you pass automatically. Above it, you move to the second part of the test, which subtracts allowable living expenses from your income using IRS National Standards rather than your actual spending. A single filer’s combined monthly allowance for food, clothing, housekeeping, personal care, and miscellaneous expenses is $839 under the current standards, which remain in effect through June 2026.1Internal Revenue Service. National Standards: Food, Clothing and Other Items If your remaining disposable income is low enough, you still qualify. If not, the court presumes the filing is an abuse and you’ll likely need Chapter 13 instead.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 US Code 707 – Dismissal of a Case or Conversion to a Case Under Chapter 11 or 13
Chapter 13 Debt Caps
Chapter 13 is open to individuals with regular income, but your total debt can’t exceed certain caps. Current figures published by the U.S. Courts put unsecured debts below $526,700 and secured debts below $1,580,125.3United States Courts. Chapter 13 – Bankruptcy Basics These adjust periodically, so confirm them before filing. If your debts exceed the limits, individual Chapter 11 reorganization may be an alternative.
Credit Counseling
Before filing under any chapter, you must complete a credit counseling course from an agency approved by the U.S. Trustee Program, taken within 180 days before your filing date. Skip it and the court can dismiss your case.4United States Department of Justice. Credit Counseling and Debtor Education Information Most approved agencies offer the course online or by phone for a modest fee, and it typically takes about an hour.
Know What You Keep
Florida requires you to use its state exemptions rather than the federal set, and those exemptions are among the most protective in the country. They’re the reason many Florida filers can go through Chapter 7 and lose nothing.
The Homestead Exemption
Florida’s homestead exemption, rooted in Article X, Section 4 of the state constitution, protects an unlimited amount of equity in your primary residence. There’s no dollar cap. The only limit is size: the property can’t exceed half an acre within a municipality or 160 acres outside one.
One catch applies to newer residents. Under federal law, if you haven’t lived in Florida for at least 1,215 days (about 40 months) before filing, a cap limits the homestead exemption to approximately $189,050 for equity acquired within that window. Long-term Florida residents aren’t affected.
Other Property You Can Protect
- Personal property up to $1,000 per filer, rising to $4,000 if you don’t claim the homestead exemption.
- Up to $1,000 in equity in one motor vehicle.
- If you qualify as head of household, your disposable earnings are fully exempt from creditor garnishment. Non-heads of household follow federal garnishment limits.
- IRAs, 401(k)s, and other tax-qualified retirement accounts are generally fully protected.
The vehicle exemption is modest. If you have more than $1,000 in equity in your car, a Chapter 7 trustee could potentially sell it and return the exempt portion to you. Chapter 13 avoids that outcome because you keep all your property and pay creditors through the plan.
Know What Bankruptcy Won’t Erase
Federal law makes certain debts nondischargeable regardless of which chapter you file. The ones that most often catch filers off guard:
- Student loans, unless you can prove “undue hardship,” a standard courts interpret very strictly.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 US Code 523 – Exceptions to Discharge
- Domestic support obligations, including child support and alimony.
- Most tax debts, particularly recent income taxes, taxes from unfiled returns, and taxes involving fraud.
- Debts arising from fraud, such as lying on a credit application or running up charges with no intention of repaying.
- Debts for death or personal injury caused by driving while intoxicated.
- Government fines and penalties, including criminal restitution and traffic tickets.
Recent spending matters too. Luxury purchases over $900 to a single creditor within 90 days of filing, and cash advances over $1,250 within 70 days, are presumed nondischargeable. You can rebut the presumption by showing the spending was necessary for basic living expenses, but the burden is yours.
Gather Your Documents
Pulling your paperwork together before you touch the forms saves significant time:
- Pay stubs for the last 60 days and federal tax returns for the past two years.
- Two to six months of statements for every bank account, showing balances and transactions.
- Names, addresses, account numbers, and balances for every creditor, whether current or delinquent.
- Real estate deeds, vehicle titles, and estimated values for personal property, investments, and anything else you own.
- Monthly expense records: utilities, insurance premiums, groceries, and other regular costs.
Chapter 7 filers also complete Official Form 122A-1 (Statement of Your Current Monthly Income) and, where applicable, Form 122A-2 (the Means Test Calculation).6United States Courts. Official Form 122A-1 Chapter 7 Statement of Your Current Monthly Income Chapter 13 filers use a parallel set of forms to calculate disposable income and propose a repayment plan.
