To file bankruptcy in Indiana, you decide between Chapter 7 and Chapter 13, complete an approved credit counseling course within 180 days before filing, prepare a full set of financial schedules using Indiana’s exemptions, and submit your petition to the federal bankruptcy court for the Northern or Southern District of Indiana, depending on the county where you live.
Pick the Right Chapter
Most individual filers use one of two chapters. Chapter 7 liquidates non-exempt assets and wipes out most unsecured debts, like credit cards and medical bills, in roughly three to four months. Chapter 13 lets you keep your property but puts you on a court-approved repayment plan that runs three to five years depending on whether your income sits above or below Indiana’s median.1United States Courts. Chapter 13 – Bankruptcy Basics
People often choose Chapter 13 to stop a foreclosure and catch up on missed mortgage payments over time, or to shield property that Chapter 7 would put at risk. Chapter 13 has debt ceilings: secured debts cannot exceed $1,580,125 and unsecured debts cannot exceed $526,700. If you’re over either limit, Chapter 13 isn’t an option.1United States Courts. Chapter 13 – Bankruptcy Basics
The Means Test for Chapter 7
Chapter 7 isn’t open to everyone. The means test compares your average monthly income over the six months before filing, annualized, against the median income for an Indiana household of the same size.2United States Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Indiana. Means Test Information For cases filed between November 2025 and March 2026, Indiana medians range from $62,808 for a single-person household to $112,691 for a family of four.3U.S. Trustee Program. Census Bureau Median Family Income By Family Size
Come in at or below the median and you qualify for Chapter 7 without further scrutiny. If your income is higher, the second part of the test subtracts allowed living expenses from income to see whether you have enough left over to fund a repayment plan. When the math shows you could pay creditors a meaningful amount, the court presumes a Chapter 7 filing would be an abuse and may steer you into Chapter 13 instead.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 707 – Dismissal of Case or Conversion to Case Under Chapter 11 or 13
Complete Credit Counseling and Gather Your Documents
Federal law requires you to finish a credit counseling session with a U.S. Trustee-approved agency within 180 days before your filing date, and the certificate of completion goes in with your petition.5United States Trustee Program. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) – Credit Counseling Most approved providers offer the course online for around $20, and it usually runs about an hour.
The paperwork side is where filings live or die. You’ll need pay stubs or other proof of income, bank statements, federal tax returns from the past two years, and a full accounting of everything you own and everything you owe. That information feeds directly into the means test and your official bankruptcy schedules. Incomplete or inaccurate documents are one of the most common reasons cases get delayed or dismissed, so give this step more time than feels necessary.
File in the Right Indiana District
You can file bankruptcy in Indiana if you’ve lived here for the greater part of the 180 days before filing, which works out to at least 91 days. Indiana has two federal bankruptcy court jurisdictions, and your county of residence decides which one hears your case.
Northern District
The Northern District operates through divisions in Fort Wayne, South Bend, Hammond, and Lafayette. Each division covers a specific group of counties. Fort Wayne handles Adams, Allen, Blackford, DeKalb, Grant, Huntington, Jay, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben, Wells, and Whitley counties. South Bend covers Cass, Elkhart, Fulton, Kosciusko, LaPorte, Marshall, Miami, Pulaski, St. Joseph, Starke, and Wabash counties.6United States Bankruptcy Court. Northern District of Indiana – District Composition
Southern District
The Southern District has divisions in Indianapolis, Evansville, New Albany, and Terre Haute. If you’re not sure which division covers your county, the Southern District court’s website has a lookup tool.
Use Indiana Exemptions to See What You Keep
Some states let filers choose between federal and state exemptions. Indiana has opted out of the federal set, so anyone filing here uses Indiana’s exemptions.7Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 34-55-10-1 – Bankruptcy Exemptions Exemptions decide how much of your property is protected from liquidation in a Chapter 7.
To use Indiana’s exemptions, you generally must have been domiciled in the state for the 730 days (two full years) immediately before filing. If you moved to Indiana more recently, you may have to use the exemptions of your prior state, or in some situations fall back on the federal set.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 522 – Exemptions
Indiana’s core exemptions cover:9Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 34-55-10-2 – Bankruptcy Exemptions Limitations
- Up to $22,750 of equity in your primary residence. Married couples filing jointly can generally double this.
- Up to $12,100 in tangible property or non-residential real estate under Indiana’s wildcard exemption.
- Up to $450 in intangible personal property, like money in a bank account (excluding debts owed to you).
- Full protection for tax-exempt retirement accounts under 401(k), IRA, and similar plans.
Compared to some states, these amounts are modest, and that matters. If you have home equity beyond $22,750 (or $45,500 for a married couple), a Chapter 7 trustee could sell the home and hand the non-exempt equity to creditors. This is exactly why many Indiana homeowners with real equity choose Chapter 13.
File the Petition and Pay the Fee
Once your forms, financial records, and counseling certificate are ready, you file the petition with the correct district court. Attorneys file electronically; if you’re filing without a lawyer, you’ll usually bring paper documents to the clerk’s office.
The total filing fee is $338 for Chapter 7 and $313 for Chapter 13.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1930 – Bankruptcy Fees If you can’t pay the full amount at filing, you can ask to pay in installments.11Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure Rule 1006 – Filing Fee Chapter 7 filers whose household income is under 150% of the federal poverty guidelines can apply for a full fee waiver.
What Happens After You File
The moment your petition is on file, the automatic stay takes effect. It stops most collection activity: lawsuits, wage garnishments, collector calls, repossessions, and foreclosure proceedings all halt. The stay has limits. Criminal proceedings continue. Family law matters like paternity, custody, visitation, and domestic violence cases go forward. Collection of domestic support obligations from property outside the bankruptcy estate, including wage garnishment for child support or alimony, keeps running.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 362 – Automatic Stay
Between 20 and 60 days after you file, you’ll attend a meeting of creditors, known as the 341 meeting. Despite the name, creditors rarely appear. Your bankruptcy trustee runs it, not a judge, and it usually lasts 5 to 15 minutes.13United States Department of Justice. Section 341 Meeting of Creditors You answer questions under oath about your paperwork, confirm your identity, and clear up anything the trustee flags.
Before the court will grant a discharge, you have to complete a second course, called debtor education, covering personal financial management. This one must be taken after you file, and it’s separate from the pre-filing counseling.14United States Courts. Credit Counseling and Debtor Education Courses Skip the certificate and your case closes with no discharge.
In Chapter 7, the discharge order typically enters about 60 days after the date first set for the 341 meeting, assuming no objections and all required documents are on file.15United States Courts. Discharge in Bankruptcy – Bankruptcy Basics Most Chapter 7 cases close about three to four months after filing. Chapter 13 discharges come at the end of the repayment plan.
Debts That Don’t Go Away
Bankruptcy doesn’t erase everything, and this is where filers most often end up disappointed. The following generally survive discharge:16Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 523 – Exceptions to Discharge
- Child support and alimony.
- Most tax debts. Recent income taxes and taxes tied to late or fraudulent returns don’t discharge. Older income tax debts (generally more than three years old with timely filed returns) may discharge in some cases.17Internal Revenue Service. Declaring Bankruptcy
- Student loans, unless you file a separate lawsuit inside the bankruptcy and prove that repayment would impose an undue hardship on you and your dependents.
- Debts obtained through fraud or a materially false financial statement.
- Debts for death or personal injury caused by driving while intoxicated.
- Criminal fines and most government-imposed penalties.
- Debts you leave off your schedules, since the creditor never had a chance to participate.
Discharging student loans requires an adversary proceeding, a separate lawsuit inside your bankruptcy. Most courts use the Brunner test, which asks whether you can maintain a minimal standard of living while repaying, whether the hardship is likely to persist, and whether you’ve made good-faith efforts to pay. It’s a high bar.
One more thing about secured property in Chapter 7. Discharge kills your personal liability, but liens on collateral survive. If you want to keep a financed car, some lenders will require a reaffirmation agreement, a voluntary contract that puts you back on the hook for that specific debt in exchange for keeping the property.18Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 524 – Effect of Discharge Signing pulls that debt out of your bankruptcy protection, so it deserves careful thought before you agree.