Fill Out the Petition and Schedules
The core filing document is Official Form 101, the Voluntary Petition for Individuals Filing for Bankruptcy, available from the U.S. Courts website.7United States Courts. Voluntary Petition for Individuals Filing for Bankruptcy The petition opens the case and collects your personal information, employment history, and the chapter you’re filing under.
Along with the petition, you’ll complete a stack of schedules that document your full financial picture:
- Schedules A/B: everything you own, from real estate to household goods.
- Schedule C: the exemptions you’re claiming, including Florida’s homestead and personal property protections.
- Schedule D: secured debts like mortgages and car loans.
- Schedule E/F: priority and general unsecured debts, including credit cards, medical bills, and tax obligations.
- Schedules I and J: your current monthly income and expenses.
Accuracy matters. Omitting an asset or understating income can get your case dismissed or lead to a denial of discharge. If a creditor suspects fraud, they can file an adversary proceeding within your bankruptcy case to challenge discharge of specific debts.
Pay the Filing Fee or Ask for Relief
The total filing fee is $338 for Chapter 7 ($245 base, $78 administrative, $15 trustee surcharge) and $313 for Chapter 13.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 US Code 1930 – Bankruptcy Fees
If you can’t pay upfront, you can request to spread the fee over up to four installments. Chapter 7 filers whose household income is below 150% of the federal poverty guidelines can apply for a full fee waiver. Fee waivers aren’t available in Chapter 13.
Attorney costs are separate. Florida bankruptcy attorneys typically charge $1,000 to $1,500 for a straightforward Chapter 7 and $2,500 to $4,500 for Chapter 13, varying by complexity and location. You can file pro se, but the forms are detailed and errors carry real consequences. Pro se tends to work better for a simple Chapter 7 with few assets than for a multi-year Chapter 13 plan.
File in the Right Florida District
Florida has three federal bankruptcy court districts: Northern, Middle, and Southern.9United States Bankruptcy Court. Court Locations File in whichever district you’ve lived in for the greater part of the last 180 days. If you moved within Florida during that period, use the district where you spent more of those six months. The petition can generally be submitted in person, by mail, or electronically.
What Happens After You File
The Automatic Stay Takes Effect
The moment your petition is filed, an automatic stay takes effect. This is an immediate court order halting most collection activity: lawsuits, wage garnishments, bank levies, foreclosure proceedings, and creditor phone calls all stop.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 US Code 362 – Automatic Stay Creditors who violate it can face sanctions.
The stay has limits. It doesn’t stop criminal proceedings, most tax audits, or domestic support enforcement. And if you’ve had a bankruptcy case dismissed within the past year, the automatic stay in your new case may last only 30 days unless the court extends it.
The 341 Meeting of Creditors
About 21 to 40 days after filing, you’ll attend a meeting of creditors, called a “341 meeting.” Despite the name, creditors rarely attend. The trustee assigned to your case runs the meeting, puts you under oath, and asks about your finances, your forms, and your assets.11United States Department of Justice. US Trustee Program – Section 341 Meeting of Creditors Bring a government-issued photo ID and proof of your Social Security number. The meeting is typically brief, often 10 to 15 minutes, and is held at a federal building rather than a courtroom.
The Debtor Education Course
Before your debts can be discharged, you must complete a financial management course (sometimes called “debtor education”) from an approved provider. This is separate from the pre-filing credit counseling. Skip it and the court won’t grant your discharge.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 US Code 727 – Discharge It’s available online and typically costs under $50.
When the Discharge Arrives
In Chapter 7, the discharge order usually arrives 60 to 90 days after the 341 meeting, wrapping up the case in roughly four months total. In Chapter 13, your discharge comes only after you’ve completed the entire three-to-five-year repayment plan.3United States Courts. Chapter 13 – Bankruptcy Basics
If You’ve Filed Before
Federal law imposes waiting periods before you can receive a discharge in a new case. The clock runs from the filing date of the prior case, not the discharge date:
- Chapter 7 after Chapter 7: 8 years.
- Chapter 13 after Chapter 7: 4 years.
- Chapter 7 after Chapter 13: 6 years, which can be waived if you paid 100% of unsecured debts, or at least 70% with a good-faith effort, in the prior plan.
- Chapter 13 after Chapter 13: 2 years.
You can technically file a new case before these periods expire, but you won’t be eligible for a discharge. Some people file anyway for the automatic stay’s temporary protection during a financial crisis, knowing the debts won’t be eliminated. That’s a narrow strategy that generally calls for professional guidance.